Ethiopia: Nesru Aba Nura

This elegant natural coffee is full of plum and brown sugar, with a super silky texture. It finishes with glacé cherries and a delicate floral note on the aftertaste.

While her husband Mensur’s name may be more widely known, Nesru Aba Nura is quickly establishing her own reputation. Her 9-hectare farm sits at an altitude of 1,950–2,000 metres above sea level - ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and complex development. This is our third year buying from Nesru and it’s our great pleasure to have her coffee back again this season. 

Her farm is located in the Kota kebele, within the Goma district of the Jimma Zone. Jimma is also home to the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC), which has developed many of Ethiopia’s most widely planted cultivars. This gives the region a unique role in Ethiopia’s coffee genetics, with many farms growing selected JARC varieties like 74110 (as we have here), prized for their disease resistance and cup quality. 

Historically Jimma was long associated with lower-quality Natural coffees, but the trend has shifted in recent years and the area is now recognised for its distinctive flavour profile within Ethiopian coffees and a growing specialty focus. In 2009, Technoserve partnered with local farmer’s co-ops to introduce Washed processing and raise standards. In the years since, Jimma is now seen as one of Ethiopia’s premier coffee regions alongside Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.  

Washed coffees require a lot more infrastructure and risk to process, meaning that previously these were exclusively the domain of larger co-ops and private washing stations, with small and mid-sized farms focussing on Naturals. That changed in the 2022/23 harvest, when several Tokuma Group producers turned their hand to Washed processing for some of their crop, the improved facilities and attention to detail have elevated the Natural processing carried out too. This Natural JARC 74110 lot brilliantly showcases the unique flavour profile of Jimma coffee when produced to a world-class standard. 

Our importer Osito have been deepening their relationships with producing partners in Ethiopia and the Tokuma group, of which Nesru and her husband Mensur are members, have been a core part of that success. Their collective in western Ethiopia collaborates to market their coffees and share knowledge to improve quality, yielding improvements in cup quality, efficiency in getting coffees to export, and consistency year on year. Mensur and Nesru’s contributions are vital to the group’s progress and to Osito’s work with single producers in the region. Osito’s “deeper not wider” approach helps foster sincere relationships with producers. We are grateful to benefit from their work with Nesru and be able to share her exceptional coffee.  

• Country: Ethiopia
• Region: Oromia
• District: Gomma
• Zone: Jimma
• Woreda: Agaro
• Kebele: Kota
• Collective: Tokuma Farmers Group
• Producer: Nesru Aba Nura
• Elevation: 1950 - 2000 m.a.s.l.
• Farm size: 9 hectares
• Variety: JARC 74110
• Process: Natural 

(Cup of Excellence Scale)

• Clean Cup: 6.5/8
• Sweetness: 6.5/8
• Acidity: 6/8
• Mouthfeel: 6.5/8
• Flavour: 6.5/8
• Aftertaste: 6/8
• Balance: 6/8
• Overall: 7/8
• Total Score: 87/100

Medium

Through first and look for the middle of the gap before you drop this. Don't get caught out under developing this coffee, or you'll lose the juicy fruitiness.