Ethiopia Mocca Plantation Yirga Cheffe
Ethiopia Mocca Plantation Yirga Cheffe
Farm Description
Yirga Cheffe coffees are a renowned wet-processed type with delicate floral and fruit brightness in the cup. Yirga Cheffe seemed like quite a specific designation several years ago, but times are changing in the coffee world. As small buyers of micro-lots start to travel to coffee origins more, our ability to designate the source of our coffees becomes more specific. And now we have started to find, within the Yirga Cheffe area, special regions with particular cup character. Interestingly, this lot does not represent that type of coffee; it's an old school pooled Yirga Cheffe by Mocca Plantation Company, one that passed through the Ethiopia Coffee Exchange (ECX) so that (sadly) we aren't sure of it's exact origin within the Yirga Cheffe region. However, I thought it was a really, really nice coffee upon cupping it! The fact the ECX has become more of an obstacle than an aid is true, but there are exceptions. After all, really nice lots still exist and go to the exchange, and while we don't know the exact Coop or Private mill it comes from, it's still the same coffee. It just takes a lot of cupping to find them.
Cupping Notes
This is a classic Yirga Cheffe flavor profile. Dry grounds have a distinct ripe orange scent, with floral and honey sweet scents, with a bit of orange tinged caramel in the dry aroma at FC. The wet aromatics are fantastic; honeysuckle blossom, sugar cane, orange and even a zest of crushed spearmint. The cup has a soft, full mouthfeel, and ample sweetness that last and intensifies as the cup cools. It's a surprisingly silky body for a Yirga Cheffe, which can sometimes be a little thin in other lots. Apricot and peach notes emerge, sweet stone fruits, along with the honey and floral notes found in the aromatics. The lightest roasts at City level had a perfect balance between honey, ginger, and lemon; each element supporting the other. At FC, the honey sweetness has more of a light molasses character and works with the ginger as more of a gingerbread cookie, never with too much bite. As it cools, robust jasmine notes come to the foreground, along with sweetened apricot tea. It's a remarkable, aromatic coffee with complex estery high notes, not a powerhouse but a cup that opens up to you. I tested 3 roasts at different levels from City+ to Full City+. You definitely loose some of the subtle fruit and floral aspects at FC+ but it is still quite a sweet cup, with a note of Rue herb and caramel and chocolate cookie sweetness. Every roast was extremely good, so the coffee performs well under a wide range of roasts. It also does incredibly well as an aromatic component in espresso.


Comments
#1 Is this AKA Moplaco?
Is this AKA Moplaco?