Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Where coffee was born

Due to its incredible altitudes of up to 2,200 metres above sea level, and near perfect growing conditions, Ethiopia (alongside Yemen) is known historically as the birthplace of coffee and is where the Arabica plant originates.

The nation treasures the heritage of its coffees to the point that all of the famous regions including Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harrar are trademarked to prevent imitation coffees from entering the market.

As with many coffees from Ethiopia, the Heirloom varietal (named as part of many unknown, but indigenous varietals to the country) in this batch of Yirgacheffe maintains the identifiable notes of the region.

An important economy

Coffee, although not widely consumed in Africa, accounts for 60% of foreign income in Ethiopia, and represents 3% of the coffee market globally.

15 million people in Ethiopia rely on coffee trade in some form, to provide for their livelihood.

Can you taste it?

It’s important to sniff a lot with this coffee, to ensure not to miss the rich florals in the nose, with tea and fruit notes to follow.

Hints of bergamot orange and jasmine lead to a clean finish — lavender has also been mentioned in our cuppings.

A great example of the classic Ethiopian heritage and profile.

Our recommendation

African coffees are known for their brightness and extremely fruity nature, so they are usually preferred in filter or as long black for espresso based drinks.  Due to the delicate floral qualities, we recommend trying this one black so that these are preserved, but of course, there are still many who prefer this type of coffee in milk etc, so to each their own!

Ethiopian coffees are screaming to be consumed via filter though and our recommendation is to try this using the V60 without any stirring to avoid muddling the flavours, and particularly to avoid losing the florals.  Slow, even, spiral pours throughout.

Important!  Due to the super delicate aromatics of this coffee, it’s important to try and consume this quickly off the roast, and we recommend consuming this within the first week to enjoy the full burst of florals.