Yaye Spontaneous Ferment

Yaye Spontaneous Ferment

Botanical & Hoppy, Pineapple, Vanilla
$26

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Arbegona, Sidama Zone

Variety

Heirloom Varietals No. 74110 & 74158

Altitude

2000-2200 meters

Processing

Washed / Spontaneous Fermentation

Highlights

This coffee is pretty wild. The processing is completely unique, and the variety in seed size is huge. It's been an exciting challenge in the roaster and the flavors we are extracting are out of this world.

Ethiopian floral highs are embellished with some unique botanical flavors like spruce and juniper berry. Expect some delicate pineapple-like notes right up front, too. We'd suggest giving this 8 to 10 days after roast to brew — these super dense tiny seeds need time to rest.

Brewing

Pour over

View Brew Guides

Story

Yaye is a brand new milling site in Sidama, operated in partnership between its owner, Mr. Faysel Abdosh, and the Catalyst Trade team (our friends and sourcing partners).

Yaye is located in the district of Arbegona — it hosts some of the highest coffee elevations in the country. This is strikingly apparent in this coffee's tiny seeds. The slow maturation from that high elevation and cooler climate add a huge amount of dense peaberries to the harvest, creating even more complexity in the cup.

But the most impactful step in the coffee's journey is fermentation. Catalyst has honed in on really nuanced, on-site techniques that help to amplify and sweeten an already sparking, floral Ethiopian profile. At Yaye they worked with the miller to fermented the coffee much like a lambic-style old world ale. The seeds get exposed to the full scope of wild yeasts & microbes off the Ethiopian air, which amplify fermentation and boost the coffee's natural flavor.