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This review is about the Ethiopia Guji from Cafe Est in Taipei. After reviewing their house blend earlier this year, it is now time to see how crafty owner Ricky Liu is with a Ethiopian filter coffee from the Bilooni washing station.
Bean: Ethiopia Heirloom Grade 1, Natural process, Bilooni, Guji, Ethiopia.
Shop: Cafe Est, Taipei, Taiwan.
Cafe Est – Ethiopia Guji: Background information.
This coffee comes from the Guji region in Ethiopia. In the past, Guji was considered a sub-region of the famous Sidamo region in Ethiopia. In the recent past, however, coffee professionals realized that Guji is a unique region with amazing high quality coffee. This caused the Guji region to be recognized as a region of itself. This Guji coffee is grown at an altitude of 1850 meters and has undergone a sun dried natural process.
Cafe Est – Ethiopia Guji: Opening the Package.
Cafe Est has changed the appearance of their package from a trendy silver to a chique black package. They kept the degassing valve and the ziplock on the bag. From the moment of opening the package, I know that this coffee is great. The soft sweet scent of blueberry immediately comes forth strongly as if you’re smelling a blueberry muffin.
I can’t wait to try to try this coffee and today I am reviewing this coffee on the Hario V60, Aeropress and Siphon. A triple review I guess! Let’s grind.
Cafe Est – Ethiopia Guji: The tasting on the Hario V60, Aeropress and Siphon brewer.
Hario V60:
The scent coming off from the Hario V60 brew is that of blueberry and lavender. It is strong at first and subsides later on. The scent of the brew changes in the cup to that of Blueberry with a hint of roses in the background. When I take a sip of the coffee I notice the tea like aspect of the coffee that is immediately invaded by the blueberry flavour. This flavour keeps hanging on the foreground on my pallet. The beautiful blueberry flavour is rich and deep, the velvety mouthfeel and high acidity completes this brew just perfectly. The aftertaste is that of blueberry tea and a hint of lavender in the background again.
Aeropress:
On the Aeropress the flavours of this coffee came out best. The aroma of blueberry and the floral notes were even deeper and sweeter. The flavours of Blueberry got an additional sugary strawberry aspect to it, making this a real treat to drink. From the moment I took a sip the blueberry muffin flavours came to the foreground and dominated this brew. There was no sourness or bitterness, just the flavours as you like them to be. The other notable difference with the Hario was that the floral aspects more hinted to bergamot than to that of roses or lavender. The big surprise came when a soft chocolate finish took over the aftertaste in the coffee. The mouthfeel was velvety and syrupy which matched the medium body very well. I am super excited to see what this coffee will do on the Siphon.
Siphon brewer:
The Siphon brew is probably my most favourite brew for this coffee. When I finished the siphon brew the aromas that came off were that of super sweet sugary chocolate tea. The blueberry was pushed back to a soft hint, which surprised me a lot. The brew started off slow in my mouth. A tea like brew that slowly got invaded by the blueberry. This time, the blueberry did not stay in the background. The invasion of blueberry continued and got stronger as the brew cooled down and at this point I got a soapy floral note on the coffee as well. There was a hint of sourness at the back of my tongue as I swallowed the brew but that got pushed back quickly by the chocolate finish of the coffee. On the Siphon the body was light with medium citric acidity and the mouthfeel was velvety.
Cafe Est – Ethiopia Guji: The verdict.
Owner and roaster Ricky Liu once again surpassed himself with this coffee. The roast was even and perfectly suited for the filter methods that I used. The blueberry and soft strawberry notes, floral aromas of roses and lavender and the chocolate finish of this coffee, make it one of the best coffees I have reviewed. The citric acidity and light to medium body complement the mouthfeel of the coffee very well. I could write compliments about this coffee on and on, but I just think that you should taste this coffee for yourself.