Koke Farms new, 2009 crop arrived here in early September. This is coffee from the same farm that won first place in the East African Fine Coffee Association (EAFCA) harvest competition held in February 2007 and third place in the same competition for this current crop year 2008. It will be difficult to keep a particularly distinct Yrgacheffe coffee in our offerings this year due to recent changes within Ethiopia and the development of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange; however, we had pre-arranged for this coffee.
Koke itself is a small district of Yirgacheffe region located a few miles from the northeastern part of Yirgacheffe town; this is the most mountainous area of the Yirgacheffe region and many believe the first Yirgacheffe coffee was grown in this particular area. The elevation is 1800 meters or nearly 6000 feet above sea level. Koke Farms is the name of a washing station owned by Solomon Worku, where the coffee is fermented, dried and milled. Koke is grown under cover of abundant shade trees in rich volcanic soil.
Yrgacheffe is one of our favorite coffees and Koke Farms is an excellent example. Because of the high growing altitude the beans are quite small and the flavors and aroma are very concentrated. Overall, Yrgacheffe coffee is winey and quite intense in acidity and body with some similarities to Yemen Mocha. This is an especially bold coffee, having its own spicy character, from the land in which wild coffee first grew.
Cup Characteristics: Intense citric acidity and spicy, wild character but with subtle layers of flavor.
