Ethiopia - Banko Gotiti Natural

Apricot // Peach // Jasmine // White Chocolate

There are coffees that are pleasant, and then there are coffees that stop you mid-sip. Banko Gotiti is the latter. It opens with the kind of floral lift — jasmine, delicate and perfumed — that Yirgacheffe is famous for, before settling into ripe stone fruit: apricot and peach, sweet and unhurried. The finish is white chocolate, smooth and lingering. It's a cup that asks nothing of you except a moment of attention.

This Grade 1 natural comes from the Banko Gotiti wetmill in Gotiti kebele, Kochere district — one of the most distinguished corners of Yirgacheffe, and a region that has been producing exceptional coffee for longer than most of us have been drinking it. The mill is managed by Alemu Bukato and processes cherries from around 650 local smallholder farmers, grown at altitude between 1,900 and 2,100 masl. The combination of high elevation, fertile soil, consistent rainfall, and indigenous heirloom varietals does most of the work — the farmers and mill team do the rest.

Processing

Only ripe cherries are selected, then carefully sorted before being laid out on raised African drying beds to sun-dry for 12–15 days. They're raked and turned regularly to ensure even airflow, covered during the hottest part of the day to prevent damage, and protected at night from moisture. Once dried to the right level, the coffee is milled, graded, sorted, and thoroughly hand-picked before export. It's a process that rewards patience, and the cup reflects it.

Origin: Gotiti, Kochere, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Producers: ~650 smallholder farmers via Banko Gotiti wetmill
Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom
Altitude: 1,900–2,100 m.a.s.l.
Process: Natural (sun-dried on raised beds)
Harvest: 2024/25

Brewing

As a filter, this coffee is at its most expressive — floral and fruit-forward, with apricot and peach sweetness and that signature jasmine lift. As an espresso, it's complex and refined; add milk and the white chocolate finish comes into its own, with stone fruit sweetness and floral depth running through every sip.