Offshoot Coffee Aricha

Aricha was grown by smallholder farmers living around the Kabele (town) of Aricha in Gedeo County, Yirgacheffe region.

Most contributing farmers own less than a hectare of land, and they grow coffee simply as a backyard cash crop. Nearly all coffee grown in the region is 100% organic, though not certified, as farmers simply don’t have the money to apply chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.

Aricha mill pays more than the market price for a kilogram of red cherry, and those farmers that bring quality red cherry are paid a cash incentive, ensuring higher-than-average overall quality. Coffee is selectively hand-picked before being delivered to the mill collection points, usually within 5 km of the producers’ homes. Great care is taken upon delivery to separate out any overripe, underripe or damaged beans before consolidating with other lots for the road to the wet mill.

At least once a day, the collected coffee cherry is delivered to the mill,
where it is floated and then delivered to dry on raised beds. Here, it will be thinly spread and regularly turned over the course of several weeks, or until it reaches 12% humidity according to the moisture meter.