What are the characteristics of the Red Cherry Project coffee? Is Yirgacheffe the Red Cherry Project?

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What is Operation Cherry Red?

Operation Cherry Red Project is a project aimed at improving the quality and value of Ethiopian green coffee beans. Since 2007, it has been initiated by Dutch trader Trabocca and local farmers. At the beginning of the harvest season, 100% mature red coffee cherries are hand-picked according to microclimate zones, which means every coffee seed is in a mature, nutrient-rich state. In subsequent years, Operation Cherry Red has successively added drying racks, cherry pulp removers, coffee bean sorters, cupping laboratories and other facilities to the production areas. Therefore, today's Operation Cherry Red coffee beans are already a guarantee of high quality.

SCFCU is a large coffee cooperative union in Ethiopia, currently with about 46 member cooperatives. The entire union is composed of more than 82,000 farmers, making it the second largest coffee cooperative union.

Operation Cherry Red is led by the Dutch company Trabocca, with half of the funding sponsored by the Dutch government. Since 2005, it has cooperated with many small coffee cooperatives, encouraging and assisting producers to improve washed, semi-washed, natural or other experimental processing methods to enhance coffee quality. Before each harvest season, Trabocca invites selected smallholder organizations/producers to participate in producing micro-lot coffee (about 1500 to 3000 kg), with careful hand-picking of 100% ripe red coffee cherries in batches (hence the name Operation Cherry Red).

Trabocca provides financial, equipment, and technical resources to assist farmers, and promises to purchase at favorable prices if the actual quality meets high-specification standards. Therefore, Operation Cherry Red is not only a commercial activity that complies with fair trade regulations, but also a production activity for high-quality coffee, and even more so, an industrial structure reform activity that simultaneously benefits farmers and consumers.

Operation Cherry Red is also a reinforcing approach that makes farms pay more attention to the process of screening and selecting beans. These coffees are relatively more expensive. Operation Cherry Red includes washed, natural, semi-washed, semi-natural, and experimental coffees. The main producing areas include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Bench Maji (Bonga Forest), Lekempti, Kembata, Illubabor, Harar, Limu, and in 2011, the Golocha production area near Harar was added. These all have unique flavors that can fully showcase the characteristics of Ethiopian beans. After receiving the coffee, Trabocca will conduct further selection. Farms that pass the cupping quality tests in both Ethiopian and Dutch offices and meet standards will receive high bonuses. The cupping qualifying score must be above 88 points to become good coffee in Operation Cherry Red. The promoter of Operation Cherry Red, Trabocca, invests all profits earned in recent years into the cooperative farms. Trabocca emphasizes that this is a non-profit project, so the company only uses 4 people including the boss and secretary to execute Operation Cherry Red. Other administrative related matters are supported by the parent company to reduce administrative expenses, with all profits returned to the cooperative farms.

Flavor Profile

Aroma/Flavor: Strawberry, nuts, biscuits, fermented notes, grapes, mango, banana, vanilla, chrysanthemum tea, ripe black tea, chocolate, honey

Acidity: Plum, grapes, sweet orange, red apple acidity, moderate acidity, single malt wine acidity

Complexity & Other: Complex and multi-layered, very clean and fresh, lively with good elasticity, heavy texture when cooled, distinct fermented brandy flavor, persistent aftertaste

Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing parameters: V60/89-91°C/powder-to-water ratio 1:15/extraction time 1 minute 50 seconds

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