Ethiopian Coffee | Single Origin Coffee Beans -- Yirgacheffe Worka Sakaro Mijane Processing Station

Ethiopia Coffee | Single Origin Coffee Bean Recommendation -- Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry

Product Details

Name: Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Worka Sakaro Mijane G1

Region: Worka, Gedeb, Yirgacheffe

Variety: Ethiopian Landrace

Altitude: 1900-2000 meters

Processing Station: Mijane

Processing: Washed

Grade: G1

Flavor: Magnolia blossom, lime, pomelo, flower nectar, lemon, malt sugar, acidic first then sweet, round and juicy

Worka Cooperative

Located in the Gedeb district of southern Ethiopia, Worka Cooperative joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in 2005. It currently has 305 (or 310) smallholder farmers and is considered a small yet elite cooperative within the union. The coffee batches produced here consistently perform impressively. Many of these smallholders are exceptional, such as the well-known Alemu. Coffee trees in this region grow at altitudes between 1650-2700 meters, which is quite high, and the area enjoys abundant rainfall and sufficient sunlight, producing coffee of excellent quality that is widely loved. The cooperative also holds Fair Trade and organic production certifications.

Mijane Washed Processing Station

Established in 2012, the Mijane Washed Processing Station is located near Sakaro in the Gedeb region, close to the Worka Valley. Coffee farmers from this area generally come from the Rudu slopes of the Worka Valley, situated at approximately 2000 meters altitude. In 2016, when Trabocca visited the origin, they met the young and idealistic Daniel Mijane. Moved by his simple philosophy and the high-quality beans he produced, they introduced this coffee.

Operation Cherry Red

Have you ever seen the abbreviation OCR on a coffee bag? It indicates that the beans come from Trabocca's renowned "Operation Cherry Red" programme.

"Cherry Red" does not refer to the flavour, but to the beautiful colour of coffee cherries at their ripest and sweetest moment. Picked at the perfect time by experienced harvesters, these fruits are as sweet and dazzling as rubies.

In 2007, the Dutch trader Trabocca collaborated with Ethiopian coffee farmers to launch the "Operation Cherry Red Project." The primary goal was to incentivise farmers to improve coffee quality while also helping Ethiopian coffee farmers earn better incomes and improve their quality of life, so they could focus more fully on production.

Over the past decade, Trabocca has continuously coached Ethiopian coffee farmers to improve their harvesting and processing techniques. Beyond assisting with the purchase of necessary equipment and providing loans to farmers, their goal is to let farmers focus on improving the quality of the final product. They have also invested significantly in community infrastructure, such as generators and coffee transportation roads, ensuring that carefully processed green beans can be exported smoothly. As long as the coffee reaches Trabocca's cupping standard of 88 points in their Amsterdam cupping laboratory, they buy it at a premium price.

After processing at origin, Operation Cherry Red beans are immediately packaged and shipped to Djibouti to await ocean freight. From origin to cupping, Trabocca demonstrates a commitment to the highest quality, producing better prices and profits, which it returns to farmers, creating a virtuous cycle that steadily improves both coffee quality and the livelihoods of the farmers.

Perhaps because of this dedication, Operation Cherry Red beans have not been squeezed out of the ever-evolving specialty coffee market over the years. Instead, they remain a standard of excellence and a choice with a strong reputation.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. Online services are available at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Worka Sakaro's washed Yirgacheffe is the kind of clean, floral cup that made the region famous, and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe range covers the style from everyday to estate level. For a first step into Ethiopia, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe daily coffee is the classic: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, at a price that has made it the first specialty coffee for many drinkers.

Yirgacheffe (Yirga cheffe) is a small town in the Sidamo province of southern Ethiopia at around 1700-2100 meters, and the coffee trees themselves grow above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. Because its white florals and lemon-citrus acidity are so recognisable, Yirgacheffe became shorthand for a whole style, and in 2010, with the name so well known, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from the Sidamo region officially. Within the town there are many smaller areas and villages, and the Gedingding Cooperative — FrontStreet's washed Gedingding — is one of the best known. Originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the YCFCU, it was later identified as a single-origin lot as buyers chased traceability. Its traditional washed processing gives a clean cup with no bitterness, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and jasmine fragrance.

If you prefer natural processing, FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry is picked from fully ripe fruit only, screened, and dried on raised beds for three to five weeks with turning every 2-3 hours at the start, then machine-depulped and stored. Dried with the fruit still on, it keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit, citrus acidity, a berry-juice body, honey sweetness, and a creamy smoothness. FrontStreet brews Yirgacheffe in a V60 at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind of EK43s setting 10 — fine sugar, about 80% passing a #20 sieve — using three stages: bloom 30g for 30 seconds, pour 95g (about 125g on the scale) over about 1 minute, then once the level drops to two-thirds of the bed pour the remaining 100g (about 225g on the scale) over about 1 minute 35 seconds, finishing the drip at 2:00-2:10.