Dhilgee Lot.2 and ECX color wheel
Based in Oslo, the capital of Norway, Nordic Approach is a trading company specializing in green coffee that operates in various coffee-producing countries around the world.
Fuglen Coffee Roasters uses them as one of their sources to buy high quality, great flavored coffee.
I received a new Ethiopian coffee from them at the end of May.
FLAVOR PROFILE
Flavors of citrus and nectarine. sweet aftertaste.
Beyene washing station
Region: Kochere, Gedeo, Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 2100 masl
Picked: 2016-2017
Farmers: About 600 small farmers in the surrounding area
Varietals: Progenitor of Ethiopia.
This coffee comes from the Banco region of Southwest Kochele, Oromia region in southern Ethiopia.
From the coffee brought to the refinery by about 600 small farmers scattered around the Banco area, we use coffee that has been selected only to the highest grade G1 by strict grading work, and then fine Lot from there. We maintain quality control and traceability by separating
Kochere is located under the Yirgacheffe region, which is highly prized for its coffee with bright and complex flavors, and is also known for producing Yirgacheffe coffee.
The Dhilgee we bring you this time is identified and named by the Nordic Approach's own ECX color wheel below. Simply put, this Color Wheel is an effort to distinguish coffee by its flavor rather than by area or refinery. The current color wheel divides washed coffee into 6 patterns and natural into 2 patterns.
Dhilgee is a coffee that falls under the flavor profile of the dark purple part, and the one we purchased is Lot 2 of the more finely divided lots.
A wonderful coffee with a clean mouthfeel, a refreshing and moist sweetness reminiscent of nectarines and dark oranges, and the juiciness of fresh citrus.
Coffee trading in Ethiopia can be divided into three main patterns.
1. Buy directly from agricultural cooperatives called cooperatives or unions (organizations larger than cooperatives)
2. Buy directly from a single farm without going through an ECX auction
3. Buy from regional refineries through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange
Among the Ethiopian coffees we have delivered,
Layo Tiraga, Hunkute, Biftu Gudina, etc.
1. Buy directly from agricultural cooperatives called cooperatives or unions (organizations larger than cooperatives)
purchased in a manner that applies to While these buying instruments cannot reach individual small farmers, they do reach out directly to those who work in refineries and cooperatives. In addition, by continuing to purchase coffee from them, it is possible to see changes in the quality of the harvest each year.
What is the ECX Color Wheel?
3. Buy from regional refineries through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange
This is an initiative related to trading that falls under
Coffee traded through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange is usually classified by area such as Kochere or Yirgachefe, or by refinery and grade (G1, G2, G3, G4, G5). The area is divided into nine major regions together with Yirgachefe, Sidama, Jimma, Harar, Limmu, Kaffa, Tepi, Bebeka and Lekempti.
Although there are well over 100 areas where coffee is actually grown in Ethiopia, auctions through ECX categorize coffee into nine broad areas.
Therefore, even if coffees called Kochere, Yirgachefe, or Sidamo are put up for sale, they will never be the same flavor or quality even in the same area because they are collected while mixing different types of native species harvested from regions under various environments. not.
Under such conditions, it was difficult for the seller to maintain transparency and it was difficult for the buyer to purchase and sell coffee with only the grade and the name of the area with excellent regional characteristics, and the amount of information was small for the buyer.
By using this color wheel, Nordic Approach makes it possible for buyers to understand where the coffee they purchased came from and what flavor it had by converting the reason for choosing and purchasing a specific coffee from among many coffees into information as flavor. We are trying to make the coffee recognizable and bring transparency to the hard-to-follow coffee trade in Ethiopia.
I have written that ECX makes it difficult to maintain transparency in coffee trading, but it is originally an important system to protect people involved in agricultural products in Ethiopia.
The organization, known as the Ethiopian Agricultural Exchange or Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, was launched in 2008 as a state-led protection system to regulate and control agricultural trade. Before the establishment of ECX, Ethiopia did not have an established commodity trading system or a central market. It was very difficult to make a profit through agriculture without being able to know the fluctuations.
Also, except for small transactions within the family, there was almost no connection between sellers and buyers, and only about one-third of the agricultural products actually produced were on the market.
ECX collects and sorts designated agricultural products to be exported overseas, and is working to centrally manage the Ethiopian agricultural product market. By controlling the quality of export products, we also aim to maintain the price of the export products themselves above the appropriate price and stabilize the income of the producers. It also provides farmers with the overseas market prices of their exported crops, encouraging them to know the fair prices of their crops and guaranteeing their profits.
We are also actively introducing and maintaining infrastructure and electronic equipment for accessing market information.
When it comes to coffee, by trading coffee through ECX, countless unknown producers can also add regional brand value to their coffee, depending on how much volume the market needs. Farmers themselves can avoid trading coffee at an unfairly low price because they can also know how much.
Ethiopia produces a lot of coffee with great flavor every year.
Even among African coffees, many people are probably fascinated by the unique gorgeousness and the acidity and sweetness reminiscent of fruits.
For us, Ethiopian coffee always makes us feel that coffee is grown in various places around the world and has great diversity in its character depending on the variety, climate conditions and refining process.
The new initiative of Nordic Approach has increased the number of options for purchasing high-quality coffee while maintaining transparency, which is a very positive thing for us.
It's been a little long, but please try Dhilgee Lot 2.
It may be one of the ways to enjoy it to imagine how coffee is treated in Ethiopia while drinking coffee.
