EXCEPTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION

This month's coffee:

Origin: Gotiti, Yirgacheffe
Variety: Heirloom
Process: Washed
Farm: Smallholder Farmers
Roast: Omni
Best For:Filter • Espresso

October's Exceptional Subscription coffee is London Fog: a delicate, aromatic Ethiopian coffee with notes of bergamot, white peach, and jasmine, supported by elegant acidity and a clean, tea-like finish. Produced by smallholder farmers around Gotiti in Gedeb, Yirgacheffe, this lot captures the floral complexity and remarkable clarity that make washed Ethiopian coffees so distinctive.
Composed of indigenous Ethiopian heirloom varieties, this coffee has a beautifully lifted profile. Bergamot brings a fragrant, citrus-like character, layered with the soft sweetness of white peach and delicate jasmine florals. The acidity is bright but refined, creating a cup that feels light, graceful, and exceptionally clean, with a lingering aromatic finish.
This coffee shines as a filter, where its florals, delicate fruit, and tea-like structure have space to fully open up. As an espresso, it produces a lighter, highly aromatic shot with bright acidity, gentle sweetness, and a clean, elegant finish.
Following harvest, ripe cherries from farms surrounding Gotiti are delivered to the local wet mill, where they are carefully sorted and floated before being pulped. The coffee then undergoes 12 hours of dry fermentation before being fully washed and slowly sun-dried on African raised beds for 12–15 days. This careful, traditional washed process preserves the clarity and aromatic character of the coffee, allowing the quality of the fruit and its high-altitude growing conditions to remain at the forefront.
We chose this coffee for its elegance, clarity, and beautiful aromatic character. It's expressive without being heavy, combining delicate florals, soft fruit sweetness, and bright acidity in a cup that feels refined, refreshing, and incredibly easy to return to.

London Fog is produced by smallholder farmers from the Gotiti kebele in Gedeb, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. Their farms are situated between 2,100 and 2,170 metres above sea level, with coffee grown outside the village before being delivered after harvest to a local 2.5-hectare wet mill for processing.
Sourcing and processing are overseen by Eyasu Lole, who works with both male and female farmers throughout the surrounding area. The coffee is harvested between October and early January, with the mill employing a combination of permanent and seasonal workers during the harvest period.
Coffee here is grown within a traditional agricultural landscape, with false banana trees, known locally as Enset, providing shade among the coffee. Beyond supporting soil health and biodiversity, Enset is an important food crop in the region and is used to make kocho, a staple of the local diet.
The supply chain is supported by Ephtah Coffee, which works closely with producers through agronomic training, post-harvest support, and price-risk management. Its sourcing model focuses on long-term relationships and transparency, with the aim of providing farmers with fair compensation alongside the technical support needed to continually improve coffee quality.
A particular focus is placed on supporting women in coffee through Ephtah's Ama Commitment initiative. The programme provides female farmers with pre-financing, access to drying infrastructure, support for partner processing stations, and tailored training, with the wider aim of strengthening both coffee quality and women's economic independence and leadership within producing communities.
The result is a coffee deeply connected to both the people and landscape of Yirgacheffe: meticulously processed, beautifully aromatic, and a wonderfully elegant expression of Ethiopian coffee.

V60

Coffee: 18g

Water: 310ml

Temperature: 92°C

Total Time: ~2:30-3:00

Grind Size:  EK 8.5 / ~26-28 clicks on Commandate

Method

1. Rinse the paper filter, add 18g of coffee and gently level the bed
2. Bloom, add 50g of water
3. Swirl gently to ensure even saturation
4. Wait 30 seconds
5. Pour up to 150g total by ~1:00
6. Keep a steady, controlled pour
7. Pour up to 310g. Maintain a slow, consistent flow,
8. Let it drain completely (finish around 2:30–3:00)

Hario switch 

Coffee: 16g

Water: 280ml

Temp: 94°C

Time: 3:00

Grind size: EK 8 / ~25–27 clicks on Comandate

Method

1. Rinse paper
2. Add coffee 
3. Bloom with 50g of water for 30s (valve closed)
4. Open the valve for 30 seconds
5. Close the valve, add 150g of water (total 200g)
6. At 1m50s open valve
7. Let it drain
8. Slowly pour 280g of water 
9. Let it drain

Aeropress

Coffee: 14g

Water: 200ml

Temperature: 92°C

Total Time: ~2:45-3:00

Grind Size: 7-7.5 on EK / 24-26 on Comandante

Method:

1. Rinse the filter paper. Add 14g of coffee
2. Add all 200ml of water quickly
3. Stir 3-5 times gently
4. Insert plunger at ~0:20 (to stop dripping), let sit until 1:45-2.00
5. Press slowly (60 sec)
6. Finish around 2:45-3:00

Orea

Coffee: 18g

Water: 300ml

Temperature: 94°C

Total Time: ~2:30-3:00

Grind Size: 6-7 on EK / 20-24 on Comandante

Method:

1. Rinse the filter paper and preheat everything. Add 18g of coffee.
2. Spiral pour to 60g, wait 30s
3. Pour to 140g wait 30s
4. Pour to 220g, wait 30s
5. Pour to 300g and let it drain

V60 

Coffee: 18g

Water: 310ml

Temperature: 92°C

Total Time: ~2:30-3:00

Grind Size:  EK 8.5 / ~26-28 clicks on Commandate

Method

1. Rinse the paper filter, add 18g of coffee and gently level the bed

2. Bloom, add 50g of water

3. Swirl gently to ensure even saturation

4. Wait 30 seconds

5. Pour up to 150g total by ~1:00

6. Keep a steady, controlled pour

7. Pour up to 310g. Maintain a slow, consistent flow,

8. Let it drain completely (finish around 2:30–3:00)

Hario switch 

Coffee: 16g

Water: 280ml

Temp: 94°C

Time: 3:00

Grind size: EK 8 / ~25–27 clicks on Comandate

Method

1. Rinse paper

2. Add coffee 

3. Bloom with 50g of water for 30s (valve closed)

4. Open the valve for 30 seconds

5. Close the valve, add 150g of water (total 200g)

6. At 1m50s open valve

7. Let it drain

8. Slowly pour 280g of water 

9. Let it drain

Aeropress

Coffee: 14g

Water: 200ml

Temperature: 92°C

Total Time: ~2:45-3:00

Grind Size: 7-7.5 on EK / 24-26 on Comandante

Method:

1. Rinse the filter paper. Add 14g of coffee

2. Add all 200ml of water quickly

3. Stir 3-5 times gently

4. Insert plunger at ~0:20 (to stop dripping), let sit until 1:45-2.00

5. Press slowly (60 sec)

6. Finish around 2:45-3:00

Orea

Coffee: 18g

Water: 300ml

Temperature: 94°C

Total Time: ~2:30-3:00

Grind Size: 6-7 on EK / 20-24 on Comandante

Method:

1. Rinse the filter paper and preheat everything. Add 18g of coffee.

2. Spiral pour to 60g, wait 30s

3. Pour to 140g wait 30s

4. Pour to 220g, wait 30s

5. Pour to 300g and let it drain

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