Why do Ethiopia Uraga coffee beans taste so distinctive?
Ethiopia, one of the main coffee producing countries, keeps splitting out regions and cooperatives whose flavors stand apart. Uraga is a case in point: it sits in Guji, next to Shakiso and close to Yirgacheffe's Gedeb region, and was long sold as Yirgacheffe until ECX Announcement No. 1051 in 2017 allowed independent trade.
The lot in question won the washed group of the 2020 TOH competition, showing citrus and green tea notes. Its background helps explain the cup: where is coffee from originally matters less than how geography and separation shape flavor, as Yirgacheffe did when it left Sidama and Gedeb did when it left Worka. A comparison with the Gedeb Cooperative rounds out the analysis.
Front Street Coffee recently launched a highly anticipated coffee bean—the champion of the 2020 TOH washed group, produced in the Uraga region of Ethiopia. This bean impresses with its fresh flavors of citrus and green tea. The Uraga region is geographically close to Yirgacheffe and was often sold under the name Yirgacheffe until the ECX issued Announcement No. 1051 in 2017, after which it could be traded independently and gradually emerged. This article will introduce the region's background, the meaning of the TOH competition, the processing details of the champion batch, and the cup profile, and will also conduct a horizontal comparison with the Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative to give you a comprehensive understanding of the unique charm of this champion coffee.
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Introduction
Among the coffees recently launched by Front Street Coffee, the most impressive is a 2020 TOH washed group champion—a washed coffee bean from the Uraga region of Ethiopia, whose citrus and green tea flavors are delightful.
Before launching it, Front Street Coffee had heard a little about the "Uraga region." Ethiopia is a magical coffee-producing country. In addition to having more than a thousand coffee varieties, it also has many small regions and cooperatives that are not yet well known. As the most important coffee-producing country, Ethiopia places great importance on coffee quality. Whenever the flavor of certain regions is very distinct, it separates those regions.
The most representative example is the well-known Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe originally belonged to Sidama, but because its flavor was too distinct, it was established separately. In addition to regions, the same is true for cooperatives. The Gedeb Cooperative in Yirgacheffe originally belonged to the Worka Cooperative, but later it was also separated out because of its refined flavor. Such examples will become more and more common in Ethiopia.
Where is the Uraga region?
The Uraga region is part of the Guji region. To the southeast of the Uraga region is the Shakiso region, and to the west is the Gedeb region of Yirgacheffe, so the Uraga region is geographically very close to Yirgacheffe. In addition, the Ethiopia Commodities Exchange (ECX) has restrictions on coffee exports, so coffee cherries from the Uraga region are trucked to Yirgacheffe and, like Kochere in earlier years, sold under the name Yirgacheffe coffee, because Yirgacheffe has a greater reputation and a higher price, allowing coffee farmers in the Uraga region to obtain higher returns.
Perhaps long ago, we had already drunk coffee from the Uraga region—under the name Yirgacheffe. However, in 2017, the ECX issued Announcement No. 1051. This new regulation relaxed restrictions on coffee exports—traceable specialty coffee in small quantities "again" could be traded directly. This announcement benefited regions like Uraga that produce excellent coffee. As the saying goes, "Gold will always shine," and the gold that is the Uraga region has finally been able to shine.
This time, the highlight moment for the Uraga region came from winning the washed group championship in TOH. What is TOH? The full name of "TOH" is "East Africa Taste of Harvest Competition." It is a green coffee cupping competition initiated by the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) and held by 12 African coffee-producing countries, similar to the international Cup of Excellence (COE) green coffee competition.
In the TOH competition process, the preliminary round first eliminates batches scoring below 80 in cupping, gradually selecting the highest-quality green coffee from each region to enter the national-level competition. Then domestic and international judges together cup and score them using standards based on the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and the highest scorer is the annual national champion.
This TOH washed group champion Uraga stood out this year with 89.8 points. It was washed at the Sela Gajaba washing station, located 12 kilometers outside Uraga town and one of the best processing stations in the Uraga region. The processing procedures at the station are almost entirely completed indoors, thereby minimizing the chance of coffee beans being contaminated.
During cupping, this coffee bean has a delightful citrus character, with berry, pomelo, and green tea flavors combined. As it cools, it carries slight jasmine, lemon, and green tea notes.
What is the difference between Uraga coffee and Yirgacheffe coffee?
We just mentioned that coffee from the Uraga region used to be sold under the name Yirgacheffe. Because it won the TOH championship, its fame rose and it became familiar to everyone. So what is the difference between Yirgacheffe coffee and Uraga coffee?
Front Street selected a Gedeb Cooperative from the Yirgacheffe region for a horizontal comparison with the Uraga region. The two were ground and placed into cupping bowls, steeped and extracted for 4 minutes, and then the crust was broken and they were slurped and cupped separately.
After slurping and comparing, the washed coffee from the Gedeb Cooperative had obvious yellow peach, citrus, black tea, and other notes, while the TOH champion washed Uraga coffee had flavors of citrus, pomelo, and green tea. The main tone of both is actually somewhat similar, with a flavor profile of fruit plus tea.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
