Black Oak Coffee Roasters - Ethiopia Adame Gorbota Lot 005
$17.50
Pros
- Excellent as drip
- Excellent as espresso
- Nice complexity
Cons
- High acidity
- Thin body
- Limited balance
Disclosure: I received a 12oz bag of the coffee for free in exchange for a review. I do my best to not let free coffee submissions influence my ratings, but of course, it is impossible to eliminate all potential biases.
You can learn more about how I review coffee here.
For the last month or so I've been taking a look at some excellent single-origin African coffees, all roasted by Black Oak Coffee Roasters (Ukiah, CA). This week, I've got the fourth and final one from the bunch: the Ethiopia Adame Gorbota Lot 005.
I apologize in advance if you're tired of seeing so many reviews from the same roaster, but I enjoyed all of the coffee I received from Black Oak, so I wanted to share each review before they run out of stock.
This is the third Ethiopian coffee of the bunch, and it's the only one of the three that comes from the world-famous coffee growing region, Yirgacheffe.
Like most Black Oak single origin coffee's, the Adame Gorbota Lot 005 is named after its producer, the Adame Gorbota cooperative, and even more specifically, the lot it came from (005). Since there are over 500 farmers in this cooperative, distinguishing the lot is a way to give credit to the farmers who were responsible for producing this coffee.
General Notes & Observations
Indigenous Heirloom variety
Roast: Medium/Light
Producers: Adame Gorbota Cooperative (Lot 005)
Country of Origin: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Variety: Indigenous Heirloom
Processing method: Washed
Growing altitude: 1800-2000masl
Roaster aroma notes: None
Coffee Concierge aroma notes: Floral, milk chocolate, coffee, earl grey tea
Roaster tasting notes: Floral, lime, apricot
Coffee Concierge tasting notes: Floral, bright lime, caramel, smokey, candied apple, cinnamon, nutty
Brew Methods & Equipment Used
- Chemex 6 Cup Glass Coffeemaker
- Behmor Connected Coffeemaker
- MyPressi Twist Espresso Maker
- Hario V60 Pour Over Coffee Dripper
- Kalita Wave Pour Over Coffee Dripper
- Bonavita Variable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle
- Espro Calibrated Tamper
- Breville Smart Grinder Pro
Awards
The Adame Gorbota Lot 005 took home the Bronze for the Organic Espresso category at the 2017 Golden Bean Awards.
You can learn more about the Golden Bean Awards here.
Cupping Results
Black Oak Coffee Lineup
We had some friends over for Halloween and decided to cup the Adame Gorbota Lot 005, along with 4 other coffees I had recently received, 3 of which also came from Black Oak.
Although I initially knew which coffee was which, as we proceeded to the cupping I couldn't remember the order.
So, for the most part, this was a blind cupping because we neither knew which coffee had won awards, nor what the various tasting notes were on each of the bags.
The Adame Gorbota Lot 005 was coffee #1 in our lineup, and personally my third favorite coffee of those that we cupped. I picked up notes of lemon and tomato in the coffee's taste, while the brewed aroma was more like an earl grey tea.
In the ground coffee's aroma, I was picking up milk chocolate and coffee.
Some of the other taste descriptions we amateur cuppers came up with:
Our notes from the cupping, I spilled coffee on mine
- Light chocolate
- Sour
- Thin
Brewing the coffee through more traditional methods however, resulted in a much better experience.
Caramel, lime, vanilla, cinnamon, nutty, were all some of the taste descriptions I came up with across various brew methods.
Espresso Experience
When I brewed the Adame Gorbota Lot 005 through my espresso maker of only-choice, the MyPressi Twist, I picked up smooth lime flavor up-front with tomato soup in the aftertaste.
There were also sporadic notes of cinnamon.
Overall, it was really enjoyable as espresso, and its Bronze medal accolade at the Golden Bean Awards does not surprise me.
Drip Coffee Experience
I really enjoyed the Gorbota as drip coffee, with my preferred brew method probably being the Hario V60, which brought out floral and peachy notes, reminiscent of the Hambela Alaka I reviewed previously.
The dominating lime flavor was present when brewed as Chemex, coupled by a more subtle vanilla flavor in the aftertaste.
As auto-drip, I picked up notes of caramel and candied apple to go along with a more general smokiness. The lime flavor surfaced more in the aftertaste than anything.
Press Coffee Experience
Brewing the Adame Gorbota as French Press was really nothing to write home about.
The flavor was nutty, but I wasn't able to replicate any of the typical complexity I found through other brew methods.
Summary
The Adame Gorbota Lot 005 is one of the more complex coffees I've reviewed in 2017, and I think it definitely deserves a try if you're a fan of bright, light bodied coffees and you typically brew drip and/or espresso.
If you're looking for a lot of body and chocolate notes, or if you primarily brew with French Press, I'd pass on this coffee.
You can buy the Adame Gorbota Lot 005 from Black Oak Coffee while it's still available by clicking the button below:
Tried This Coffee? Have Questions?
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