| COUNTRY: Ethiopia VARIETAL: Heirloom ALTITUDE: 2100 MASL PROCESS: Black Honey ROAST: Light-Medium |
EXTRACTION SETTINGS (V60)
- Equipment: DMD Gooseneck Kettle, DF54 Grinder, Hario V60 Dripper
- Grind setting: 85.0
- Temperature: 95°C / 203°F
- Dose in / yield out (ratio): 21g in / 350g out (1 : 17)
- Extraction time: 4 minutes : 5 seconds
Strangers Coffee Roasters has always had a special place in my heart as this is the roaster from the city (Norwich) that I spent a substantial part of my early adult life in. When I have the opportunity to visit, I always like to grab myself a drink and some beans from this roaster. Strangers Coffee was started by two friends who, after experiencing the coffee scene in Australia (which is notoriously top tier), brought their enthusiasm and skills into East Anglia and started roasting great coffee in England.
I had originally bought this bag of Ethiopian beans for cold brewing during my period of illness (more details on that can be found here) but when I eventually thawed out a batch to taste, I decided to extract this warm. I invited my best friend over for a working and coffee tasting session of this drink.
At first, I thought that my extraction was too long as it took about 4 minutes to get around 350g of liquid. However, I have noticed a slight change in the coffee scene in 2026. The consensus is shifting towards longer extraction times for pour over coffee; settling on 4 to 6 minutes being the sweet spot for a more balanced cup. This is quite an increase in both time and range. Previously, experts quoted 02:30 to 03:30 minutes for V60. I’ll continue to watch this space and find out why we have changed our view on this.
Regardless, Stranger Coffee’s Edebo was fruit forward and incredibly smooth. Punching through my palette were plum and peach tasting notes. I also tasted something citric; not as bitter as a lemon or as sweet as orange (maybe grapefruit or pomelo?) which was unexpected but gave the drink this refreshing iced tea-like quality.
🤎🤎🤎🤎 ( 4 / 5 ) Balanced, clear, complex and fresh.
| FLAVOUR PROFILE |
| – Flavour: Brown sugar, fruity (gooseberry, melon, peach) and jasmine. – Acidity: Rounded. – Body: Tea-like and creamy. – Finish: Lingering and dry. |
A BIT ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
The Gedeb district within Yirgacheffe region is an exceptional coffee growing lot. Widely considered the best and most celebrated coffee in the world this lot is bursting full of speciality micro-lots that meticulously process coffee using the black honey method. This method leaves the maximum amount of sticky fruit mucilage on the bean throughout the drying process which gives the beans super complex flavours like citrus, jasmine, dark rum or fresh berries. There are several lots that grow in this region and other than producing an exceptional crop, they invest in their local communities through vocational training, youth employment, investment in healthcare infrastructures and promoting agroforestry.
More information can be found from the roaster, @StrangersCoffee.
Until our next cup,
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