Square Mile Roasters / Ethiopia / Guji Shoondhisa / Natural Gibrinna & Serto (FRGMNT)

It was one year since my dukhla and since I started living with my wonderful wife, so we decided to treat ourselves to some coffee. In reality only I got coffee and she wanted a different treat. None of the drinks caught her eye. We did try a new cafe, though, FRGMNT North Loop, which is in a hallway, similar to SK Coffee’s roastery location. 

FRGMNT is a multi-roaster cafe that focuses on what I’d call A-tier roasters, not S-tier. These tiers are in the popular conception, not in the flavor of the coffee. Think Heart, Black & White, Square Mile, not DAK, AMOC, Apollon’s Gold. So they can serve a (batch brew) cup of coffee for $3.26 instead of the $13 pour overs being served at nearby Harmony. They also only do batch brew and espresso. They don’t list out the coffees on offer neatly and just write the country of origin by the price of the espresso. 

My experience at a cafe is heavily impacted by the barista. I asked this barista what they had on batch brew, to which he responded they had an Ethiopian and a Kenyan. At the time I was probably more irritated than I should have been, since those were very informative. I was at a fancy multi-roaster cafe, so I was perhaps expecting just a little more detail. I asked if he could tell me more. However, the barista just started telling me how the Ethiopian has a “peach mango situation,” at which point I noticed behind him the carafes had the details written, with roaster and process. If he had told me that the Ethiopian was roasted by Square Mile, I would have been able to pick that faster. I was excited to try a coffee from James Hoffman’s company. 

I however was not excited to drink a natural process. This one did not have the bubble letters quality that some naturals have, though, so I’m not upset. 

I didn’t know this until after I ordered, but this was the Shoondhisa harvest that I also had at Anthology the other day. That one was a washed process though. I also saw this same bean on several different A-tier roaster sites. I felt like this was sort of a hive mind moment for the coffee industry. They all share importers, the importer sent them all a sample, and they all bought this one. It’s good coffee but how do I differentiate roasters who all serve the same beans? You have to respect Hyperion for trying to go against the grain, despite it sometimes causing them to suffer quality issues. 

Had I been more well informed on the coffees on offer, I would have picked the Kenyan! I was just in a mood about Kenyans, I’m on my second in a row right now at home. 

Alas, it was good coffee. I don’t remember it all that well, which is not that great of a sign. But for $3.26, I was very happy to have a proper cup of coffee instead of a cup of hot gas I tried at the hospital once, out of desperation. In hindsight I feel like it was the wrong beverage for the occasion. We went for a walk. I should have gone to Spyhouse down the block, gotten a nitro cold brew, and been super buzzed and cold. Maybe it would have cost extra, though, which could affect the SPDs. 

I think about mangos differently than most people. To me, mangos are bright and uber-sweet with a borderline custard flavor. No coffee I’ve had, barring the $20 Sey coffee has had something approaching that flavor profile. Stop putting mango in the notes when you mean something else.