Description
This lot comes from the farm of Mr. Bekele Gemeda, a producer in the small village of Worka that lies about 13 km from the town of Gedeb, in the heart of Yirgacheffe. Bekele owns 6.5 hectares of coffee on one plot and another 3 hectares elsewhere in the same village, he works full time on his farm alongside his children. He is a father of 11 and relies entirely on the income from his coffee, a business that also supports his two elder married sons, who work with him as well. This lot arrives through Single Farmer Project, a traceability effort that started back in 2012 and makes it possible to keep an individual farmer’s coffee separate, something that is still rare in Ethiopia. Bekele was incredibly grateful to see that the care he put into his coffee showed well enough in the cup to have his lot kept on its own.
The cherry is processed at the Halo Beriti washing station, established in 2014, which takes in cherry from around 750 smallholder producers in the Gedeb woreda of the Gedeo zone. Yirgacheffe is famous for its clean, floral, high-acidity profiles, the result of a mild tropical climate with moderate wet and dry seasons and mostly shade-grown coffee in the hands of small producers. The sheer number of microregions and washing stations means every coffee has its own character. This one grows between 1780 and 2100 masl, altitudes that bring density and complexity to the bean.
As for the process, it is a classic Ethiopian washed: cherry is picked ripe and depulped the same day, with a fermentation of 8 to 12 hours in open-air tanks, followed by washing in channels to remove the mucilage. The parchment is then dried on raised beds for 5 to 15 days depending on the weather, with hand sorting along the way. This is a Grade 1 made up of native Ethiopian heirloom varieties, packed in GrainPro, with a moisture of 10.6% and a density of 691.4. Harvest runs from October to January.
Tasting Notes: A very sweet and floral cup with perfume like jasmine aromatics. A lively, juicy acidity with a delicate, almost fruit-like sweetness. Balanced with hints of tea like spice that linger on the tongue. A wonderfully complex cup that hits the nail on the head showcasing the best of Yirgacheffe. The heirloom varietals that create this cup is where those unique florals and citrus accents, that make Ethiopian beans so recognizable, come from. Although we suggest lighter roasting to showcase those overly floral aromatics and tastes, a medium roast is still quite tasty with a sweeter edge, a less noticeable citric component, will really mellow out the floral and bright notes. Brings more body and a rounder, more chocolaty character, while keeping the elegant backbone. Darker roasts burn out the fruity and acidic notes, leaving a more chocolaty and roasty profile with less of the floral complexity that shines at lighter roasts.
Roasting Notes: Got to keep it lighter roasted to see it shine, light roasts pull the best out of this coffee, you can push a little towards a medium roast and still see the uniqueness, but medium to dark, loses its sweet, delicate and overly floral tones. An easy coffee to roast, fairly even roasting with medium chaff levels. Surface color darkens quickly, so watch for the expansion in size to mark 1st crack. In most roasters, you can cool it out 95% of the way through first crack and slightly coast it to a traditional light roast. Too far before first crack ending, you can get a little sour/grassy note but generally with a coffee like this, we would error lighter than darker. If you get too close to second crack you risk losing those floral and fruit tones that are the best part of this lot. It works well at medium roasts if you’re after more body and chocolate, but the darker you go, the more the acidity and jasmine aromatics fade. To highlight the origin, stay in the light to medium-light range.
aturyev2 –
This was my favorite bean that I’ve ordered on Burman this year. I usually roast this one to medium or light-medium.
Dlitfin (verified owner) –
Agreed. Hands down the best coffee I have gotten from Burman this year. Exquisite balanced fruitiness, brightness and complexity. Eithiopian coffee rules.