Ethiopia Yirgacheffe GERA Estate Natural

A natural processed Ethiopian that really stands out from the crowd! Notes of cocoa, peach and strawberry abound with a silky texture and twisty complexity. 

Arrival Date: July 8th, 2019

Acidity & Brightness: Moderate acidity, twisty and fruity

Balance & Finish: Complex with a lingering finish

Body & Texture: Medium bodied, silky

Flavors:  Cocoa powder, peach and strawberry

Grade: Grade 3 (Highest grade of natural process)

Processing: Natural processed, 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. This is quickly followed by berry tones and a chocolaty, lingering finish. Complex but in the best kind of way! Expect a silky texture accompanying a medium body. A really fantastic cup that stands above the rest.