Ethiopia Yirgacheffe GERA Estate Grade 1

A washed Ethiopian that really stands out from the crowd! Notes of lemongrass, honey and floral tones blend with a mellow body for spectacular balance.

Arrival Date: October 27th, 2017

Acidity & Brightness: Moderate acidity, mellow and sweet

Balance & Finish: Good balance and clean finish

Body & Texture: Medium bodied, silky

Flavors:  Lemongrass, honey and floral tones

Grade: Grade 1 (Highest grade of washed Ethiopian coffee)

Processing: Full Washed, hand-picked, sun dried

Varietals: Heirloom

Roasting: Start at City + (light-medium) and go a bit darker as desired. We find it best not to go any darker than Full City (Medium) and in fact you could go as light as city (light) to bring out more acidity and brightness. 

Reminder! This coffee is raw and must be roasted before brewing

Our Review:

The GERA estate is a co-op located in the Djimma (sometimes called Jimma or Djimmah) highlands of Ethiopia. Though previously only known for lower quality coffee, the co-op recently made the decision to get into the good stuff and boy did they go all out. Though not yet organic certified, the farmers do not use any chemical fertilizers or insecticides and make a point of using sustainable farming practices. Their current priority is improving the working and living conditions of their employees and employee's families while also focusing on producing high quality coffee and implementing good agricultural practices. The co-op even provides its employees with housing, schools for children, potable water, healthcare and recreational facilities all at no charge. Great coffee doing great things, what more can you ask for?

The "Grade" of this coffee is an interesting thing. Ethiopian coffee used to only come in grades 2 and 4, signifying wet processed or dry processed respectively. These grades had no bearing on the quality of the cup, just the processing method used. Since the creation of the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange, the graders and cuppers decided to create two additional grades in order to seperate coffees with higher quality green coffee processing methods such as uniformity of bean size and amount of bean defects. Thus they created the higher grades 1 and 3 for wet and dry processing respectively. It should be noted, however, that this is only a reflection of higher quality processing and has no bearing on the quality of the cup.

So what does that mean for us roasters? It means we should find that higher grade Ethiopian roasts more evenly and consistently, which is absolutely the case with this coffee. It is the most evenly roasting Ethiopian coffee we've ever seen! While that doesn't always improve the quality of the cup, it ensures that we get a consistent roast without some beans being at one roast and some beans being at a different one. This doesn't always guarantee the cup will be better than a less evenly roasted grade 2, but there's something to be said for "eating with the eyes first!" 

On to what we think: holy cow this coffee is good! The first sip tastes like biting into a Georgia peach. It's so sweet, you'll think you've added sugar. Early in the cup, we got a bright, but not crisp finish which didn't linger very long. There's a floral undertone with subtle notes of lemongrass and honey. The flavors are very well balanced and the body is moderate and mellow. This Ethiopian is so different from the Harrars Sidamos and Yirgacheffes we get in, and were pleasantly suprised to have a whole new Ethiopian experience! While there are similarities, this coffee stands up with a unique profile all its own.