SHOONDHISA NATURAL - GUJI, ETHIOPIA #1888

Tastes Like: Strawberry Jam, Dried Fruit, Cocoa

Curator’s Notes: One of the very first coffees I ever fell in love with was a natural processed Ethiopian coffee, from Kilenso region, very much like this one. SIGH. I still remember it distinctly – you always remember your first! I’d never tasted strawberry like that in a coffee before, and it totally blew my mind. At the very first sip of Pavement Coffee's Ethiopia Shoondhisa Natural, I was transported back to the idyllic strawberry fields of my first love affair with specialty coffee. Pavement says “strawberry jam” as a tasting note, but to me, the flavors in this cup sit somewhere between a dried strawberry chip and that strawberry sauce you can get on top of an ice cream sundae at Dairy Queen. It’s not overly sweet or acidic, though, with merlot-like notes of dried cherries and figs to balance out the brightness. Slightly dry, cocoa-toned finish reminds me of a chocolate wafer cookie and, combined with the fig notes, gives me major Fig Newton cookie vibes. I’m even digging this one in the espresso machine – berries & cream macchiato, anyone?? Ever since I got my hands on a bag of this coffee, I’ve been drinking it nonstop – and I’m sure you will too! Just be prepared to fall in love…

Bottom Line: You’ll love this coffee if you love Ethiopian Naturals, always reach for a second Fig Newton, or if you’re going to keep on buying those late season strawberries at the farmers market for as long as you possibly can.

We've been purchasing Shoondhisa lots from the Dambi Uddo processing station since they opened just a few short years ago, and it has already become a staple of our coffee lineup. While Dambi Uddo is still relatively new, general manager and owner Ture Waji brings a ton of experience to the project as a long-time processing station manager.

The producers of Shoondhisa grow young coffee trees on forest-farms. We love the notes of strawberry jam, dried fruit, and cocoa that we taste in this coffee, and we can't wait to see where the project goes!