Thumbnail Filmstrip of Ethiopia Yrgacheffe Aricha Natural Images
About Ethiopia Yrgacheffe Aricha Natural
Arrived very beginning of March, 2022 in Grainpro. Several months remain before new crop coffees begin to arrive as of March.
This coffee is from a cooperative that was formerly called Misty Valley and was owned by Abdullah Bagersh. Both the cooperative and its owner have large reputations. When the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange was first established in 2008 exporters were not allowed to own mills or farms and so Mr. Bagersh sold this cooperative to Cherab na Betesebu who operates with his family. About 650 family owned farms grow coffee that is processed here, in the Yirgacheffe district of the Gedeo Zone within the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples� Regional State. The Gedeo region is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area.
These local producers deliver ripe coffee cherries to the Aricha mill where cherries are sorted for defects and placed on raised drying beds in thin layers. They are turned every 2 to 3 hours for several days to avoid over-fermentation until properly dried.
This coffee is unusual in that it is exported directly from the washing station by Tadesse Desta Exports.
Starting in 2008 coffee purchasing had to be done through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), which limited what sort of deals
could be done between grower and importer. Regulations relaxed in 2017, allowing
for more direct trades.
This is a natural processed coffee, also known as dry processing, is where the skin and pulp of the coffee cherry are not removed prior to drying. This process takes a much longer time than washed processing, and varies depending on humidity, temperature and amount of sunlight. Cherries are dried on African style raised beds for proper airflow all around and the coffee itself must be frequently turned. When the desired moisture content is achieved (15 to 20 days depending on the weather), the dried cherries are milled down to the internal seed or bean. The sweet, fruity mucillage of the cherry penetrates the inner beans during this process, leaving a very noticeable fruitiness that can range from mild to extreme.
- Regional State: Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region
- Zone: Gedeo
- Woreda (District): Yirgacheffe
- Kebele (Village): Aricha
- Altitude: 1950-2150 Meters above sea level
- Coffee Variety: Ethiopia heirloom - JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) Cultivars, and indigenous landraces
- Processing: Natural
- Harvest: October-January
Cup Characteristics: Flavors of tropical fruit, notably mango and other dried fruit such as apricaot and peach. Fruit intensity is mid range.
Roasting Notes: We stopped this roast about a minute past first crack and it seemed ideal - second crack had not yet started. Natural processed coffees tend to roast faster than washed coffees, so plan your roast accordingly. On a Behmor a P2 or P3 would work well.