Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Cupping Score of 88!

Taste: Yirgacheffe is a town in the Sidama region and coffees from this region will surprise you with their intense floral and citrus notes. We like to think of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffes as the “Tabasco” of the coffees. As a dash of Tabasco will turn an ordinary chicken soup into a great cup of soup, an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe will take a medium cup to a whole new level. Many folks like it straight, and we love to use it to add zip to a blend with one of the “big classics” like a Colombian microlot.

Roast: As with most Ethiopian beans, a lighter roast – especially when using in a blend – imparts the brightness and sparkle many roasters and coffee drinkers desire.  However, this particular Yirgacheffe holds up well to a Medium (City Roast) and even Medium/Dark (Full City) when you’re thinking of brewing as a single origin.  In any case the roast is best stopped before 2nd crack.

For more roasting information, check out: Ethiopian coffee: a roasters guide

About: This coffee comes from our washing-station partners at Aricha, which is in the kebele, or village, of Edido, in the woreda, or district, of Yirgacheffe, in the Yirgacheffe region. Aricha is among the micro-regions whose coffee is dynamic, almost tropical-tasting, with a juicy fruit base and a sugary, floral sweetness.

Aside from its near-legendary status as the “birthplace” of Arabica coffee, there is much to love about Ethiopia as a producing nation, including the incredible diversity of flavor and character that exists among micro-regions, specifically within the southwestern Gedeo Zone of Yirgacheffe within the region of Sidama—areas whose names alone conjure thoughts of the finest coffees in the world. Coffee was literally made to thrive in the lush environment Yirgacheffe’s forests provide, developing nuanced floral characteristics, articulate sweetness and sparkling acidity.

Until recently, coffee grown by smallholders and co-ops in Ethiopia were required to be sold through the ECX, where lots were classified by general region, quality (Grade 1–5), and escaped of most of their traceability. In March of 2017, the prime minister of Ethiopia approved a reform allowing cooperatively owned washing stations to export their coffee directly, which allows for separation of top coffee lots, higher prices for farmers, and increased recognition for the best quality coffees in Ethiopia.

Greater traceability allows us to buy more directly from the same washing stations year in and year out, and opens the potential for partnerships on a more micro level, with individual farmers or smaller groups within a community, to select out special lots.

The Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) is a second-level cooperative comprising 28 smaller groups, representing over 39,000 smallholder farmers in Yirgacheffe. Coffees are delivered in parchment to the various affiliated washing stations, where they are fermented underwater for 24–72 hours depending on the elevation of the site. The seeds are dried on raised beds for one to two weeks.

This washing station is run by the Dumerso cooperative, which has 403 participating farmer members. They farm on a total of 550 hectares, and were certified FTO in 2003.

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