What Country Is Arabica Coffee From in the Gedeb Case?

The Gotiti Cooperative sits in the Gedeb micro-region at the southern tip of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, and became independent from the Worka Cooperative in 2012. It uses washed and natural processing. Yirgacheffe, once part of Sidamo, sits at 1,700 to 2,100 meters and is known for jasmine aroma, citrus acidity, and a tea-like finish.

Ethiopia is the origin widely associated with arabica, and Yirgacheffe split from Sidamo because of its distinct flavor. The article covers the producing region's history, geography, and varieties, compares washed and natural processing, and explains the roasting curve and brewing parameters used for a natural Gotiti lot.

Yirgacheffe, as the benchmark producing region for Ethiopian specialty coffee, has captured the taste buds of countless coffee lovers with its jasmine aroma, citrus acidity, and tea-like finish. And the Gotiti Cooperative, located in the Gedeb micro-region at the southern tip of Yirgacheffe, has become a rising star of traceable specialty coffee since it became independent from the Worka Cooperative in 2012, using traditional washed and natural processing methods. This article will dissect the complete picture of this bean one by one, from the producing region's history, geographical environment, variety characteristics, and the differences between washed and natural processing, to the roasting curve and brewing parameters of Front Street's natural Gotiti, helping you understand why Gotiti is called another pure land of Yirgacheffe.

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When it comes to coffee with floral and fruity aromas, Front Street first thinks of Front Street Yirgacheffe. Although Front Street Geisha coffee also has floral and fruity notes, when it comes to the concreteness of the aroma, Front Street still believes Front Street Yirgacheffe is superior. Yirgacheffe is a specialty coffee producing region in Ethiopia, originally belonging to Sidamo, but later separated out because of its unique flavor.

| About Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe was originally just a small town in Ethiopia, located within the administrative area of Sidamo Province. This small town has been a wetland since ancient times—in the ancient language, "Yirga" means "to settle down," and "Cheffe" refers to "wetland."

Yirgacheffe is one of the highest-altitude coffee producing regions in the world and is synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. At an altitude of 1,700 to 2,100 meters, it is cool and foggy year-round, like spring in all four seasons. The terrain and unique planting system provide ideal conditions for the growth of specialty coffee beans. Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Sidamo. This small town is located on the northwest side of Sidamo, nestled by mountains and a lake, and is one of the highest average-altitude coffee producing regions in Ethiopia; precisely because of its unique flavor, it was separated from Sidamo and became its own style, becoming Africa's most renowned producing region.

Most coffee trees in the Yirga area are planted in farmers' own backyards or intercropped with other crops in farmland. Each household's output is limited, making it a typical garden coffee.

What we often call the "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to a rich jasmine aroma, lemon or lime acidity, and peach, almond sweetness, and tea aroma. Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee has rich layers, a delicate body, an attractive taste, and a sweet finish. The most fitting description is "coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom," as if flowers are blooming on the taste buds and in the nasal cavity. In addition to the floral aroma, the delicate body is like silk massaging the mouth, with a wonderful tactile sensation.

| Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone Producing Region

Gedeb is a township located below Kochere town, 60 kilometers from Yirgacheffe town, and is a famous specialty coffee producing region in Ethiopia. Its altitude is 1,900 to 2,200 meters, considerably higher than the general Yirga producing region. The advantage of high altitude makes Gedeb a uniquely favored place for coffee cultivation and a micro-region gradually emerging. Although it is classified under the Kochere producing region in the ECX auction market, it is at the same administrative level as Kochere town.

In the specialty coffee world, Gedeb can be distinguished separately from Kochere as a Yirgacheffe sub-region at the same level as Kochere. Villages under this town that produce coffee include Worka Sakaro, Halo Bariti, Banko Gotiti, and Banko Dahato.

When mentioning Yirgacheffe, one must first introduce the way the producing regions here are divided. Under the ECX producing region classification system, Yirgacheffe is mainly divided into four producing regions: Wenago, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, and Gelana Abaya. In terms of administrative areas, the Kochere producing region covers two Woredas, as well as Kochere in the west and Gedeb in the east. In recent years, Gedeb has often been separated out as a micro-region, and the Gotiti Cooperative happens to be located in the Worka Kebele within Gedeb at the southern tip of Yirgacheffe.

