Hits: 27
Beans: Moto Coffee, Mixed Heirloom, Washed, Bio, Guji, Ethiopia.
Shop: Moto Coffee, webshop, Bunschoten, The Netherlands.
Moto Coffee – Ethiopia Dimtu: Background information.
Moto Coffee (roaster of the Ethiopia Dimtu) is one of the latest additions to the still growing Dutch coffee industry. But don’t be fooled; at the helm of this newcomer stand three true veterans ready to storm the market.
Tewis Simons, Dirk Gelijsteen and Willem Hendrik van Oordt are all ex-employees of the world famous coffee trader Trabocca. After years of success they decided to start a new company which would only roast biologicaly produced coffees. At Moto Coffee it’s a mission to only roast and sell coffees from which everyone profits, including the farmer.
Buying their green coffee from renowned traders ensures them that all coffees are certified biological and to minimize the impact on the environment they roast on a Loring 35kg. What a way to start!
The Ethiopia Dimtu comes from Guji, Ethiopia.
When traveling from Addis to the Dimtu Tero Farm, it takes you 1,5 days to get there. The rolling hills and plains of Guji is an entirely different landscape compared to Yirgacheffe which is the most famous coffee area in Ethiopia. Young Getachew Zekele lived in Ethiopia’s Capital during his youth and only the better career opportunities in Guji for his father made him end up there. A decision that would pave the way for Getachew’s work in coffee and the Dimtu Tero farm. In 2010, he entered the coffee market through the ASB Coffee Exporting Company. Two years later, Getachew opened a washing and hulling station in the Dimtu Tero and Uraga districts. Two new coffee production sites that quickly grew reputation in the community. But his final step came in 2016 when he opened the Dimtu Tero Farm.
The Dimtu Tero Farm is a 151-hectare farm semi-forest farm that is blended in the Guji Forest. Getachew makes efforts to keep nature untouched. His organic coffee production gave the farm its NOP, EU, and JAS certifications. A unique feature for Ethiopian coffee farms.
The coffee is grown at an altitude between 1800-2100m above sea level and has undergone a washed process.
Moto Coffee: Opening the Package.
Moto Coffee has some sturdy packaging with a ziplock and degassing valve. The package has a bright orange colour and the name label of the coffee comes in different colors. The Dimtu has a red label with a bit of information on it. You will read about the name, the type of roast, the origin and the process. On the back you can read about their motto and mission and on the bottom the roasting date is displayed.
I do miss some tasting notes and variety information, but just as they say on the package: “We like to keeps things simple”. So if you want more information, just visit their website.
When opening the package of the Dimtu you will see evenly roasted coffee and all the beans look good. The beans are crunchy and give off a little bitter when eating it. There is a note of black tea popping up and a hint of lemon and peach in the end. Grinding the coffee you will get a fresh floral aroma together with wholegrain cookies. Let’s brew!
Moto Coffee – Ethiopia Dimtu: The Tasting.
The tasting of the Ethiopia Dimtu is a double tasting, This is due to the fact that it is an omniroast coffee. I have reviewed this coffee on the Hario V60, Aeropress, Siphon and for the espresso tasting I used my Rocket Giotto Evoluzione R and Eureka Atom Specialty 75.
Let’s start with the brewing of a filter coffee. When pouring the water onto the coffee, a lavender aroma wafts up into the air. This aroma is quite strong but you will also get a sweet note underneath. When you’re done brewing, take a sniff and notice how the lavender has been pushed back and a soft vanilla and sugared earl grey tea aroma pops up. When it cools down a little more, these aroma’s are in turn pushed aside by a sweet caramelized sugar and caramel aroma. This is lovely!
Let’s take a sip. The first thing you will notice, even before the flavour, is the citric lemon/orange acidity of this coffee. It provides a fresh sensation and fits perfectly with the black tea and blackberry flavour. The black tea flavour remains throughout the tasting and is accompanied by a grapefruit tannins in the back of your mouth when the coffee cools down.
The aftertaste is one of caramel, dark sugar and a hint of cedar while there is a lavender touch far away in the background.
As an Espresso this is a very nice coffee as well. There is a sweet cookie and brown sugar aroma together with a hint of a floral lavender note. The mouthfeel of this coffee is super fresh. An orange juice acidity (which leans towards a bright acidity) and lemony freshness give this coffee spring character in your mouth.
After swirling the coffee in your mouth, you will notice that this coffee pulls quite some saliva, making it sweeter with each sip. When the espresso has cooled down just a tad, there is a clear note of Galia/Cantaloupe melon and a hint of peach. The fun thing is that there is no more caramel to be found on your palette. The aftertaste lingers quite long and the grapefruit tannins appear later on, creating a bit of dryness in the lower back of your mouth. I do suggest that you pull the shot a tad longer that you’d normally do because of the acidity of the coffee.
Moto Coffee – Ethiopia Dimtu: The verdict.
The Ethiopia Dimtu from Moto Coffee is an omni-roasted coffee that plays well as a filter as well as an espresso. The coffee brings a nice fresh acidity with a balanced mix of floral notes, fruity notes and caramel/caramelized sugar to the table. As a filter the caramel gives the coffee a bold and sweet character, as an espresso the acidity is the thing that stands out best. This is the perfect coffee during wet and cold days since it brings springtime back into your home.