Fairtrade Ethiopian Harrar

Dark chocolate, lemon zest, hint of jasmine, fresh walnuts and vanilla pods. 

A Natural full flavoured arabica with a typical wine-like and fruity over tones. The intense flavour is highlighted in the dark roast. Sweet, light citrus, fruity, wine, berries, milk chocolate and caramel with vanilla aftertaste. super sweet with a clean, delicate and creamy finish. Cupping: Dark chocolate, lemon zest, hint of jasmine, fresh walnuts

If there is one coffee which has managed to polarize the entire coffee industry for centuries, it's the revered Ethiopia Harrar.

A coffee with a perilous future, some predicting it's likely to disappear within the next decade.

Harrar is difficult to source and half-decent Harar is as rare as the proverbial rocking horse shite.

It's also really bloody expensive in comparison to other alternatives.

Ethiopia Harar is a dry processed coffee from delicate heirloom varietal Harrar (or sometimes spelt Harar).

Sharing a special place with Yemen as one of the oldest types and original species of coffee. With Yemen all but disappearing from the coffee spectrum, it's likely Harrar will soon follow.

Grown in East Africa at high altitude, the availability of Harrar continues to decline each year.

Whilst some say it's from the impact of global warming, droughts and incredibly low yields on the sensitive varietal (sometimes less than 30%).

Others believe that farmers can't justify growing a fragile varietal like Harar with such high risks of failure from abnormal weather condition.

All it takes is an unexpected storm, rains at the wrong time or extended dry period and the crop can be partially ruined with yields falling considerably, sometimes down to almost zero.

Coffee farmers are not silly, they will always think about using their lands for entirely different food crops.

So we see that farmers are removing historic heirloom coffee trees and planting crops for higher demand foods.

Many coffee roasters abandoned Harrar in their line-up more than a decade ago. Too hard to source, too inconsistent to roast and more importantly too expensive for what you might get in the cup.

But we think that is entirely missing the point.

Harrar is one of the coffee world's most romantic and profound varietals.

Let's not write-off Harrar just yet. It's got so much going for it with distinctive and alluring characteristics that other varietals and regions simply cannot replicate.

We absolutely love the sweet fragrant grinds and the juicy cup of read and blue berries with orange citrus acidity and a clean caramel finish.

Lovers of black coffee with powerful aromatics and complex flavours will enjoy this special lot.

Type: Arabica

Regions: Oromia, Guji Zone, Uraga District

Producer: Selected local growers 

Harvest:  October - March 

Varietals: Landrace varieties 

Altitude: 1400 - 1800 MASL