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Ethiopia

Beriti

Flavours of peach, orange blossom, bergamot
Body     Acidity

Roasted omni for filter and espresso

Welcome to the first of the fresh harvests from Ethiopia!

Reuben visited Ethiopia at the end of last year, visiting farms and washing stations, along with the ECX (Ethiopian Coffee Exchange) where coffee crops are traded.

Ethiopia’s the birthplace of coffee, and the coffee you’re drinking is Ethiopian Heirloom varietal, which is a mix of the naturally-occuring varietals of the region. If you look closely at the beans you’ll possibly notice more variation in the size than with other single origins, which are quite often a single varietal.

Jebena Buna: Ethiopian coffee ceremony

It’s not surprising that a country like Ethiopia also has long and rich traditions around drinking coffee, and their coffee ceremony is the perfect example. Here’s a photo of coffee being prepared during Reuben’s visit:

Much like here, coffee has a strong element of social bonding to it: the ceremony is about getting people together to talk.

Unlike here, they start with green beans and roast them right before brewing (we recommend giving our beans at least three days between roasting and brewing). They’re typically roasted in a frying pan over a flame, and often carried around afterwards to help cool the beans and also share the aromas with others nearby.

After grinding the beans in a mortar and pestle, they’re brewed in an unusual vessel: a long-necked ceramic kettle called a jebena. When the coffee boils up through the top of the container, it’s poured in and out of another container to cool it, then back into the jebena for serving.

A jebena Jebena

Small serving cups without handles are arranged on a tray, and the coffee is served in a continuous pour from cup to cup until they’ll all full. Traditionally the youngest child of the family will serve the coffees, with the eldest person in the room served first.

This is repeated with the same coffee grounds three times by adding fresh water: the first is called Arbol in Amharic, followed by the second,Tona, and finally the Bereka, which is also considered to be a blessing.

The way coffee is roasted and served in Ethiopia means this coffee is typically dark and bitter compared to the lighter roast that you’re drinking, so it’s also usually sweetened with sugar.

Vice Munchies capture the experience of the coffee ceremony in Addis Ababa, or Saveur magazine filmed the Ethiopian coffee ceremony if you’d like to see this in action:

And now, some jazz

One other indelible side to Ethiopia is their vibrant live jazz scene: it's one of Reuben’s highlights from the visit last year.

This 45-minute mix comes from MogaDisco, a group of four collectors of African music, and gives you a taste of the range of music coming out of Ethiopia.

 

All the images and information about this coffee and its producers have been kindly shared by the importer, Cafe Imports, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).

Resting beans inside the sealed bag helps develop peak flavours and acidity

Learn how long and why you should wait in our brewing window recommendations.

Try our step-by-step recipes and videos

Our recipes are easy to follow and designed to bring the best out of our coffee. Find your favourite method on our brew guides collection or test a new one—and if you have any questions, ask us anytime at [email protected].

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Yirgacheffe

Altitude

2000 – 2350m above sea level

Varietals

Ethiopian Heirloom

Process

Washed

Harvested

December 2015

Body

Light

Acidity

Bright

Roast style

Omniroast

Map showing location of Ethiopia Beriti

Varietals

Ethiopian Heirloom varietal

Heirloom (or sometimes Landrace) is an umbrella term that refers to all the coffee varietals endemic to Ethiopia.

The location

Coffee from Ethiopia

Seen as the birthplace of domesticated coffee, there are not many more exciting times at the Sample warehouse as when our fresh Ethiopian lots arrive. Legend says it’s our favourite origin…


The Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia

Unique for its floral and highly aromatic coffees. Some our of very favourite and memorable Ethiopian coffees have emerged from this legendary region.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.

Coffee delivery: coffee in resealable bag and farm information card

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