Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Anaerobic

This coffee comes to us from the Aricha area of Yirgacheffe and 1850-2200 MASL. This anaerobic process is a form of fruit-dried/natural-processed coffee using techniques and elements that have gained coffee notoriety in recent years. This process leads to a refined cup with an fruity effervescence, silky tropical pop and some subtle florals that finishes like a scoop of soft serve.

Last year the ECX - Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, which is the governmental entity that oversees the country’s coffee industry - has set pricing “floors” for export of some of these newer and/or experimental processing methods. ECX has done this with smallholder farmers and less robust cooperatives in mind to help them stay on level footing with larger concerns.

From the importer, Ardent Coffee:

ANAEROBIC DRY PROCESSING

Mature cherries are placed inside stainless steel containers along with clean water. We inject nitrous oxide into the tank to quickly remove oxygen which helps slow down the typical rapid breakdown process. Yeast and bacteria contribute to the ferment of cherry sugars and holding a higher thermal temperature maintains this slow ferment for about 60 hours. Our tanks are properly vented to release CO2 and which helps retain great acidity in each profile. The cherries are brought to traditional Ethiopian drying beds, one layer thick, and hand stirred every few hours during sun exposure for the first 5 days. This creates even drying for consistency. The total drying target time is 28-32 days.