A new chapter in Ethiopian boutique coffee-the way to the west Ethiopian coffee tomoca

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Flavor characteristics of Ethiopian coffee producing area _ Ethiopian Yega Xuefei boutique coffee

While introducing this bean, what we want to share with you is not just a bean, a flavor or a story, we want to join you in a new chapter in Ethiopia, that is, the westward road, especially the rise of Agaro producing areas. Two other key trends that we have been observing and pursuing over the past few years, one is the rise of Guji producing areas, and the other is the development of the single farm system. This year seems to be a year when these two trends blossom and bear fruit. I believe that from this year's flavor and products, we all have a deep feeling. The last trend, which is also the longest and the most difficult to change, must be ploughed deep into the westward path of Ethiopian boutique coffee for each small farmer.

In the coffee world, it is almost a recognized secret that the unique position of Ethiopian coffee comes in large part from the variety advantage of its place of origin, but if the origin of the world coffee (in this case only Arabica) is in Ethiopia, then Ethiopian coffee originated in the southwest, in the Kafa forest or near the border with South Sudan, in short, in the western half. It is not surprising that one of the priorities of the next generation will return to the western producing areas of Ethiopia.

If we trace the context of Ethiopia and the third wave of boutique coffee, we can actually find that before the third wave of boutique coffee, Ethiopia has a place in the coffee industry because of its strong variety and geographical advantages. Sidamo, Yega Schiffe, Hara, Lim and so on are all familiar names. After the beginning of the third wave, many government aid programs (such as USAID) and non-governmental organizations (i.e. NGO, such as the most important TechnoServe) worked together with raw bean merchants and cooked bean merchants. The most important area selected at the beginning was Yega Snow. The Red Cherry Project was also a product of this period, and this region participated in the project's regional cooperatives. (for example, Ediot Co-operative, Waka, Biloya Cooperative, Hofsa Cooperative … As a result, it became famous and blossomed into the establishment of the Yega Chet Coffee small Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), which laid the foundation for the unshakable position of the Yega Chet Coffee producing area in the boutique coffee industry for decades to now. In the initial stage, the development of water washing treatment is still given priority to, because the introduction of foreign technology, especially the cause control of water washing treatment has the most immediate effect, in addition to the improvement of quality, it can also increase the income of small farmers on a large scale. With the introduction of new machines, the education and training of picking ripe red cherries, the floating operation of unripe beans supplemented by water washing, and the variable control of the fermentation tank operation, cleanly treated coffee can be obtained. this can immediately show strong strength in Ethiopia, which has a unique advantage.

In the second stage, if you still remember, around 2006 and 2007, Bagersh was determined to revitalize the traditional tanning treatment method in Ethiopia. The first batch of Idido Misty Valley caused a hot sale, and the series of Aricha, Beloya and Ambassa, which cooperated with NINETYPLUS at the same time, were even more popular. At this point, Yega Xuefen's leadership position is fully established.

While the development of Yega Xuefen has reached a phased task, people with lofty ideals (mainly TechnoServe), with successful experience, look at Ethiopia's vast fertile coffee shrine and finally cross the Great Rift Valley (Rift Valley) to the west. Techno Serve replicates its past successful experience, and mainly makes a lot of changes in the details of the treatment method on the basis of Yega Xuefe. The first step is to improve the quality of washing in the past 10 years or so. In recent years, Nano Challa, Duromina, Yukuro, Hunda Oli and Biftu Gudina are famous cooperatives in Agaro, which is almost a place for European and American buyers to compete.

In the local dialect, Nano Challa refers to a story about the way to become a king of an ancient empire in the Jimma region, so we try to translate it as "the Road of Kings Co-operative". The King's Road Cooperative is arguably the most remote in the Agaro region, where few boutiques from Asia entered the region when we first visited more than two years ago. First of all, you have to take the domestic line to Jimma airport (it takes a whole day to drive, and the road conditions are very poor), then change to a four-wheel drive jeep, which will reach the town center of Agaro for more than an hour to the west. Some well-known cooperatives, such as Duromina and Biftu Gudina, are nearby, and you can get there in about 40 to 50 minutes, but if you want to visit King's Road, you have to travel westward for more than two hours. It is almost as close as the border of Keffa.

As soon as I entered this area, I was immediately melted by the enthusiasm of the residents. I was invited to sit in the office of the cooperative for a long time and entertained me with wild honey and bread. To be honest, I was really afraid to open my mouth at first, but after I tried it, I immediately took one mouthful after another with the TechnoServe technician who took me, and almost ate the whole plate of honey, and from then on. Every time I go to Ethiopia, I have to bring several jars of wild honey back to the company for everyone to share. Of course, the cadres of the cooperative also brought out freshly baked coffee to share with me. As we all know, the coffee ceremony in Ethiopia (Coffee Ceremony) is characterized by fresh baking, grinding and boiling, the appearance of beans is characterized by charred and colorful (visual Dell value of at least 40 @ @), and the highlights in the cup are coke and dregs. It was already the third co-operative trip for the editor to come to the King's Road on this day. I drank a lot on the way. To tell you the truth, it was really hard to give up at first. Unexpectedly, from then on, I became the editor with a good heart. The lemon peel and jasmine scent in the cup directly brought back the emotion of the first taste of the boutique Yega Chefe more than a decade ago, and even had it. Since then, we have worked hard to cultivate this producing area, and that is another story. Until this year, we finally have a chance to introduce, but we still have to choose the batch of Sweet Maria's temporarily this year.

Due to the lack of space, we will share more details of the processing methods of our production areas in the next chapter. No matter what you think of the quality of Yega Chevy over the past few years, please don't forget that before we started promoting the Gucci region and the single Manor system three years ago, there were very few people on the market. Perhaps going back to the west of Arabica's cradle of birth will be one of the answers to Ethiopia's roots, and let's drink coffee and watch.

Introduction to the flavor difference between Ethiopian Yejasuefei and Sidamo coffee beans