Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gedeb Zelelu Ararso Organic Natural

This year's crop from the distinctive Gedeb district of Yirgacheffe has been extremely competitive, but a few coffees stand out among the crowd. This single farm Grade 1 offering from Zelelu Ararso is chock full of blueberry and blackberry syrup with a touch of grape and bittersweet chocolate. 

Acidity & Brightness: Moderate acidity, super juicy and sweet

Balance & Finish: Complex with a lingering chocolatey finish

Body & Texture: Full bodied and syrupy

Flavors: Blueberry, blackberry, grape and bittersweet chocolate

Grade: Grade 1, grown at 1800-2100 masl

Processing: Natural (dry) processed, sun dried on raised beds

Grower: Zelelu Ararso

Region: Gedeb District, Gedeo (Yirgacheffe) Zone

Certifications: Organic

Varietals: Indigenous heirloom cultivars

Roasting: Start at City (light) or just in to a rolling first crack and go a bit darker as desired. We find it best not to go any darker than Full City (Medium, after the end of first crack) and most folks will prefer a City + or at the tail end of first crack.

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

Review: "Zelelu Ararso, at 58 years, is a returning participant farmer and an important figure in the Single Farmer Lots Program. This year we’re thrilled to have a naturally processed lot, fully sundried by the Addis Ketema cooperative, of which Zelelu is a member. Addis Ketema, and Zelelu’s home, are found in the Wenago district of the coveted Gedeo Zone. Zelelu is an accomplished individual, even by the standards of Gedeo, whose dense farming and processing landscape has a reputation for competitive farmers. He has earned model farming awards at local and state levels for working with the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) to pioneer single farmer exports; the efforts of which helped like-minded farmers throughout Yirgacheffe’s union achieve direct sale and see their coffees priced and roasted with just about unprecedented transparency." - Royal Coffee

The Gedeo region, also known by it's largest city, Yirgacheffe, has become one of the most competitive coffee markets in the world. Throw a rock in Gedeo and you'll hit a world class coffee farm. But every harvest a few farmers manage to eek out ahead of the competition. And in this season, Zelelu Ararso's crop was simply stellar. It's everything you want from a natural processed Yirgacheffe: bursting with blueberry and blackberry sweetness, accompanied by red grape and bittersweet chocolate. What really stuck out to me was how syrupy it was, almost jammy. It's uncommon to find a Yirgacheffe with this much mouthfeel!