The Gotiti Cooperative was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). In 2012 it became independent as the Gotiti Cooperative and currently has more than 300 smallholder members. In the past, those able to export directly from Ethiopia included

(1) The private processing plant system exporting through ECX bidding

(2) The cooperative system

(3) Single estates/farms, but starting in 2018 the ECX system was reformed and no longer concealed the source of coffee lots, and private processing plants could also export directly to buyers. In addition to increasing transparency and traceability, this also allows buyers and sellers to establish closer cooperative relationships. For cooperatives, it may have no impact, or it may further increase competition with private processing plants, but overall this change is undoubtedly another step forward for the specialty coffee industry.

| Gotiti Cooperative

The Gotiti Cooperative is located in the Worka producing area at the southeastern tip of Yirgacheffe. It was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). But as people pursued traceability of green coffee beans, independent "single producing regions" were unearthed one by one by coffee hunters around the world. Thus, in 2012, Gotiti, with about 300 farmer members, became independently established as the "Gotiti Cooperative."

Gotiti village was the earliest village area to become independent. Many small farmers were also members of the original Worka Cooperative, so their coffee production techniques are naturally excellent. The Gotiti Cooperative is called the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, and the green bean processing methods it uses are also very traditional processing methods (washed and natural processing).

| Washed Processing

Ethiopia's washed processing technology was introduced from Central and South America in 1972. The washed processing procedure is complex and cumbersome and requires a large amount of clean water, so its cost is higher than the natural method, and it is also less used in water-scarce African regions.

Washed steps: After coffee cherries are picked, they are placed in water, and the buoyancy of the water is used to pick out underripe fruits. Then a pulper is used to first remove the skin/flesh of the berries, and they are left to rest in a fermentation tank for 18 to 36 hours until the pectin layer decomposes. After fermentation is complete, the parchment beans are scrubbed in channels for 30 to 60 minutes. Through specially made channels and water flow, beans with low density and poor quality can be removed. Then the high-quality coffee beans are drained of water and spread on African raised beds to dry.

Because the flesh is removed before drying, Front Street Yirgacheffe's own inherent aroma is clearer and more transparent, presenting citrus and lemon notes and elegant white floral notes, with an overall bright and delicate flavor. After Yirgacheffe launched washed coffee beans, it leapt to become a representative of the world's specialty coffee producing regions.

| Heirloom

Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way. In fact, it is because there are simply too many varieties in Ethiopia. It is like a natural gene bank of Arabica. On the one hand, there are so many varieties that identification and classification are difficult; on the other hand, out of protection concerns, the Ethiopian government is unwilling and unable to disclose information about these varieties.

In Ethiopia, most coffee grows in a wild or semi-wild state in fields, backyards, or under forests. When the coffee cherries ripen, coffee farmers gather these cherries together for processing, which is actually a grand mix of many different natural variants. Because these cherries all grow under the same terroir, they form a certain similar flavor, which is the basic framework of a coffee producing region's flavor. Ethiopia has recorded nearly 2,000 coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So judging by appearance alone, Ethiopian coffee varieties are a "grand garden" with everything inside—long, short, thin, fat—which is also why we often see uneven sizes in Ethiopian coffee beans.

| Curve Analysis

For beans like Front Street Yirgacheffe, Front Street's roasters often use a light roast to present its floral and fruity notes. For this Front Street natural Gotiti, we still use a low flame to extend the bean's dehydration time.

Roasting machine Yangjia 800N (roasting capacity 300 grams)

Charge when the furnace temperature reaches 175°C, set the damper to 3, and the power to 120; the turning point is at 1'32". When the furnace temperature is 140°C, the power remains unchanged and the damper is opened to 4; at this point the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 166°C the power is lowered to 100, and at 176°C the power is lowered to 80, while the damper remains unchanged.

At 8'28", ugly wrinkles and dark streaks appear on the bean surface, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, you must listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. First crack begins at 9'38". Adjust the damper to 5 (adjust the power very carefully, and do not reduce it so much that there is no cracking sound). After first crack, develop for 1'30" and drop at 193.5°C.

Agtron bean color value 74.6 (upper image), Agtron ground color value 79.8 (lower image), Roast Delta value 5.2.

| Cupping Chart

[Front Street Natural Gotiti] Flavor: tropical fruit, cream, honey, berries, citrus.

| Front Street Brewing Sharing

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative coffee beans

Country: Ethiopia

Producing Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone Producing Region

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing Method: Natural

Grade: G1

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 91°C

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% passing rate on Chinese standard No. 20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Staged extraction

Bloom with 34 grams of water for 36 seconds, then pour in a small stream in circles until 120 grams for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 229 grams and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of blooming.) Extraction time is 2'00".

[Front Street Natural Gotiti] Flavor: The overall mouthfeel is solid, with fermented aroma and tropical fruit relatively prominent. As the temperature changes, berry and cream flavors emerge, and the citrus sweet-and-sour sensation lingering between the teeth and lips is relatively long-lasting.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.