Ethiopia Yirgachaffe Coffee
Yirgacheffe (also spelled Yirgachefe, Yergacheffe, or Yerga Chefe) is a micro-region within the much larger region of Sidama (or Sidomo) in southern Ethiopia. It is widely considered the birthplace of coffee.
We offer Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, picked by hand on a farm in the mountains high above the town of Sidamo. There, the coffee beans are washed, and then soaked up to 72 hours in fermentation tanks. This wet process method produces intensely flavourful beans. Beans treated with this “wet” method will generally have a higher acidity, a cleaner winey or floral flavour, and more of a full body than the beans processed by the dry method.
Dry-processed beans may exhibit slightly nutty or chocolaty qualities, but it tends to be overshadowed by the Yirgacheffe’s robust fruitiness depending on the roast level, and won’t taste as clean as the washed varietals.
Coffee here is farmed by small landholders and the fruit is tendered to local washing stations for processing and subsequent collection by processors. The coffee beans are transported to Addis Ababa for dry milling, sorting and finishing.
This coffee has a floral aroma, smooth-bodied and sweet bright flavour with pronounced lemon notes. The profile of this coffee is unique in the world and is only found in the Sidamo region, with the most intense examples originating in Yirgacheffe.
We roast this coffee medium light to showcase its unique character.
Whatever the brew method, use fresh-roasted and fresh-ground Yirgacheffe to experience the distinct flavours and aromatics of Yirgacheffe. Its floral and citrus profile make Yirgacheffe ideal for cold brew or iced coffee. And if you’re brewing with hot water, be careful not to over-extract the beans or you might lose some of the more delicate fruity flavours. Yirgacheffe brews great in a chemex with a metal filter to allow more oils to pass through. It’s also great brewed as a French Press.
ABOUT COFFEE IN ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia is the original home of the coffee plant, Coffea arabica. It was from this African country that the coffee was initially discovered and cultivated, thus setting into motion a long-standing tradition of both production and consumption. Here, most coffee is still produced by hand, which gives many Ethiopian coffees a taste that has, in many other countries, been lost in time. Coffee has been produced in Ethiopia since at least the 10th Century, and very little about its method of production has changed since then.
Legend has it that coffee was originally discovered by a man named Kaldi, who worked by herding goats sometime around the 9th Century. However the story is anecdotal at best, as there is no written record of it until 1671. In any case, the legend continues on to say that Kaldi began to use coffee as a stimulant when he realised that eating the plant had made his goats unusually alert and energetic.
As coffee accounts for such a large amount of Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Ethiopian Government has invested a large amount of its resources into supporting coffee trade and export. Ethiopia itself owns the trading names of many of its provincial coffees, including Harar, Limu, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, thus allowing only coffees grown and produced in those respective regions to bear the names.
Visit Tibaagan Coffees store to purchase Ethiopia Yirgachaffe Coffee
Our Coffee is Roasted Fresh and Shipped to You Immediately!
