East Africa and Yemen, just across the Red Sea, produce some of the world's most distinctively romantic coffees, generally characterized by vividly floral, fruity, wine tones very rich in acidity. This fundamental East African profile can range from berry toned and wild in dry porcessed Ethiopia Harrar and Yemeni Mocha, to clean floral and citrus toned in the wet processed Ethiopian coffees like Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, to dry and winelike in Kenya. Exceptions to these would be wet processed coffee from Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda and Malawi which tend to be soft, full rounded and gently understated.

The best place to start in Romance coffee is Kenya. This state of the art industry produces a plentiful yet superb product that is relatively easy to obtain. It is a powerful example of the East Africa taste, intense in its dry, burgundy like acidity, medium bodied yet surprisingly rich with occasional berry tones.

After Kenya, you may want to try Ethiopia, either Sidamo or Yirgacheffe. In these impeccably wet processed coffees, the powerful dry fruit and wine notes lift off and become buoyant, often startlingly floral and exhilaratingly lemony.

You then follow with softer and fuller East African profiles such as Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia, that although lesser known and not as easy to find in our North American markets, all of them present uniquely fascinating qualities and nuances which separate them from one another and make them just as enjoyable.

Lastly, there is need for a bit of clarification. There are many variant spelling on English of Ethiopian and Yemeni names. Mocha may be seen as Moca, Mocca, or Moka. Harrar can be found as Harer, Harar or Harari; Jimma as Djimah or Jima; Gimbi as Ghimbi; Yirgacheffe as Yrgacheffe...all are correct and all are valid, just a matter of where you come from that you may spell them differently. First taste the coffee, then worry anbout how to spell it!