What is the Red Cherry Project? How should Yirgacheffe coffee be brewed?

Introduction to Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia, sitting at an altitude of 1700-2100 meters, which makes it one of the highest coffee-growing regions in the world and a byword for Ethiopia's premium specialty coffee. Lake Turkana, Lake Abaya, and Lake Chamo bring abundant moisture to the area.

Unique Terroir

In the rift valley, best represented by the Misty Valley, fog hangs in the air all year. With spring-like seasons, gentle breezes, and cool, humid conditions, thousands of coffee trees thrive and multiply, building the terroir behind FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe -- a place where floral and fruity notes intertwine in an ever-changing, mysterious harmony.

The History of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe's coffee trees were originally cultivated by European monks, not unlike Belgian monks growing grain to brew beer, and later passed to farmers and cooperatives. Trees are scattered naturally through forests, fields, and backyards. During harvest, the Ethiopia Coffee Trading Company would come to town to buy the beans farmers had collected, and the coffee was eventually exported under the "Yirgacheffe" brand through auction.

About Operation Cherry Red

Many coffee drinkers have heard the name "Operation Cherry Red." Far fewer can explain what the project actually involves.

To help Ethiopian farmers earn a better income and raise local living standards, in 2007 a Dutch trader named Trabocca, together with local farmers, launched the OPERATION CHERRY RED PROJECT. The project was purely about motivating farmers to improve bean quality. At the start of the harvest season, Trabocca would set harvest plans by microclimate zone, with 100% of the cherries picked by hand at full ripeness, in production runs of roughly 1500 to 3000 kilograms.

In 2008 the project invested $5000 in new sun-drying racks. In 2009 it put in another $8000 for more drying racks and shade nets. In 2010 it bought a $9000 generator, and in 2011 it invested $10000 to improve some of the local coffee transport roads, making haulage more convenient and efficient. Trabocca also provided interest-free loans for new cherry depulpers and bean sorters. To make supplier purchasing easier, $14000 was invested in 2012 to build a high-quality coffee cupping laboratory in Addis Ababa.

Trabocca supplies financial loan support, new equipment, and production knowledge and technical assistance to help farmers raise their game. It promises to buy at generous prices as long as the actual output meets the cupping standards set in both the Addis Ababa and Amsterdam cupping rooms. The passing grade Trabocca sets is 88 points.

Once processing is finished at origin, Operation Cherry Red beans are immediately packed in separate plastic inner bags (GrainPro bags) or vacuum-sealed boxes, then transported to Djibouti to await shipment. Through real-time monitoring, safe transport, and timely, appropriate processing, the project pursues near-perfect quality. Roasters can also buy high-quality beans through Operation Cherry Red, which lifts Ethiopian coffee quality and earns better prices; Trabocca can then return profits to farmers, continuously improving and enhancing quality.

Operation Cherry Red is also a way of pushing farms to invest more effort in selecting and sorting. These coffees command relatively higher prices. The project covers washed, natural, semi-washed, semi-natural, and experimental coffees. Its main producing regions include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Bonga Forest, Lekempti, Kembata, Illubabor, Harrar, and Limu, and in 2011 the Golocha producing area near Harrar was added. All of these regions produce coffees with distinctive flavors that fully showcase Ethiopian character. After receiving the coffee, Trabocca selects further. Farms that pass cupping-quality tests in both the Ethiopian and Dutch offices, and meet the standards, receive substantial bonuses. Coffee must score above 88 points to qualify as Operation Cherry Red premium coffee. Trabocca invests all the profits it has earned in recent years back into cooperative farms. Trabocca emphasizes that this is a non-profit project, which is why it runs Operation Cherry Red with only 4 people, including the owner and secretary, while other administrative work is supported by the parent company to keep overhead down -- and all profits go back to the cooperative farms.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yirgacheffe is where Red Cherry coffees really come into their own, and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry is the natural-process counterpart to the classic washed lot. Made only from fully ripe whole cherries, dried in the sun for three to five weeks with the fruit still attached, it keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit: citrus acidity, berry-juice body, honey sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

If you would rather start with the washed side of Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the everyday lot that introduced a lot of drinkers to specialty coffee. White jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like body, at an accessible price. For a village-level washed reference, look for FrontStreet Coffee's Gudingding cooperative from the Worka area, washed in the traditional way, with citrus, lemon, and jasmine and no bitter edge.

To brew Yirgacheffe well, FrontStreet Coffee suggests a V60 at 90-91C, 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, and a grind with an 80% pass rate through the China standard #20 sieve -- roughly fine caster sugar. Pour 30g for a 30-second bloom, then add 95g (about 125g on the scale) by the one-minute mark. When the water level falls to two-thirds of the bed, add the remaining 100g (about 225g on the scale) by about 1:35. Drawdown finishes in 2:00-2:10, and then you can lift out the dripper.