Fonte Coffee Roaster Debuts Dry-processed Natural Coffee From Ethiopia

Master Roaster Steve Smith just debuted Fonte Coffee Roaster's new, limited availability "Ethiopia Micro-Lot, Tchembe". A dry-processed or "natural" coffee, the beans are dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed. This is different from the orthodox wet-processed or "washed" coffees, which are more typical of southern Ethiopia. Fonte took delivery of their green "Tchembe" beans at the end of last summer and carefully stored them in sealed Grainpro bags, with the intention of releasing the coffee in early Spring. It retails for $22 a pound and can be purchased online at www.fontecoffee.com, or Fonte Cafe and Wine Bar located in downtown Seattle, across from the Seattle Art Museum.

The "Tchembe" is from the Yirgacheffe region and was purchased from a group of importers who pay growers a premium to follow strict protocols of harvest and processing. The team zeroes in on a handful of varietals (out of the 10,000 naturally occurring in Ethiopia) over a small number of farms and has been working for some years in Ethiopia to develop coffees of distinction.

"A wide range of sensations begin in the cup, with candy sweet initially, followed by a grapefruit tang that develops on the tongue and lingers on the palate well into the finish. The bold, sweet fruit flavors dominate throughout, with aromas of banana morphing into delicate but powerful sweet melon notes. Not a shy cup, the 'Ethiopia Tchembe' speaks loud and clear from the first sip to the last drop," says Smith.