Hits: 29
Beans: Munin Coffee Roasters, Wolisho, Natural, Guji, Ethiopia.
Shop: Munin Coffee Roasters, Facebook page, Rana, Norway.
Munin Coffee Roasters: Background information.
Munin Coffee roasters is one of those unknown roasters that you come across in a shop that does guest-roasting. This time I visited Neongrut in Oslo where I came across this Ethiopian Diima Buku Sayisa roasted by Munin Coffee Roasters. Now, there is a thing you should know about Neongrut because it is owned by multi award winner Anton Soderman. Anton has won a gold medal in the Norwegian brewers cup, Aeropress championship, cup tasting AND latte art championships. So when Anton decides to sell a guest roaster, you better believe it is good!
And so it was that I ordered this Ethiopia and was surprised at the amount of lovely notes that I got in my cup. Time for a review!
Located at 2350 masl, the Buku processing station represents one of the highest altitude coffee productions I have ever come across. The village of Buku Saysa is located in the district of Hambela Wamena, part of the broader area of Guji, and collects the cherries of the small farmers of the surrounding area. In this area, the Wolisho variety is cultivated, which in other regions of Ethiopia is indistinct within the so-called Ethiopian heirloom. This is, therefore, an Ethiopian microlot composed of a single variety: a very unique opportunity. The microlot was prepared according to the natural process: after the manual picking and removal of any over-ripe or unripe, the remaining cherries were dry-fermented on raised beds. They are usually turned frequently throughout the day and covered during the central hours of the day and at night, to avoid unwanted fermentations.
Opening the bag.
Munin Coffee Roasters has chosen a soft colored blue package for this coffee. If I remember correctly , they have different soft colours for their other coffees such a pink. Obviously there is a ziplock and degassing valve to keep the coffee as fresh as possible. The package has the logo up front and on the back is where you will find all the information. The logo depicts a raven holding a twig which might be a twig from a coffee tree. The raven is called Munin and is a loyal companion to the god Wodan. Munin, and Hugin which is the other raven of Wodan, fly around the world to gather information for Wodan. These ravens are mentioned in the poetic Edda. Aside from the origin and the name of the coffee, you will find information about the region, producer, process, altitude, variety, roasting date and generic tasting notes. I can already disclose that these are generic tasting notes because this coffee has such clear notes that it would have been easy to write them down on the package.
Inside the package a equally roasted beans with hardly any defects. Opening the bak will give you sweet fruity notes of berries, stone fruits, blueberry and strawberry. The beans are hard to bite down on and give off a black tea and fruity chewing gum flavour while chewing. Let’s brew.
The tasting.
I have reviewed this coffee on the V60, Clever Dripper and Aeropress. The best results came off of the V60 with beautiful fruity notes.
When brewing this coffee on the V60 I want you to hover above the brewer and slowly let the aromas flow into your nose. Lemon and Lychee are there as clear as day and it caught me totally by surprise. Anyway, when the brewing is done, pour the coffee into a glass and take in the aroma’s once more. There is a hint of black tea, peach, blueberry and strawberry coming off of the brew. It is a myriad of super sweet fruity notes that will linger for quite a while so don’t worry if you didn’t get them all at once.
When taking a sip you will feel a watery cherry mouthfeel when the coffee is hot. The flavours of sweet sugared tea, peach, the green part of a mango (near the peel) and a hint of yoghurt fruit gum are all mingled but really nice. When the coffee cools down, you will find a hint of gooseberry tannins, jasmin and cocoa nibs.
After you swallow the coffee, try to breathe back through your nose, via a closed mouth. This will give you a fruity black tea like flavour, together with peach, strawberry and jasmin tea as well. What a great coffee. The acidity is citric lemony but isn’t really high. This makes for a coffee that you will be able to drink one cup after another.
The silky mouthfeel of this coffee is splendid and the floral notes go so well with it, it’s like drinking a cloud while the aftertaste lingers medium long.
Muni Coffee Roasters – Diima Buku Sayisa: The verdict.
When I think of a Ethiopian natural coffee, I expect fruity notes, floral notes and lots of sweetness in my cup. Munin Coffee Roasters (a fairly unknown roaster from Norway) has managed to roast this coffee into a product that has all that. Obviously it all starts with the farmers and processing, but to create a coffee like this might imply that their ‘unknown’ status will soon change. I love how the fruity notes are all compatible, how the floral notes mix beautifully with the black and sugared tea notes, and how the mouthfeel and acidity are also spot on!
If you live in Norway are you are able to get yr hands on this coffee, please do so! This is the perfect example of bringing summer back into your home by drinking this coffee. Thanks for roasting Munin!
As a courtesy I added the Facebook page of Munin as a link in the top of the article. I do not get paid by Munin to do so, but I do hope that it will make it easier for you to get a hold of this coffee! Otherwise you might be able to buy this coffee at Neongrut in Oslo!