When this coffee first arrived in our Tasting Room, our Roastmaster Emeritus, Jim Reynolds, called it one of the most remarkable coffees he had ever tasted. Hailing from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, from the renowned Yirgacheffe region, it’s a throwback to a bygone era.
	The History A long time supplier of Peet’s set out to create the coffee of his grandfather’s day. “The coffee with the kick, the fruitiness,” he said. Doug Welsh, our coffee buyer, visited the supplier in Ethiopia, and tasted this incredible coffee: the result of a three year quest to produce a natural, or dry-process coffee. For its flavor—out of this world—and the superb care that went into producing it, we called this coffee Ethiopian Super Natural.
	The Process The natural process is the age-old method of drying coffee cherries whole, then grinding or milling them to yield the beans. Our supplier accomplishes this on raised mesh tables, rather than on mats on the ground, allowing for the full circulation of air and reducing the opportunity for contamination. The cherries are covered daily, when the sun is excessively hot, and when the rains come in the afternoon. Throughout the weeks of drying, workers comb the tables, removing imperfections. The essence of the natural method is that the fruit, as it dries, imparts its concentrating flavors to the beans, which translates in the cup to a heavily textured mouth feel and enhanced body.
The Place Yirgacheffe has become renowned for its superb washed coffees, like our Ethiopian Fancy. Starting with the same select fruit from the best zone in the best region of the birthplace of Arabica, one of our best suppliers has created a coffee that harkens to the great Ethiopias of the past, a natural process coffee produced organically with exceptional care, a Super Natural. Ethiopian Super Natural has the inherently floral qualities of Yirgacheffe, but it’s the “kick, the fruitiness” you notice first. The aroma is heady, reminiscent of wild sweet blueberries. Take a sip and note the complexity, the rich mocca overtones. Enjoy it while it lasts, this September and October.