Organic Fair Trade Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

Organic Fair Trade Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted) Sold in 1 pound (16 oz) increments.

The Arabica coffee plant is believed to be the first species of coffee plant that was cultivated. You may have heard this type of coffee referred to as “Arabian coffee”, or even “Mountain coffee”. It is by far one of the most popular coffee plant varieties grown by more than 60% of the coffee producers in the world. The Arabica coffee plant originates from the “Horn of Africa”, better known as Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the seventh largest producer of coffee in the world. EU, East Asia, and North America are the biggest buyers of Ethiopian coffee.

What is Yirgacheffe Coffee?

Yirgacheffe is a very tiny region of Ethiopia. You will find Yirgacheffe in Sidama in the southern portion of Ethiopia. Yirgacheffe is considered by many to be the place where coffee was born.

For the most part Yirgacheffe coffee has a light to medium body, but there are regions where a full bodied coffee is produced. The most distinctive feature of the Yirgacheffe coffee is the fruity flavor combined with the bright floral aroma.

It is a unique coffee experience when you drink a cup of Yirgacheffe coffee, but some of that unique flavor is the result of the processing of the beans and the elevation level the beans were grown at rather than of the beans themselves.

Wet Processing

When coffee beans are wet processed the coffee cherry that is picked from the plant is washed while the cherry is still moist and fresh. This washing allows the outer skin of and the pulp of the coffee cherry to be separated from the seeds/beans inside.

Once the pulp and skin is washed away from the seeds/beans the beans are allowed to soak in water for somewhere between twenty four and seventy two hours. After they have been soaked the beans are then laid out to dry.

When the coffee beans are processed in this manner the coffee has a higher acidic level than when the beans are processed through a method of dry processing. The higher acidic levels provide the coffee beans with a clarity of flavor and what can only be described as a “clean” taste to the coffee.

Elevation Levels

Arabica coffee is produced in many countries, but the only countries that are truly successful in growing this type of coffee are the ones that have conditions similar to the conditions in Ethiopia. The only countries that produce truly delicious Arabica coffee beans are the ones that have higher elevations to grow the plants in.

In Yirgacheffe the coffee plants are grown at an elevation that is between 5,800 foot and 6,600 foot above sea level. This high elevation produces a harder coffee bean that has more robust and intense flavors than softer coffee beans have.

Tips on Brewing Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Yirgacheffe coffee beans are excellent when they are used in a cold brew coffee because the coffee beans are not over extracted and the fruity flavors can be clearly tasted. It does make excellent coffee when brewed with hot water, just be careful to not brew the beans for too long or the fruity flavors will dissipate.

The expert baristas suggest that you only brew this coffee from freshly ground coffee beans. The sooner that you brew the coffee after the beans are ground the more intense the flavors and the aroma of the coffee will be.

Is all Yirgacheffe Coffee Organic?

Organic coffee beans are grown using the natural fertilization methods and natural insect control methods. The growers do not buy commercially processed fertilizers or pesticides for their crops.

Not all Yirgacheffe coffee is grown in what is considered to be the organic method.

What Exactly is Fair Trade Coffee?

Fair Trade coffee is coffee that is sold at market at what is considered a fair price. Often small farmers and product manufacturers do not receive the same price for their goods when they take them to market. The Fair Trade practice was established to make sure that the small farms and the generally poorer farm workers receive a fair price for their goods and services.

When you buy something that is Fair Trade certified or compliant then you know the people who worked hard to make the item were financially compensated for their services and were not taken advantage of.

Buying Fair Trade items helps you to help the disadvantaged and less privileged people around the world.