Ethiopia Aricha by Smallholder Producers
Tastes: Floral, tea, stone fruits
Variety: Local Landraces
Region: Yirgacheffe
Process: Washed
Altitude: 2000-2200 m
Importer: Apex Coffee Imports
The Aricha area is part of the larger Yirgacheffe region, one of 8 woredas, or districts, that together make up the dense and competitive highland zone of Gedeo. Gedeo itself, though a large and complex producing region for coffee, is often commercially referred to as “Yirgacheffe,” after the Yirga Chefe district whose famed coffee terroir brought visibility to the entire zone. The Aricha station was originally constructed in 2009 and employs a processing staff of about 250 people during harvest months. In addition to traditional fully washed coffees, the station also produces sun-dried naturals. This coffee specifically is sourced from 700 small coffee producers organized around the Kebel Aricha coffee mill where ripe cherries, typical and heirloom are delivered. The coffee is then laid on raised beds for 12 to 15 days depending on the weather.
During harvest, ripe cherries from smallholder farmers are delivered to the station where it gets hand sorted for quality. After sorting, the cherries undergo a period of in-cherry fermentation for 12-15 days.
Hand-sorting and manual rotation of the cherries on the drying bed occurs every few hours during the drying stage to ensure only the highest quality beans remain for exporting. The resulting coffee is incredibly unique and distinguished for its sweet, clean, and bright flavour profile.