Ethiopia

Jabanto Producers

Anaerobic Washed

Anaerobic washed process Bishari

Flavour: lemongrass, raspberry and milk tea

This coffee makes it again to the VS line-up for obvious reasons: a perfect execution, a complex fermentation process and a delectable cup presence. Very Special indeed.

VERY SPECIAL

Jabanto anaerobic washed was featured for the first time in our VS delivery for December 2021—just over a year ago. We’ve selected it again because it’s still an impeccable coffee and serves as a great tasting exercise when comparing it to Aricha, shared just a few weeks ago and which flavour may still be alive in your mind.

Both lots have gone through an anaerobic fermentation process. However, they’ve been approached differently: Aricha, an anaerobic natural (a.k.a. carbonic maceration), was wild, crazy, and loud; Jabanto, an anaerobic washed, is modest, contained and classy, yet still somewhat reminding us of ripe fruit.

Both are very distinct, very delicious, and Very Special.

BISHARI VARIETAL

After a devastating coffee-berry disease epidemic in the 60s, the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) started a research project to identify endemic, regional Heirloom varietals. The goal was to catalogue the diversity of Ethiopia’s arabica coffee genetics according to their performance, resilience, yield and other important properties. It would also build a specimen bank to use within the farming community according to the local circumstances.

Around Bishari, a small village in the southwestern region, many coffee trees seemed to perform well against disease, produce a decent yield and deliver interesting flavours. These were known for their smaller coffee leaves, smaller coffee cherries and beans, short canopy, and compact and persistent calyx. So, in 1974, the JARC collected seeds to use as breeders and classified them as Bishari.

Bishari trees in the Gedeo area

Within this category, other sub-varietals share specific traits or genetics and are re-classified by their own name. For example, the Kurume varietal (known as such within the Guji area and as Kudhume within Yirgacheffe).

ANAEROBIC WASHED VS. ANAEROBIC NATURAL

Anaerobic means “without oxygen”. During this process, the coffee cherries ferment inside sealed vessels where the oxygen input is prevented or controlled. The low presence of this gas (it’s never really 0%, but close) limits the participation of microbes, facilitating a distinct range of bright and fruity hints.

The difference between the anaerobic washed and anaerobic natural processes lies in how the cherries go into the fermenting tank.

In the anaerobic natural, the cherries are placed along with their skin and pulp—whether crushed or intact. This method is technically the same as carbonic maceration, but different importers and producers will call it differently according to their conventions.

In the anaerobic washed, the cherries are placed without their skin and pulp—the stage of removing them is commonly known as depulping.

DEEP IN THE DETAILS

After the cherries have been picked and sorted, they are pulped (leaving their mucilage intact) and placed in the fermentation tanks for about 60 hours.

The Jabanto members built a few for this purpose. A valve on the side of the tank is connected to a thin hose, which helps remove any CO2 generated during fermentation. The other end of the hose is inserted into a bottle and submerged underwater, stopping any oxygen from coming into the sealed tank atmosphere. It sounds complex, but it’s relatively simple and easy to achieve; here’s a picture:

Fermentation tanks at Jabanto

When the anaerobic fermentation process is finished, the beans go through a drying stage on raised bed drying for 6-8 days until their moisture level reaches 10.5%, similarly to traditional fully washed process methods. To maintain uniform drying among beans, the parchment coffee is set under the sun for two hours between 8:00 and 10:00 AM. During the hottest hours of the day, the parchment coffee is covered with nylon mesh and plastic between 11:00AM and 3:00 PM. Then, the parchment coffee is uncovered for another two hours between 3:00 PM-5:00 PM.

BREW, SHARE AND ENJOY

Time to brew and have a good time (beware of our new recommended window!). Check out any brewing notes below, and add your own—and don’t forget to ask us anything via email/Instagram. Enjoy!

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

Learn everything about this coffee:

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer

Jabanto Producers

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Kochere

Altitude

2000m above sea level

Variety

Bishari

Process

anaerobic washed

Importer

Condesa Co.Lab

Body

Light

Acidity

Bright

Tasting notes

Lemongrass, raspberry and milk tea

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)