Ethiopia Yirgacheffe G1 Udesa Birie Natural (18 day Fermentation) (2022)

Banana, caramelised pineapple, dark chocolate, cherry
On Sale
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2021/22
Status Spot
Lot Number P8001764-2
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About This Coffee

This grade 1 single-farmer microlot was produced by Udesa Birie, a smallholder farmer from Chekelektu in Kochere, near Yirgacheffe. Udesa's farm sits at 1,896masl and she cultivates the sub-varieties of Kurume, Dega and Welisho, all of which are classified as traditional Ethiopian heirloom varieties.

This lot was naturally processed with an extended 18 day anaerobic cherry fermentation prior to drying.

Origin Ethiopia
Subregion Chelelektu, Yirgacheffe
Harvest Season 2021/22
Producer Type Single Estate
Processing Natural/Dry Processed
Processing Description Natural with extended 18 day 'anaerobic' fermentation
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Ethiopia Heirloom
Coffee Grade ETH CA NAT YIRG G1
Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact

Growing Coffee in Ethiopia 

As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is home to more species of coffee plants than any place on earth, much of it still growing wild, and much of it still undiscovered. All Ethiopian coffee is Arabica and at least 150 varieties are commercially cultivated. Traditionally, these have simply been labelled as “heirloom varietals”; however, this is changing as the Jimma Agricultural Research Center works to identify species.  Although there are a few estates in Ethiopia, 95% of coffee is grown by small land holders in a wide variety of environments, including “coffee forests” where coffee grows wild and is harvested by the local people. All specialty grade Ethiopian Coffee is grown above 4,000 feet and most above 6,000. In the highlands of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, coffee can grow above 7,000 feet. 

History of Coffee in Ethiopia 

Coffee is ancient in Ethiopia, but coffee farming is not. By the end of the 9th Century coffee was actively being cultivated in Ethiopia as food, but probably not as a beverage. It was the Arab world that developed brewing. Even as coffee became an export for Ethiopia in the late 1800’s, Ethiopian coffee was the result of gathering rather than agricultural practices. A hundred years ago, plantations, mostly in Harar, were still the exception, while “Kaffa” coffee from the southwest was still harvested wild. In 1935, William Ukers wrote: “Wild coffee is also known as Kaffa coffee, from one of the districts where it grows most abundantly in a state of nature. The trees grow in such profusion that the possible supply, at a minimum of labor in gathering, is practically unlimited. It is said that in south-western Abyssinia there are immense forests of it that have never been encroached upon except at the outskirts.” 

  • Subregion Chelelektu, Yirgacheffe
  • Producer Type Single Estate
  • Processing Natural/Dry Processed
  • Processing Description Natural with extended 18 day 'anaerobic' fermentation
  • Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Ethiopia Heirloom
  • Min Growing Altitude 1900m
  • On Sale Yes
  • Top Lot No
  • Price Per Kg £9.50
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade ETH CA NAT YIRG G1
  • CTRM Contract Number P8001764-2
  • Region Yirgacheffe
  • Origin Ethiopia
  • Warehouse Vollers Group Uk