Yirgacheffe Aricha Coffee - Natural Process Aricha Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee's ARICHA KEBELE

Aricha takes its name from the Aricha kebele in the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia. A village called Aricha kebele lies not far to the east of Yirgacheffe, roughly 8 kilometers from the center of Yirgacheffe town. A kebele is the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia, made up of about 500 households, equivalent to 3,500-4,000 people, or roughly the size of a small community.

Most of the coffee in this area comes from wild varieties in the local native forests and from varieties naturally cultivated by local indigenous people. As a result, the coffee tree varieties here are extremely diverse, with a single batch often containing as many as 20-30 varieties. Because they are harvested from native forests above 1,850 meters in altitude, they cannot be named after an estate and are instead named after the harvesting region, Aricha.

FARM

The farm of owner SHEBRO DUKALE is located in the Kebele village, with 100 hectares of coffee plantation at an altitude of 1,850-2,000 meters. This region holds legendary status for native Arabica varieties and also possesses unique natural advantages. Red-brown clay soil and the natural growing environment nurture coffee cherries that thrive in the lush forests.

In the farm's natural drying process, coffee cherries are selected and placed on drying beds in the sun, turning from red to deep brown over two weeks. After storage, the green coffee beans are extracted while removing all dried fruit skin, pulp, and parchment layers. The advantage of this natural drying method is that it completely isolates the beans from off-flavors caused by contact with soil, while also improving the efficiency of coffee cherry drying and more fully presenting the coffee's original fruit flavors. This work improves the overall cupping quality and consistency after roasting.

After two weeks of drying, this batch of FrontStreet Coffee's Aricha has dried into deep brown fruit skins and is then stored until the flavors mature. Only when the coffee flavors have matured, and just before shipment, are the dried pulp and parchment layers removed together. Then unripe, overripe, and fermented beans are sorted out. These pre-shipment preparations are precisely why FrontStreet Coffee's Aricha achieves G1 grade.

FrontStreet Coffee's natural-processed Aricha (Kebel Aricha) processing plant has been rated as G1, the highest grade by the ECX. From the appearance of the green beans to their consistency, clarity, dry aroma, and flavor, all are quite excellent. If you enjoy bright acidity and rich berry flavors, you absolutely cannot miss this.

FrontStreet Coffee's Aricha is a stunning coffee, with rich flavors that have earned it the reputation of "the ultimate fruit bomb." It features soft citrus aromas and notes of berries and peach, with a smooth, milk-like mouthfeel that also contains lemon and grapefruit acidity. The aftertaste offers rich variation, and floral notes are the ultimate expression of Aricha.

G1 grade means there are only 0-3 defective beans per 300 grams of green coffee beans, while G2 has 4-12 defective beans, and so on. G1 is therefore the highest grade, while G5 is the lowest grade for Ethiopian exports.

Coffee merchant Abdullash Bagersh, missing the traditional natural-processed coffee flavor, improved the natural processing method to enhance flavor and reduce the proportion of defects. He introduced three extremely famous Yirgacheffe natural-processed coffees: "Idido Misty Valley," "Beloya," and "Aricha."

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Aricha, originally named Idido, comes from a renowned coffee processing plant near Yirgacheffe town.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Aricha is a natural process classic, and much of what makes it a "fruit bomb" comes from the fruit left on the bean throughout drying. FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe Red Cherry follows the same idea, picking only fully ripe red cherries and drying them on raised beds for a cup of peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. For a Guji-zone alternative with even more intensity, FrontStreet's natural Huakui dries its Hambella cherries for 21 days on raised beds, yielding a light fermented wine aroma with florals, citrus, and mango, plus honey sweetness and a thick body. And if you want the clean washed side of Yirgacheffe for contrast, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe daily bean delivers jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity.