ETHIOPIA pineapple ∙ cantaloupe ∙ strawberry
Despite all the difficulties with
the Ethiopian naturals of 2016,
Aricha has managed to come out with a clean, sweet coffee full of rich, fruity flavours.
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016 will not be noted for great dry-processed coffees in Ethiopia. During the months-long cuppings we did not meet any truly outstanding coffee. Following the harvest, most coffees have lost their richness or have developed unwanted flavours and faults. Luckily, we came upon a sample of Aricha, and even upon taking the first sip of it, we all felt that we had found what we had been looking for. Ethiopia has always been the country of extraordinary coffees. Ethiopian coffees can be instantly recognized on blind cuppings because of their distinctive flavour made up of the several hundreds of indigenous arabica coffees grown wild in various micro-climates. 95% of Ethiopia’s 300 000 tonnes of coffee export is supplied by more than a million small farmers. The rest is grown by an increasing number of private and state-owned farms. The Birhanu family manages two processing stations: Aricha in Yirgacheffe (previously known as Misty Valley) and Dumerso, which is also famous
for its outstanding coffees. The farms lie at the altitude of 1950-2000 metres, the red, volcanic soil is rich in minerals, and the temperate climate is ideal. During each harvest, six to seven hundred small farmers sell their beans to Aricha. The processing station not only buys the freshly picked cherries, but it also deals with the sale of the processed coffee. Upon picking, the cherries are sorted straightaway and are spread out on elevated African drying beds. The drying lasts for 4-6 weeks depending on the weather. To prevent over-fermentation and molding, the cherries are raked and turned every few hours. The approximately one month drying process is followed by pulping. The clean beans are then transported to Addis Abeba, where they are sorted again and hulled, during which process the parchment layer is removed from the beans. The polished beans are then packed into jute bags and are sold through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange. Aricha was harvested in January, 2016.
Our coffees taste the best when extracted with water of the proper hardness* range. In order to highlight the best flavour of our roasts we recommend having 5 to 10 days of resting period after roasting, but consume within two weeks of opening. Enjoy!
* Total hardness: 50 –175 ppm CaCO3 (2.9–9.8 °d), ppm CaCO3 (2.2–4.2 °d), pH: 6.5-8.0.
alkalinity/buffer: 40 –75 (The SCAE Water Chart)
photo by The Coffee Shrub
ARICHA