Yirgacheffe
The most recognized name in Ethiopian coffee, and more precisely a set of woredas in the Gedeo Zone rather than a single place.
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Typical elevation
- 1,800 to 2,300 masl
- Harvest
- November to January
Yirgacheffe is the best known name in Ethiopian coffee and one of the least precise. Strictly it's a town and a woreda in the Gedeo Zone, but the name on a bag usually covers a wider set of neighbouring woredas, Gedeb and Kochere among them, whose coffee the trade has long sold under the Yirgacheffe banner.
What ties them together is altitude and genetics. Most of this coffee grows between 1,800 and 2,300 metres, high enough that cherry ripens slowly and the seed comes off the tree dense. The trees are a mix of local landrace selections and improved varieties released by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center, the 74-series among them.
Almost all of it is grown by smallholders on plots measured in fractions of a hectare, then delivered as cherry to a washing station. The station is the unit of traceability here rather than the farm, which is why an Ethiopian lot is usually named for the site that processed it.
The washed Yirgacheffe profile, citrus and florals over a tea-like body, is what most people mean when they say a coffee tastes Ethiopian. The region's reputation is deserved and it's also why it gets imitated on labels.
What ties them together is altitude and genetics. Most of this coffee grows between 1,800 and 2,300 metres, high enough that cherry ripens slowly and the seed comes off the tree dense. The trees are a mix of local landrace selections and improved varieties released by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center, the 74-series among them.
Almost all of it is grown by smallholders on plots measured in fractions of a hectare, then delivered as cherry to a washing station. The station is the unit of traceability here rather than the farm, which is why an Ethiopian lot is usually named for the site that processed it.
The washed Yirgacheffe profile, citrus and florals over a tea-like body, is what most people mean when they say a coffee tastes Ethiopian. The region's reputation is deserved and it's also why it gets imitated on labels.
