We’re kicking off fall 2020 with a bang! Announcing the November arrival of a whole slew of new Ethiopian coffees. You may recognize one or more from 2019, as they are all entering year two in the VCT lineup.
Ethiopia holds the unique status of being the birthplace of coffee—and the only source for a number of local heirloom varieties. These profiles are unmistakable, and for many roasters they’re irreplaceable too. Check out these four excellent choices that we have for you this season.
Harrar Abebe Natural
It’s no secret that natural Ethiopians have enjoyed a significantly high demand in the last 5-10 years. Some relish the wild, acidic, often blueberry-esque profile of these coffees straight up while others show off their eccentricity as ‘spice’ in a custom blend. Truth be told there’s no wrong way to enjoy Ethiopian coffee.
Our Harrar Abebe Natural is produced by a group of small, Harrar farm holders where the climate is drier and warmer compared to Ethiopia’s southern and western regions. Creating natural process coffees like the Abebe (meaning “Flourishing Flower”) involves the careful raking and rotation of harvested coffee cherries on raised, solar drying beds. Supervisors regularly aerate the cherries, turning them over and exposing each portion of the fruit to sunlight in order to help them uniformly dry (or raisin) onto the coffee bean inside. This process also drastically reduces the chance of possible spoiling. Read More . . .
Kochere Zahra Washed
Our washed Ethiopia Kochere Zahra (meaning “White Flower”) is sourced from independent growers and small farm holders from the village of Kore Beloya and processed by the Kochere Beloya Wash Station, where mill operators meticulously sort through the handpicked local cherries and select only the best red, ripened fruits for washing, pulping and fermentation. Immediately following this process, the coffee is rinsed with clean water and re-soaked before being placed on raised beds for 18 days when the parchment moisture content stabilizes at around 11.5%, the ideal target for temporary storage at an on-site warehouse before being transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export. Read More . . .
Yirgacheffe Aster Natural
Our Yirgacheffe Aster (meaning “Star”) Natural is sourced from independent growers and small farm holders from the Chelchelie village in the Gedeb district (or “woreda”), which is part of the SNNPR (or Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region). Some 596 local farmers supply fresh, coffee cherry to the Worka Chelchelie Wash Station which handles the drying, pulping, washing and processing. Built in 2008, Worka Chelchelie sits on a 12 acre plot and features 12 standardized fermentation tanks and more than 360 drying beds. Mill workers hand select the coffee cherries for processing; over-ripe and under-ripe beans are separated before processing, keeping the focus on final cup quality. Read More . . .
Yirgacheffe Melaku Washed
Our Yirgacheffe Melaku Washed (meaning “Angel”) is a washed and sun dried selection from the birthplace of coffee’s renowned Yirgacheffe region. Like the Aster Natural, it is also sourced from independent growers and small farm holders from the Chelchelie village, and processed by the Worka Chelchelie Wash Station.
The washed process (being different from naturals) has these coffees pulped with fresh water and allowed to naturally ferment for 48 hours in one the 12 available wash/fermentation tanks. Once completed the fermented beans are washed with clean running water, soaked again in clean water, and dried on raised beds for 18 days to about 11.5% moisture content. Read More . . .
Happy Roasting,
Andrew Vournas
President & CEO
What We Have To Offer
To view a full listing of our current coffees please visit our coffee offerings page. For additional info on coffee growing, processing and roasting, please visit our farm-to-cup page.
Visit Us In Thousand Oaks
There’s always an open invitation waiting for you to join us at our cupping table in Thousand Oaks.
Feel free to email us anytime or call to speak with our friendly staff M-F, 8AM – 4:30PM PST about our VCT’s new Ethiopian coffees, what else we have coming in, and how we can help improve your roasting business. 800.761.JAVA
