Ethiopia · Sidama
A Bensa washing station known for exceptional naturals. Blueberry, tropical fruit and a heavy sweetness.
Shantawene is a village and washing station in the Bensa district of Sidama, and its naturals have become some of the most sought-after coffee in Ethiopia.
Intensely fruity: blueberry, strawberry, tropical fruit, with a heavy sweetness and a syrupy body. Washed lots are cleaner and floral; the naturals are what made the name.
Natural processing is the hardest to control — cherries dry whole for weeks and defects are easy to miss. Shantawene invested in raised drying beds, frequent turning and rigorous sorting, which is what separates a great natural from a fermented one.
That infrastructure, more than the terroir alone, is why the lots score.
1,900 to 2,200 metres, on steep ground worked by smallholders delivering cherry to the station.
High, and rising with each competition result. Ethiopian station names now behave much like Burgundy vineyard names — the good ones are bid up well past the point where quality alone explains it.
Filter, very light roast. Naturals this intense also work in an immersion brewer, where the body carries.
Grind fine, brew hot, use good water.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
60° cone · spiral ribs · 1–4 cups
The most transparent cup you can brew for twenty euros, and the least forgiving. Ceramic holds heat where plastic does not — and the open bottom means your pour, not the dripper, decides the coffee.
Best for: Someone who wants to taste what a single-origin coffee is actually doing.
≈ $25 / £20 / 22 €
64 mm flat burr · filter only · single dose
64 mm flat burrs, near-zero retention and a footprint the size of a mug, built for filter and honest about not doing espresso. For pour-over it is the clearest grind you can buy at this price.
Best for: V60, Chemex, AeroPress and batch brewing, where clarity is the whole point.
≈ $345 / £275 / 300 €
0.9 L · ±1 °C hold · counterbalanced gooseneck
The best-pouring kettle sold, and the hold function matters more than the thermometer. Expensive for boiling water — but if you brew pour-over daily, it is the accessory that most improves the cup.
Best for: Daily pour-over, where flow rate is the variable you are trying to control.
≈ $195 / £165 / 180 €
