.png)
Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
It's about coffee, food, life and what other randomness I feel that'll be helpful to the common coffee drinker or to anyone who likes to be entertained by a stranger, briefly.
Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
Ethiopian Coffee: The Game Changer
In this episode, I share my transformative journey with Ethiopian coffee - the coffee that completely changed how I understand and appreciate what coffee can be. I talk about my first experience ordering Ethiopian coffee online from a New York roaster, how the lemony aroma immediately caught my attention, and the shocking realization that coffee could taste fruity, bright, and completely different from the chocolatey, nutty diner coffee I was used to. I explain how that first sip opened my palate to a whole new world of coffee possibilities and sparked my deeper coffee journey.
I discuss why I believe Ethiopian coffee holds such a special place in the coffee world - not just for its historical significance as the birthplace of coffee, but for its ability to transform anyone's understanding of what coffee can taste like. I share thoughts on the current state of Ethiopian coffee, the importance of understanding the social and environmental factors affecting Ethiopian farmers, and why I'm excited to explore Ethiopian coffees again. Listeners will learn about the unique flavor profiles of Ethiopian coffee, its cultural significance in the coffee world, and gain insights into how a single coffee experience can completely shift your coffee journey and appreciation for black coffee.
For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com
For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans
[00:00:04] Okay, here we go.
[00:00:11] I've been hearing about this coffee for a while. I really didn't know what to expect. I wanted to try it. I didn't want to be disappointed. But you know, it was time for anything.
[00:00:53] I kept hearing about it. When I bought a bag online, I waited. I think I got ground coffee too. Waited for a couple of days because they had to roast it. Can't remember the place. I know it was somewhere in New York. First time I ever had Ethiopian coffee.
[00:01:21] Like I said, I didn't want to be disappointed. I just wanted to see what all the fuss, all the rave was about this particular coffee. So it arrives to my door and you instantly smell the lemony flavor that comes bursting out of it. I was like, "Whoa, can I handle this? Can I really enjoy this coffee?"
[00:01:48] So I did all the things that I needed to. Took it out carefully, treated it with care. I think at the time I was using the Chemex or Mr. Coffee Machine or even the French press. It doesn't even matter. I was just in the zone, locked in, ready to partake in this ritual with this magical coffee.
[00:02:14] So I made my cup, sat there. And I was really shocked.
[00:02:45] The first thing I did was read the notes on the bag.
[00:03:11] So I took my first sip. I had this unique characteristic of chocolatey, nutty diner coffee. But this coffee was fruit forward. It was bright and it had that lingering lime taste. Was it a one-hit note? I had to kind of recall what I was actually drinking.
[00:03:35] But I couldn't believe this came from coffee. It got me so hooked that I even bought another bag for another friend who was into coffee and all that stuff. And he really enjoyed it too.
[00:04:17] So throughout the years, Ethiopian coffee has had this sentimental value to me because it allowed me to truly taste what coffee is or could be. I don't know if it was just me because this was early in my journey of drinking coffee where my palate wasn't as mature as it is now. But the way that coffee attacked my palate and opened me up to even more things - I think that's really where my whole coffee journey changed.
[00:05:16] I know it sounds really dramatic as I talk about this, but I'm sure you have those coffees too where you're like, "Wow, that's the one that got me into the game. That's the one that really got me moving and understanding and trying to chase that different type of high that coffee can really give you."
[00:05:17] So throughout the years I kept drinking and exploring and tasting different Ethiopian coffees, tasting different African coffees, understanding that this is really where the magic comes from, really trying to understand the whole mindset.
[00:06:08] It seldom disappoints. From time to time, it does. And that's more so like the way the climate is changing, the way that the harvesting is happening, the way that people experiment with different processes and all that stuff.
[00:06:26] But I will say Ethiopian coffee was number one years ago because I do believe that Ethiopian coffee is a hallmark in the coffee world. Whether we believe it or not, it's where it started. That's where everything came from. And that's when things started being taken out to different countries where they can grow coffee and all that stuff, which is great - unfortunately the way it happened, but something that was needed.
[00:07:02] But now I think of Ethiopian coffee as number two most important coffee in the world. But Ethiopian coffee is still knocking on number one's doorstep each and every day. We can't forget it. It's the origin, it's the lineage. It's the offspring of everything that we taste. It is completely amazing.
[00:08:06] I'm looking to go back down that rabbit hole of exploring more Ethiopian coffee again. Ethiopian coffee - have you really enjoyed it? Do you like different regions in Ethiopia that you explore? Do you think it's too floral? Do you think it's too fruitful? Do you think it's exaggerated with the flavors that come out of it?
[00:09:06] I think it's amazing. Have I outgrown that type of fruit forward coffee? I wonder about that.
[00:09:47] But we're going to explore together because it's one of those things - if you taste a really well roasted Ethiopian coffee, it will transform you too. It will take you to a place where you didn't know that this is what coffee can be.
[00:10:09] I think it was also one of my biggest introductions to really enjoying coffee black. Again, I'm not here to tell you how to drink your coffee. That's not this. This is just me giving you information about how it has transformed me and how it's given me more of an appreciation for drinking coffee black because it gives you the true elements of what coffee can be. Like I said, this coffee was magical.
[00:10:45] It talked to me from the hottest sip all the way to the coolest sip. I didn't know really what to make of it or how to describe it to many people. The only thing I could say was lemony. It was there on the bag.
[00:11:32] I think that's where things will go bad quickly. I think it's very important that all of us look at what's going on in Ethiopia. How are the farmers treated? How are the processes going? How is the climate going? How is politics affecting it? How are tariffs? All that stuff. And more importantly, unfortunately for me - how does it taste? Does it still taste magical? That's really the biggest thing.
[00:12:42] I hope it does. I hope it will always taste magical. Let's talk about it. Ethiopian coffee. Extremely important coffee. Let's embrace that. What's your Ethiopian coffee story? Talk to you later. Bye.