Ethiopia Uraga Raro Boda

At City roast level, Raro Boda is a light and bright brewed coffee, tea-like and aromatic. It pulls out delicate sweetness and mouth cleansing acidity too that makes for quite a compelling pour-over. I dropped my roast 1:25 after the start of 1st Crack and was surprised by the level of sweetness in the cup. The fragrance and aroma are potent with fragrant notes of semi-refined sugars and loose leaf black tea, a hint of floral jasmine and fruit accents, like citrus and grape. Pouring hot water on the grounds lifted citrus-accented sweetness, white honey, orange, with notes of baking spices mixed in. The brewed coffee starts off with transparent flavors of simple syrup, opening up to a sort of light orange blossom honey note that held on in the aftertaste. The cup gives off an intoxicating aromatic profile, star jasmine is in there like always, but it's the tea-like notes that really front and center. Flavors of Earl Grey tea, bergamot citrus, and perfumed lemongrass tea were noted, as well as herbal accents of rue and sweet basil. The acidity is bright on the palate, with fragrant lemon and limeade notes lending a refreshing sharpness to the profile. City+ brews were a little less bright, but had a tannic quality, like long-steeped black tea, that added a bittering dimension to the acidic impression.