Coffee as a drink is fuel to millions around the globe addicted to its taste and flavour. Each coffee is characteristically distinct by its flavour, aroma and many other factors. So what makes coffee taste good or bad? Where does the flavour really come from? Coffee flavour is distinctively interlinked to quality of coffee.
The quality of green or unroasted coffee beans depends on multiple factors such as climate, soil, and genetics and also influenced by farming techniques, harvesting and post-harvesting processing.
Climate has a direct bearing on coffee growth as temperature and soil moisture is critical to the flowering and ripening of the fruit. Soil makeup contributes to the flavour quotient by virtue of its water retaining capacity and its chemical (mineral) composition.
Other factors such as elevation, light levels and quality of light also matters (e.g.ultra violet (UV) light).It is important to note that for Ethiopian Arabica coffee, both climate and genetic identity are tightly linked to location. While it may be difficult to attribute a flavour to any specific coffee area, the slight differences or even identification of a particular coffee area can be sensed by an experienced coffee taster (cuppers).
There is an obvious distinction in flavour profiles between areas on the east (e.g. Sidamo, Bale, and Harar) and west (e.g. Limu, Kaffa, Wellega) of the Rift valley. Sidamo coffee for example, demonstrate bolder flavour with more markedly fruity notes compared to the coffee from the western side.
In general, Ethiopian Arabica coffee stands out from other regional coffee variants due to their more complex flavour profiles. In addition to the above factors, harvesting and post-harvest processing also have substantial influence on the taste and quality of Arabica coffee.
Kerchanshe Trading is one of the top coffee exporters in Ethiopia. The best of our coffee beans are sourced from Yergachefe, Lekempti, Gimbi, Djimma and Sidamo, names that epitomises fine Arabica coffee. To know more coffee stories sip in to our website.