Ubora Coffee Roasters are a new company in Augusta, Georgia. I had not heard of them, but my friend, Darwin, at Theodore’s Coffee Roasters vouched for them and sent me some of their coffee. This Ethiopian is an absolute treat, so read on!
Purchase this coffee directly for $16/12 oz
UBORA COFFEE ROASTERS ETHIOPIA SIDAMO CHUCHU
Ubora Coffee Roasters is a veteran-owned company that I’d never heard of until I received some of their coffee from my friend, Darwin Pavon, of Theodore’s Coffee Roasters. Darwin is the owner of Theodore’s but is also involved somehow with Datgen Roasters, a German-made coffee roaster. I’m not sure if Darwin is a co-owner or involved in the business in that way at all, but he does appear to be a (maybe THE?) distributor for the brand in the USA. Which brings us back to Ubora… Darwin sent me a box of coffee recently, including two branded with Ubora’s bags. Darwin is fixing them up with their roasting machine and, in the meantime, is contract-roasting their coffee until they are fully operational. Checking out Ubora’s website, co-owners Phillip and Andre appear to active US Navy. Roaster, Tony, is retired Navy and a recently retired firefighter/EMT. Ubora’s team is rounded out by Nora, their general manager, and Danielle, who runs social media. I can’t tell if there is a cafe in the works or if they are strictly roasting and wholesaling as well as doing online sales at this time. Ubora is located in the Augusta, Georgia area and if Darwin vouches for me, that already means a lot in my book!
The first coffee I’m checking out from Ubora (again, this was contract roasted by Theodore’s Coffee Roasters, but the coffee shouldn’t change much in Ubora’s own hands, unless they alter the roasting profile) is their Sidamo Chuchu from Ethiopia. The Chuchu washing station produces both washed and natural coffees, and while Ubora’s website doesn’t specify which one this is, flavors and looks tell me this has to be a natural. Chuchu is located 6km south of the town of Dilla in Sidama Zone, and this relatively small mill has produced high quality coffees for decades. The Chuchu washing station handles coffees from about 600 farmers located in the Southern Nation Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), some of whom are located close to Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone. Confused yet? I am! For this reason, coffee processed at Chuchu could be called Sidamo/Sidama (oh, yeah, since Ethiopia’s language is Amharic, with their own alphabet, translastions and spellings are loose, at best), Yircgacheffe, or Chuchu/Chichu. LOL Most important thing is that the washing station has a great reputation in a nation whose coffee is legendary, and that speaks volumes!
Chuchu produces about 800 bags (the 70kg/154lb variety) per year, which isn’t much, all things considered. These are heirloom varieties from 600 farmers and growing altitude on average is 1550-1700masl in this area. Ubora calls this profile a light-medium (City+) roast and tell us to expect flavors of, “watermelon, strawberry and jasmine.” I am using my standard pourover setup of a 1:16 ratio of 28g of coffee to 450g of Third Wave Water in a notNeutral Gino dripper. Grinder is a Knock Aergrind. I have to say in all my years of making pourover coffees, I think this one has the best aromas I’ve ever smelled coming off the brew bed. It smelled so good I just wanted to keep brewing! It smells AMAZING as it brews!
The brew aroma was giving me super sweet notes that reminded me of cooking strawberries, blueberries and raspberries down for jam. There was also a ton of jasmine floral notes in the brew aroma and something I couldn’t place for a while, but then it clicked when I started doing my research on Ubora and this coffee: watermelon. Watermelon is usually pretty elusive for me in coffee, but as it was brewing, at least, I was getting a ton of watermelon Jolly Rancher in the aroma, too.
In the cup the aroma is more solidly strawberry and jasmine but there is still some watermelon candy in there, too. Body in the cup lands between light and medium for me. This is a bright and sweet, fruity coffee. Right up front the light body is accompanied by bright, fruity notes of fresh strawberry and a lot of raspberry, for my palate. There is a bit of citrus acidity that reminds me of these Japanese yuzu gummy candies I’ve been eating recently. Not quite lemon, not quite orange, but citrusy, although not “too” citrusy, if any of that makes any sense! Berries are sweet but also a little tart, and the brightness of this coffee is the same way. Underlying that brightness is a really nice caramel sweetness that offers a ton of balance. This coffee feels like a very sweet liquid on my palate and in my throat, and the two are nicely balanced. There are a lot of floral tones in this cup, especially if you puff little breaths of air out of your nose as you’re drinking it. The finish is just slightly dry and with the jasmine florals and that finish, there is a hint of black tea to this coffee. I’ve had really tea-forward Ethiopian coffees before, so if those are a “10” then I’d call this one a “2” on the tea scale. It’s not much, but there is a tea hint. The watermelon in the flavor really doesn’t come in until the aftertaste between sips. If you are gulping this coffee, which is INCREDIBLY easy to do, you’ll miss the watermelon, but in between sips I get this watermelon Jolly Rancher flavor I loved in the brewing aroma! I rarely really taste watermelon in coffee, so this is exciting for me to actually pick it up!
This is a GREAT coffee. Ferment on this one is minimal, and I’d even go so far as to say unnoticeable. The flavors are really clear and structured. This is a nicely balanced coffee and yet seems like a sugar bomb at the same time, which is weird since it’s so bright and clear, too. A bit of a contradiction of itself, but this is a superb natural Ethiopian and I cannot wait to drink more of it again! What an introduction to a new coffee roaster! Good job, Ubora (and Darwin)!