Coffee culture

What are the Top 10 Premium Coffee Beans in the World? What is Ethiopia's Specialty Coffee Red Cherry Project? What are the Coffee Beans like in the Red Cherry Project?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Red, ripe coffee cherries often best express the terroir of coffee-growing regions. To showcase the terroir of coffee from the coffee sanctuary of Ethiopia, in 2007, the Dutch company Trabocca launched the "Operation Cherry Red" project together with local coffee farmers.

The Operation Cherry Red Project

Red, ripe coffee cherries often best express the regional aromatic characteristics of coffee cultivation areas. To showcase the distinctive regional flavors of Ethiopian coffee, the holy land of coffee, the Dutch company Trabocca collaborated with local coffee farmers in 2007 to launch the "Operation Cherry Red Project."

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True to its name, the project involves manually harvesting 100% mature red coffee cherries from designated microclimate zones, with yields ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 kilograms. This represents only the most basic requirement—the harvested coffee cherries must also undergo a series of screenings and evaluations. Coffee beans meeting the standards are auctioned by Trabocca to coffee buyers worldwide, with prices reaching up to four times, or even twenty times, the typical spot market price for coffee.

As a result, local farmers' enthusiasm for coffee cultivation has significantly increased, motivating coffee growers to pay exceptional attention to harvesting and selection processes. As the primary driving force, Trabocca provides farmers with financial support, equipment, and technical assistance, establishing a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship.

Red cherries

Project Impact and Quality Enhancement

In summary, the Operation Cherry Red Project incentivizes farmers' production enthusiasm by increasing purchase prices for green coffee beans, encouraging greater focus on harvesting and processing processes. Coffee beans produced under such conditions demonstrate superior quality and enhanced competitiveness in the market.

FrontStreet Coffee's Featured Selection

FrontStreet Coffee recently introduced a natural-processed coffee from the "Operation Cherry Red Project," produced by the Aletland Estate in Ethiopia. Grown at altitudes between 1,700 and 2,200 meters, the high elevation and significant temperature variations create ideal hydrological conditions that concentrate sugars and aromatic compounds in the coffee beans.

This coffee features flavor notes of berries, strawberry, lemon, and fermented wine aromas. When brewed using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 90°C water temperature, and a V60 conical filter, the berry acidity is exceptionally prominent, with lingering lemon and strawberry aromas in the nasal cavity. As the coffee cools to 60-70°C, sweetness increases and the acidity transforms into something more vibrant and lively.

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