This lot was processed at their Chelelectu mill in the Yirgacheffe region
Chelelectu
Beloya Village
We have been purchasing Ethiopian coffees through Moplaco for four years now, and have grown to trust their buying practices and the quality that they are able to offer, both in coffees they produce themselves, and those they purchase from neighbouring mills. This coffee is from one of Moplaco’s own stations, Chelelectu. The station is located just outside the town of Chelelectu, one of the major centres of the Kochere district. Although in the Kochere ‘Woreda’, coffee produced around Chelelectu is labelled using the designation of neighbouring Yirgacheffe. Although the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), has allowed more and more traceability in recent years, working in Ethiopia as a coffee buyer is still full of confusing anomalies like this. The cherries that this lot is composed of were collected from the village of Beloya, approximately a 15 minute drive north of the station. This natural process lot is showcasing some of the work that has been going on in Ethiopia in recent years, aiming for clean and ripe natural coffees, with much less of the hay-like ‘funk’ than previously. This lot holds on to the floral notes that we value in Yirgacheffe lots, while adding a soft and creamy berry-like base.


Here we find a ripe and soft cup, with florals backed up by soft fruit.
Yirgacheffe
Forest Coffee
In Ethiopia, coffee still grows semi-wild, and in some cases completely wild. Apart from some regions of neighbouring South Sudan, Ethiopia is the only country in which coffee is found growing in this way, due to its status as the genetic birthplace of arabica coffee. This means in many regions, small producers still harvest cherries from wild coffee trees growing in high altitude humid forests, especially around Ethiopia’s famous Great Rift Valley.
There are three categories of forest coffee growing in Ethiopia, Forest Coffee (FC), Semi-Forest Coffee (SFC), and Forest Garden Coffee (FGC), with each having an increasing amount of intervention from coffee producers. Forest coffee makes up a total of approximately 60% of Ethiopia’s yearly output, so this is a hugely important method of production, and part of what makes Ethiopian coffee so unique.
Throughout all of these systems, a much higher level of biodiversity is maintained than in modern coffee production in most of the rest of the world. This is partly due to the forest system, and partly down to the genetic diversity of the coffee plants themselves. There are thousands of so far uncategorised ‘heirloom’ varieties growing in Ethiopia; all descended from wild cross pollination between species derived from the original Arabica trees. This biodiversity leads to hardier coffee plants, which don’t need to be artificially fertilised. This means that 95% of coffee production in Ethiopia is organic, although most small farmers and mills can’t afford to pay for certification, so can’t label their coffee as such. The absence of monoculture in the Ethiopian coffee lands also means plants are much less susceptible to the decimating effects of diseases such as leaf rust that have ripped through other producing countries.
Technical Data
-
Producer
Beloya farmers -
Region
Yirgacheffe -
Altitude
2000 masl -
Varietal
Heirloom -
Process
Natural -
Harvest
December 2020
Natural Process
The natural, or dry process, is the traditional process, going back generations. When accomplished in a controlled and careful manner, dry processed coffees can produce flavour experiences not found in wet processed coffees, deep fruits and florals, normally with heavier mouthfeel and lower acidity. The cherries are first sorted, and then laid out on in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised drying beds. These are almost always used for high quality naturals, as they aid airflow around the coffee as it dries, enabling more even drying.
It is very important that coffees are sorted very carefully early on in the drying process, as all of the cherries quickly turn dark brown, making it impossible to separate under and overripe cherries. The cherries are turned frequently to avoid mold formation or over-fermentation, until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, and the outer cherry layer shrinks and blackens. This process takes between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.
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Thailand
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Thailand
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Have a question?
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Have a question?