Ethiopia Aricha Anaerobic Natural 2019 TOP Competition Natural Process Introduction Anaerobic Natural

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Aricha Anaerobic Natural, 2019 TOP Competition Natural Group

Origin: Ethiopia

Altitude: 1950-2150m

Processing Station: Adorsi

Processing Method: Anaerobic Natural

This coffee is processed at the Adorsi station, which belongs to the Testi company and sits in the Aricha sub-region of the better-known Yirgacheffe town. The coffee is grown by more than 30 smallholder farmers from the Geisi community living around the station. Most of these families have eight or more children, and coffee has been their primary income for generations.

Adorsi chose anaerobic fermentation, which allows multi-dimensional, precise control: carbon dioxide is injected into sealed stainless steel fermentation tanks to drive out oxygen, so fermentation and breakdown happen in an oxygen-free environment. pH, gas composition, humidity, temperature, and even the types and numbers of bacteria involved can all be held steady, preserving more sweetness in the fruit and developing cleaner, more balanced flavors.

Anaerobic fermentation adds nothing extra to the coffee fruit. Instead, through precise multi-dimensional control, it maximizes how much of the fruit's original flavor is preserved and developed. For example:

• Stainless steel containers keep the flavors cleaner.
• Sealed fermentation barrels stop aromatic compounds from volatilizing easily, preserving the coffee's flavors as fully as possible.
• Inside pressurized sealed containers, the seeds absorb more sugars and flavor compounds from the pulp, showing better sweetness and richer flavors.
• Anaerobic fermentation is a lactic acid fermentation, where conventional aerobic fermentation is acetic acid fermentation. That gives the beans rounder acidity with cheese and cream notes, without astringency or the sharp bite of acetic acid.
• In an oxygen-free environment, the breakdown of pulp slows and pH drops more gradually, extending fermentation time, which yields a fuller body and wine-like aromas.

On the results side, this championship batch scored 91 points. Last year's Peony scored 88 points in the same competition, so this year's Adorsi came in 3 points higher.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the rounder acidity and wine-like aromas of this anaerobic natural appeal to you, two FrontStreet Yirgacheffe coffees make a good next step. FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry is a full-ripe natural processed in the classic way, keeping the Yirgacheffe identity while adding tropical fruit, citrus acidity, a berry-juice texture, honey sweetness, and a creamy smoothness — the closest everyday match to the profile above. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe shows the region's other side, with white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like body. FrontStreet brews Yirgacheffe in a V60 at 90-91°C with 15g of coffee at 1:15 and a fine-sugar grind (about an 80% pass-through on a #20 standard sieve, EK43s setting 10): 30 grams to bloom for 30 seconds, 95 grams to reach about 125 grams, then the remaining 100 grams to about 225 grams, finishing in 2:00-2:10.