December 21

We’ve been fortunate to share many varied origins on our countdown thus far, from a variety of different roasters. Today we’re fortunate to be revisiting an origin, and roaster, as Toasted Espresso take us to the Yirgacheffe growing region of Ethiopia, this time for a naturally processed coffee.

(Words by Toasted Espresso) Ethiopia is frequently cited as the birthplace of coffee, rich in varietal diversity and responsible today for some of the finest specialty coffee in the world. The region this coffee comes from is called Yirgacheffe and is regarded highly for its fruity flavours and complex acidity.

This is a naturally processed coffee. This means the cherries have been harvested and then dried on raised beds in contact with the fruit to create intense fruit flavours and sweetness. This is a superb example of a classic Yirgacheffe natural processed coffee.

The processing was undertaken at the Boji washing station, in Kochere. 

Flavour Notes: Ripe pineapple, strawberry, brown sugar. Low acidty, velvety body.

Varietals: Heirloom Varietals

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1700 - 1900 m

Region: Yirgacheffe

Here’s a spot of origin backstory on Ethiopia from our upcoming internal coffee handbook:

 Home to some of the most fruit forward coffees, Ethiopia’s growing regions of Yirgacheffe & Harrar also produced some of the finest naturals to get the attention of the specialty coffee scene.  Interestingly, all coffee must be traded at auctions in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa unless it is exported directly by the farmer or co-op.

Not sure about you, but we’re excited about the prospect of Toasted Espresso’s coffee handbook.

Grab yourself a bag of today’s coffee here.

Photo credit: John Burton Limited.