YCFCU Premium Coffee Raw Beans Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Dama Cooperative G2 Grade Green Beans

FrontStreet Coffee Bean Details:

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G2
Region: Dama Village, Yirgacheffe Area
Altitude: 1800-2200 meters
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Local Heirloom
Producer: Dama Cooperative
Flavor: Lemon peel, black tea, dried longan, floral notes

Ethiopia has eight main coffee producing regions: Ekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe sits in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia, an area that also covers the well-known Yirgacheffe and Kochere districts. Because its flavor is so distinctive and so widely loved, Yirgacheffe has carved out a category of its own in the specialty market worldwide and continues to hold a significant position.

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in Sidama province, with three neighboring small producing areas: Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya. Coffee from these areas tastes so close to Yirgacheffe and runs so parallel to it that Kochere is classified within the Yirgacheffe regional category as well. In November 2009, Ethiopia implemented a new trading and grading system, establishing the Commodity Exchange (ECX), through which coffee and other agricultural products are publicly auctioned by an official institution. Alongside Yirgacheffe, three sub-regions were recognized: Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya — a sign that the flavors of these areas are refined enough to be subdivided further.

Since the ECX system was implemented in 2008, most green coffee has been sold through the auction. Cooperatives, however, are not bound by that rule: they can negotiate, price and export directly with buyers.

Dama Cooperative

Dama Cooperative is one of the 26 member cooperatives of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (YCFCU). YCFCU represents more than 50,000 coffee farmers belonging to over 300,000 families. It was established in June 2002, and all 26 member cooperatives are located in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia, a very important and well-known coffee-producing area.

Dama Cooperative counts 1,728 male and 237 female smallholder coffee-farming families, all in the Yirgacheffe producing area. It was founded in 1979 and joined the YCFCU union in 2002. These smallholders farm an average of less than 4 hectares each, at cultivation altitudes of roughly 1800-2200 meters, growing mainly a mix of Typica and local Heirloom varieties.

Every one to two years, cooperative members hold elections to choose an executive committee. That committee decides on purchasing new equipment, exchanging business information among members and setting payment methods for transactions. YCFCU also assigns professional managers to the cooperatives to advise on harvesting and production, helping raise yields and improve quality.

Cooperatives let the farmers under their umbrella avoid being exploited by buyers offering low prices, and they can extend loan assistance when members hit hard times. The benefits to both farmers and coffee production are considerable.

This Batch's Flavor Profile

This lot of FrontStreet Coffee's Dama Cooperative is a washed batch. Flavor characteristics: lemon peel, black tea, dried longan and floral notes, with kumquat and a sweet, smooth finish. The fruit acidity has distinct layers, the mouthfeel carries a range of fruit and floral flavors, and the aftertaste is sweet and lingering.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a clean, washed Ethiopian cup is what you are after, FrontStreet Coffee's house Yirgacheffe is the place to start. It is the classic introduction to the region — white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body — and its friendly price is exactly why so many drinkers treat it as their first specialty coffee. Bright citrus and lemon acidity with a tea-like body make it easy to see why the washed Yirgacheffe style became a benchmark.

For a more village-specific expression of the same region, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedeb Cooperative is the one to try. Gedeb began life as part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe union before being farmed out as a single-origin lot, and it keeps the traditional washed method: no bitter edge, just fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity alongside jasmine fragrance. If you prefer the fruitier side of Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee's Sun-Dried Red Cherry is processed as whole ripe cherries on raised beds, and it layers citrus acidity, a berry-juice quality, honeyed sweetness and a creamy smoothness on top of the region's signature profile.

Brew any of these as a pour-over in a V60 with water at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee and a 1:15 ratio, grinding to an EK43s setting of 10 — about the texture of fine sugar, or 80% passing a #20 sieve. FrontStreet Coffee's routine is a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then pour to 95g on the scale (about 125g total) over roughly a minute, and once the water level drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed add the remaining 100g to reach about 225g, finishing the pour around 1:35. Drawdown should complete in 2:00-2:10; lift the dripper and the cup is ready.