Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Gedeo Zone of southern Ethiopia. It sits at between 1,700 and 2,200 metres above sea level. That altitude is not incidental — it is the reason the coffee tastes the way it does.
What altitude does to coffee
At higher elevations, temperatures are cooler and cherry development slows. The sugars in the coffee cherry have more time to develop complexity. The result is a more nuanced, layered cup — brighter acidity, more distinct floral and fruit notes, greater clarity.
Yirgacheffe sits high enough to produce coffees with characteristics that are almost impossible to find at lower altitudes: jasmine, bergamot, lemon, black tea. These are not flavours added to the coffee. They develop naturally in the bean.
Washed vs. natural process
Most Yirgacheffe is processed using the washed method — the cherry is removed from the bean before drying. This produces a cleaner, brighter cup that showcases the bean's inherent characteristics without the fruity influence of the cherry.
Washed Yirgacheffe is one of the purest expressions of terroir in all of coffee.
Natural process Yirgacheffe — where the cherry dries on the bean — is less common but produces a dramatically different cup: more body, more fruit, more complexity. Both are worth understanding.