Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Coffee Introduction - Washed G1 Coffee from Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Cooperative

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FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Cooperative Washed G1

Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Coop Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Coop

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe, Gedeo Zone

Altitude: 2000-2100m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Natural

Grade: G1

About Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe was originally a small town in Ethiopia, located in the Sidamo administrative region. In ancient times, this town was a wetland—the ancient word "Yirga" means "to settle down," and "Cheffe" means "wetland."

Yirgacheffe is one of the world's highest altitude coffee-growing regions and synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. With an altitude of 1700-2100 meters, it remains cool and foggy year-round with spring-like seasons. The geographical environment and unique cultivation system provide optimal conditions for growing specialty coffee beans.

Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Sidamo. This town is located in the northwest of Sidamo, surrounded by mountains and lakes, making it one of Ethiopia's highest average altitude coffee-growing regions. However, due to its unique flavor profile, it became independent from Sidamo, establishing its own identity and becoming Africa's most renowned coffee region.

Coffee trees in the Yirgacheffe area are mostly grown in farmers' own backyards or intercropped with other crops in their fields. Each household's production is limited, making it typical garden coffee.

The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" we often refer to includes rich jasmine fragrance, lemon or lime citrus aromas, as well as peach, almond sweetness, and tea notes. Yirgacheffe coffee has rich layers, delicate body, charming flavors, and a sweet aftertaste. The phrase "flowers bloom when coffee enters the mouth" is most appropriate, describing the pleasant sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and nasal olfactory cells. Besides the floral aroma, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth, creating a wonderful tactile experience.

Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone Region

Gedeb is a town located below Kochere town, 60 kilometers from Yirgacheffe town, and is a famous specialty coffee bean-producing region in Ethiopia. With an altitude of 1900-2200 meters, much higher than typical Yirgacheffe regions, the high-altitude advantage makes Gedeb an exceptionally suitable area for coffee cultivation. It is gradually emerging as a micro-region. Although in the ECX auction market this town is classified as part of the Kochere region, it holds the same administrative level as Kochere town.

In the specialty coffee industry, it can be distinguished separately from Kochere as a Yirgacheffe sub-region of the same level. This town includes villages such as Worka Sakaro, Halo Bariti, Banko Gotiti, and Banko Dahato that produce coffee.

Banko Gotiti Cooperative

Banko Gotiti Cooperative is located in the Worka region at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe. It was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union YCFCU.

However, with the growing pursuit of traceability for green coffee beans, independent "single-origin regions" were gradually discovered by coffee hunters worldwide. Therefore, in 2012, Banko Gotiti, with about 300 member farmers, independently established the "Banko Gotiti Cooperative."

Banko Gotiti village was one of the first village areas to become independent. Many small farmers were originally members of the Worka Cooperative, so their coffee production skills are unquestionable.

Banko Gotiti Cooperative is known as the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, so it also adopts very traditional processing methods (washed and natural processing).

Natural Processing

The natural processing method at Banko Gotiti Cooperative involves farmers carefully selecting fully ripe coffee cherry fruits during harvest. After being sent to the processing plant, they are directly spread on African raised beds for natural drying for 2-3 weeks. During the natural drying period, workers remove unripe berries and rely on experienced workers to regularly turn the coffee fruits to avoid damage to the green bean flavor during the drying process.

The selection of breathable mesh fabric for the raised beds and the thickness of the exposed berries are also carefully considered. After natural drying is complete, the dried fruit pulp and parchment layer are removed, and the green beans are stored in warehouses until the moisture content drops to 11-12% before export.

Heirloom Varieties

Most Ethiopian varieties are named with this term, mainly because Ethiopia has so many varieties. It's like a natural gene bank for Arabica—on one hand, there are numerous varieties making identification and classification difficult; on the other hand, the Ethiopian government,出于保护考虑, is unwilling or unable to disclose this variety information.

In Ethiopia, most coffee grows in wild or semi-wild states in fields, backyards, or under forests. When the coffee fruits ripen, farmers gather these coffee fruits together for processing. In reality, it's a large mix of many different natural variants. Because these fruits grow under the same terroir, they form similar flavor profiles, which is the fundamental framework of regional coffee flavors. Ethiopia has nearly 2000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1927 native varieties and 128 introduced varieties.

So in terms of appearance alone, Ethiopian coffee varieties are like a "grand view garden" with everything inside—long, short, thin, fat. This is also why we often see that Ethiopian coffee beans are frequently uneven in size.

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