Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Aricha

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and still produces some of the world's best and most varied. Yirgacheffe is a beautiful and intense example from this amazing country.

Our Ethiopian Natural Yirgacheffe Aricha GP coffee comes from the Kebel Aricha coffee mill owned by Surafel Birhanu. Between 650 and 700 small coffee farmers produce this coffee in the Gedeo Zone, Yirgacheffe district, approximately 4 kilometers west of the town of Yirgacheffe.

The Gedeo Zone is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. These small coffee farmers deliver ripe cherries to Kebel Aricha mill where the cherries are sorted and then placed on raised drying beds in thin layers. The cherries are turned every 2 to 3 hours in the first few days to avoid over-fermentation and mold growth. Depending on weather, 4 to 6 weeks later the beans are de-hulled and transported in parchment to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to be milled and bagged prior to export. This Ethiopian Natural Yirgacheffe Aricha GP coffee was exported through the  ECX (Ethiopian Commodity Exchange) system and was classified by the ECX Central Liquoring Unit as a Grade 1 natural coffee. 

Read more about this coffee as well as tasting notes in our Coffee Spotlight on our blog here.