Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Natural Aricha Arabica Roasted Coffee
| Location/Origin | Ethiopia - Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region, Gedeo, Aricha |
| Altitude | 191950-2150 MSL |
| Variety | Heirloom |
| Preparation | Natural |
| Harvest | November to December |
| Owner / Farm | Boledu CO-OP |
| SCA Cup score and notes | 85.5 Blueberry, Red ripe fruit, Bergamot, Citrus fruit, Caramel. 100% Arabica coffee Medium Roast. |
General tasting notes It's a lot on the red side, with red gummy bear, strawberries, but also blueberry and bergamot notes, quite sweet, round smooth body and mild-medium citric acidity. The aftertaste is indeed caramel like but a bit short.
Boledu means "source" in the local language and combines over 12 years of experience in coffee from both Abyote and Mebrahtu. "We have been producing and exporting both natural and washed high-end traceable qualities in our own washing stations located in the Guji zone, Dimtu Hamblea, Yirgacheffe, Aricha and Gedeb. We also have vertical agreements in Uraga and in Sidamo, collecting quality coffees from different small farmers."
By vertical integration, Mebrahtu means the coffee is sourced directly from the washing stations and not purchased from the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange (ECX). "We prefinance the washing station owners and he agrees to supply us. If I was to get a good coffee at the ECX I wouldn't necessarily be able to do it again in the future. There is no transparency. For consistency, I must have an agreement directly with the washing station. I also have an agronomist there to help prepare the coffees," he explains.
"The farmers we work with have been working with us for a good time. Before the harvest, we train them and explain the standards of cherry collection for specialty coffee and the premiums that come with it. We have a quality supervisor at the washing stations looking into who is bringing good quality and who isn’t. Their job is really important! They know when someone mixes unripe cherries with the ripe ones. Up to 10% unripe is okay and we will sort them at a later stage, but if farmers bring more than that we know we might not work with them until they agree to the standards."
The process
This process takes a much longer time than washed processing, Time varies depending on humidity, temperature and amount of sunlight. Cherries are dried on African raised beds for proper airflow and the coffee itself must be frequently turned. When the desired moisture content is achieved (14 to 21 days depending on the weather), the dried cherries are milled and stored.
All the bags we supply our roasted coffee in include a 1 Way valve for freshness, and Zip Lock so you can easily reseal them to keep the coffee fresh.
Our coffee bags are green - each coffee bag is recyclable, LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) – Recyclable plastic, just place it in your plastic recycling bin.
