Ethiopia - Idido Cascara Infused | Washed - Archived

Origin

• 🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Tasting notes

Character

• Experimental
  70
• Funky
  40

This Cascara-infused process begins with the typical purchasing of ripe cherries from smallholderSmallholderA farmer growing coffee on a small family plot — often under two hectares. Most of the world's coffee is grown this way, typically pooled at cooperatives or washing stations. growers, who deliver them to the washing stationWashing stationA central mill where many smallholder farmers deliver cherry for processing. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda the station name (e.g. Idido) often identifies the coffee.. An additional premium is paid for cherries to undergo flotation in float tanks, where lower-density cherries are skimmed off. This leaves behind the highest density fruit, which is then scooped out and carried to drying tables. Here, the cherries are meticulously hand-sorted to identify and remove any visible defects. At this stage, the bright red cherries are deposited into large cement hoppers connected to the pulping machine. The seeds are subsequently channeled into various density channels and tanks, initiating fermentation to loosen the sticky mucilage surrounding the seed. This is where the innovative Cascara-Infused process begins, which introduces transformative elements to the traditional method. This process involves not only filling the fermentation tank with pulped parchment and covering it with water in the standard way but also adding cascara from previously dried naturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge. processed lots. The fruity cascara enhances the flavor of the fermenting coffee beans, allowing them to interact for a controlled cycle. Once fermentation is complete, the parchment coffee is guided into washing channels where local filtered river water flows over them. Laborers, often singing songs to stay synchronized, scrub the beans with wooden rakes until the water runs clear. After washing, the parchment is transferred to wood-and-wire trays for draining, allowing them to drip-dry for 6-10 hours. Following the draining process, the beans, still in their parchment jackets, are carefully spread on shaded open air drying tables to reduce moisture under the sun. Once dried to the desired level, the coffee is transported first to a regional processing mill, then to Addis Ababa, the capital city, for final export processing. From there, they are loaded into containers for the next stage of their journey from tree to cup. Mikiyas Bogale in