Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Honey | Single Origin

Blueberry, Mango, Honey, Herbs

Region | Yirgacheffe

Elevation | 1800 meters

Producer | Smallholder Producers

Variety | Kurume, Dega, Wolisho

Process | Honey

Roast | Light

At the Roastery we call this one, "Koke Honey" for short.

Yirgacheffe is considered by many to be the birthplace of coffee and the coffee trees grown in the region are a naturally occurring mix of heirloom varietals cultivated among other species in coffee gardens and coffee forests. Washed Coffee was introduced to Ethiopia in the 1970’s, and Yirgacheffe was the location of the first wet processing mill.

Literally translated as “Land of Many Springs,” Yirgacheffe has the ideal topography, elevation, and water sources to produce and process exceptional coffees. The climate in Yirgacheffe is warm and temperate. The Yirgacheffe woreda is 409km from Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa and has a population of almost 200,000 people, less than 10% of whom live in cities.

Coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe are typically multi-generational, small-scale landholders, sometimes with only a few acres of land. Most coffees in Yirgacheffe are sold as cherry to centralized washing stations that help further separate flavor profiles.

Coffee grows in red-brown fertile soil under the shade of various trees in the many districts and kebeles of the Gedeo Zone. Coffee there is often referred to as Heirloom varieties, many of which were propagated and distributed to farmers in the last 40 years.

In the southern region of Ethiopia, farmers pick coffee selectively, harvesting only ripe cherries individually by hand. Pickers rotate among the trees every eight to ten days, choosing only the cherries which are at peak ripeness.

Many pickers average approximately 100 to 200 pounds of coffee cherries a day, which will produce 20 to 40 pounds of coffee beans. Each worker’s daily haul is carefully weighed, and each picker is paid on the merit of his or her work. The day’s harvest is then transported to the processing plant.

The Washing Station

This lot of Koke Honey was sourced from a total of around 1200 smallholder farmers from Birbes Kela, Koke, Konga, Wedessa, and Tisho kebeles bring their harvested cherries for processing at the Koke and Birbes Kele washing stations.

The Birbes Kela washing station, located in the Birbes Kela kebele, is owned and operated by Semira Negash. The site was founded in 2020 and operates as a vertically integrated exporting partner Ethiopia. Shortly after opening her washing station, Semira quickly established herself as a producer of high-quality coffees placing 23rd in Ethiopia’s 2021 Cup of Excellence.

Harvested cherries are fermented in-cherry for two days prior to being pulped. The pulped coffee is then dried on raised beds to its optimal humidity.