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

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Introduction to Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia, situated at an altitude of 1700-2100 meters, making it one of the world's highest-altitude coffee growing regions and synonymous with Ethiopia's premium specialty coffee. Lake Turkana, Lake Abaya, and Lake Chamo bring abundant moisture to this area.

Unique Terroir

In the rift valley, represented by the Misty Valley, fog permeates throughout the year. With spring-like seasons, gentle breezes, and cool, humid conditions, thousands of coffee trees thrive and multiply, cultivating the unique terroir of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe—where distinctive floral and fruity notes intertwine in an ever-changing, mysterious harmony.

The History of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe

Initially, the coffee trees for FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe were cultivated by European monks (somewhat similar to Belgian monks growing grain to brew beer), later transitioning to farmers or cooperatives. Coffee trees naturally scattered throughout forests, fields, and backyards. During harvest seasons, the Ethiopia Coffee Trading Company would come to town to purchase coffee beans collected by farmers, ultimately exporting them under the "Yirgacheffe" brand through auction.

About Operation Cherry Red

When it comes to "Operation Cherry Red," many friends are familiar with this name. However, when it comes to what specific projects Operation Cherry Red entails, only a few can articulate the details.

To enable Ethiopian coffee farmers to obtain better income and improve the living standards of local people, in 2007, a Dutch trader named Trabocca, together with local farmers, initiated the "OPERATION CHERRY RED PROJECT." The project was purely intended to motivate farmers to improve coffee bean quality. At the beginning of the harvest season in producing areas, Trabocca would designate harvest plans for microclimate zones, manually harvesting 100% mature red coffee cherries, with production ranging from approximately 1500 to 3000 kilograms.

In 2008, the Operation Cherry Red project invested $5000 to purchase new sun-drying racks. In 2009, another $8000 was invested for new sun-drying racks and shade nets. In 2010, a $9000 generator was purchased, and in 2011, $10000 was invested to improve some local coffee transportation roads, making coffee transportation more convenient and efficient. Trabocca provided interest-free loans for purchasing new coffee cherry depulpers and coffee bean sorters. To facilitate supplier procurement, $14000 was invested in 2012 to build a high-quality Addis Ababa coffee cupping laboratory.

Trabocca provides financial loan support, new hardware equipment, and production processing knowledge and technical assistance to help farmers improve their production levels. They promise to purchase at generous prices as long as the actual output quality meets cupping standards in both Ethiopian Addis Ababa and Amsterdam cupping rooms. The passing standard set by Trabocca is 88 points.

After processing is completed at the origin, Operation Cherry Red coffee beans are immediately packaged in separate plastic inner bags (GrainPro bags) or vacuum-sealed boxes, then transported to Djibouti to await shipment. Through real-time monitoring, safe transportation, and timely appropriate processing methods, they strive to pursue perfect quality. Roasters can also purchase high-quality coffee beans through Operation Cherry Red, which improves Ethiopia's coffee quality and fetches better prices. Trabocca can then return profits to farmers, continuously improving and enhancing quality.

Operation Cherry Red is also a reinforcement approach that encourages farms to invest more effort in the bean selection and sorting process. These coffees command relatively higher prices. Operation Cherry Red includes washed, natural, semi-washed, semi-natural, and experimental coffees. The main producing regions include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Bonga Forest, Lekempti, Kembata, Illubabor, Harrar, Limu, and in 2011, the Golocha producing area (near Harrar) was added. All these regions produce coffees with unique flavors that fully showcase Ethiopian coffee characteristics. After receiving the coffee, Trabocca conducts further selection. Farms that pass cupping quality tests in both Ethiopian and Dutch offices, meeting standards, receive substantial bonuses. Coffee must score above 88 points to qualify as Operation Cherry Red premium coffee. The promoter of Operation Cherry Red, Trabocca, invests all profits earned in recent years into cooperative farms. Trabocca emphasizes that this is a non-profit project, so the company executes Operation Cherry Red with only 4 people, including the owner and secretary, while other administrative matters are supported by the parent company to reduce administrative expenses, with all profits returned to cooperative farms.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473