At www.thevaultshop.co.uk we love a good brew, it’s how we start every morning, and lets face it, how we punctuate the whole day between calls, orders and packing.

But where does our amazing, artisan coffee come from? Lets check out one of our favourite varieties of coffee from our fab around the world coffee collection www.thevaultshop.co.uk/coffee-tea.

REGION – Yirgacheffe (yirgercheffe) is a microregion within Sidama, Etheopia. Yirgacheffe is an area known for its remote, mountainous and highly elevated landscape, the area  is widely considered the birthplace of coffee. It is well worth venturing outside of your comfort zone of South American blends to give this a try.

FLAVOUR - Yirgacheffe coffee is ranked about the best coffees in the world due to its unique complex aromas and flavours. The flavour of Yirgacheffe coffee is drastically altered by seasonal change, altitude of plants, soil pH and processing. This medium bodied coffee has a very clean taste and high acidity Along with floral and citrus notes it also packs a beautifully fruity punch.  Yirgacheffe coffee is produced form Aribica beans, high quality beans about 5x the price to grow and process of the less complex, more harsh Robusta beans you may be more familiar with.

PROCESSING - Yirgacheffe coffee is also known for predominantly using wet processed beans.  As soon as the beans are harvested the cherrys are put into a tank of water, the ripe beans sink so any of the unripe beans that float can be easily removed from the process. The fleshy part of the ripe cherries is then removed just leaving the bean. The beans are then soaked in water for 1-3 days a process which is partly to thank for the higher acidity of the resulting bean and a cleaner taste of the finished product.  The bean at this point is not very recognisable to the bean we all know and love. The beans are not yet roasted and are green, soft and spongy with a grassy flavour. The flavour comes from the roasting process.

ROASTING - After the beans have been air dried then begins the roasting. The roasting process is perhaps the most complex part of coffee production. The natural flavours of the bean are drastically altered by the temperature and length of roast. Good roasters match the roast to the flavour and type of bean for maximum flavour. Different roasting temperatures and techniques have different names for example you may have heard of “French Roast” or “City Roast”.

GRIND - Finally your beans are ready for grinding. The type of grind can be from fine to extra course depending on its intended use (extra course for cold brewing, medium for drip brewing).

PRODUCT – Although the processes are minimal to produce the finished product, it is surprising how many variables you meet along the process that affect the flavour, acidity and body of the coffee starting with its complex ecosystem and ending with type of grind. We encourage you all to know the origins of your coffee, and try something new!

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