Day 6 — Ethiopia Mataze Hambela Estate

Baked Apple • Earl Grey • Baker’s Chocolate • Berries

Origin: Ethiopia • Process: Washed • Holiday Release

Day six brings a festive cup with a fittingly festive backstory. This holiday release comes from Ethiopia’s storied Hambela estate—land once gifted to Africa’s first female pilot. A coffee with lineage, legacy, and the kind of elegance that makes you want to sip it with good posture.

The card promises something for both the purists and the cream-and-sugar crowd: coconut, berries, Earl Grey, chocolate, baked apple. Basically the dessert table at a well-curated holiday party.

Opening the Bag: Dried Fruit Energy

Right out of the bag, this one hits with something unmistakably fruity. Not jammy—more like dried fruit: apricot, apple, maybe even those suspiciously good dried cherries that cost more per ounce than printer ink.

Given your Ethiopian instincts (and your ongoing relationship with Mercury Coffee’s Bensa Bule Hora), you aimed for a grind around 1, then immediately felt your barista intuition tingling and nudged it to 0.

Good call.

Dialing In: Zero for the Win

The first pull at 1 moved a little too fast—drinkable but not quite the depth you wanted for a washed Ethiopian. The adjustment to 0 tightened everything up: smoother resistance, richer color, and a steady pour that never threatened to spike the PSI.

The crema had a soft, light cap—not thick, not persistent, more of a gentle beard on the espresso. A calm, composed surface.

Also: Monday shots always hit different because everything is freshly cleaned from Friday. A sparkling machine is the closest thing to religion a home barista gets.

Tasting the Hot Shot: Hostess Cherry Pie Levels of Sweet

The hot espresso was a delightful surprise. It opened with a full-bodied cherry sweetness—very clearly dark cherry, not apple—enough to evoke those old-school Hostess pies (the ones that made school lunches feel dangerous).

No sharp tartness, just a warm, rounded fruit tone with a cozy, almost bakery-like sweetness. The Earl Grey impression shows up not as bergamot intensity, but as a gentle lifted note—like aromatic scaffolding under the fruit.

If you squint, there’s a whisper of brown sugar. Baker’s chocolate? Only if it’s shy.

The Iced Americano: Softer, Rounder, Still Excellent

Over ice, the profile chilled out (literally): less sweet, more mellow, and more balanced. The cherry note softened into something closer to plum or even wine grape. The chocolate stayed elusive, more suggestion than flavor.

But the cup remained incredibly smooth and deeply drinkable—the kind of iced Americano that makes desert living feel justified.

Verdict

A stunning holiday roast: fruity, charming, bright, and effortlessly sweet.
The hot shot is the star—one of the standout pours of the calendar so far—while the iced Americano offers the quieter, contemplative version.

A genuinely delicious day.