ESPRESSO IN BLOOM: ETHIOPIA + GUATEMALA

Tastes like

Bright fruit. Dark chocolate. Nothing missing.

You get grilled peach and apricot up front, vivid and ripe, with dark chocolate pulling everything together into a round, expressive shot.

The coffee

In Bloom is a seasonal espresso blend that changes as the best coffees available change with it. This edition pairs a washed Guatemalan from the volcanic slopes above Lake Atitlán with a natural Ethiopian from the forested highlands of Guji. The Guatemala brings structure and depth. The Ethiopia brings the fruit. Together they make something more than either one alone.

Origin

Guatemala and Ethiopia are two of the world's most distinct coffee-growing countries, and in this blend, the reason the cup works. Guatemala's Atitlán region sits on the volcanic slopes surrounding Lake Atitlán, where rich soil, cool lake winds, and plentiful rain produce coffees with depth and a structural backbone. Ethiopia's Guji zone, in the forested highlands of the south, grows some of the most expressive naturals in the world. Fruit-forward, complex, and hard to replicate anywhere else.

The blend

Finca Pampojilá is a historic farm on the slopes above Lake Atitlán, founded in the 1850s and thriving under new stewardship. After tropical storm Agatha damaged the property in 2010, it was rebuilt with new varieties and updated infrastructure. Today it runs as a member of the Association of Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala, with half its land committed to remaining tropical forest. The Gerba Washing Station in Ethiopia's Bule Hora district processes cherry from around 600 smallholder farmers in nearby villages. Established in 2019, it sorts cherries for ripeness, dries them on raised beds for around 18 days, and rests the dry cherry for four weeks before hulling.

Process

Two countries, two processes, one cup. The Guatemala is washed: ripe cherries depulped and fermented for 12 to 48 hours before being washed clean and dried on patios or raised beds. The Ethiopia is natural: whole cherries sorted, rinsed, and dried on raised beds for around 18 days with the fruit intact through the entire process. The contrast between the two is part of what makes the cup interesting.

Brew it your way

Built for espresso, and worth the care it takes to dial in. Pull at a 1:2 ratio in 28 to 32 seconds for a shot that opens with grilled fruit and closes with chocolate. On filter, a 1:16 ratio keeps the peach and apricot intact while the structure of the Guatemala holds the cup together.