Home of the Yirgacheffe name, on the eastern escarpment of the Highlands, with cups described as jasmine, bergamot and tea-like.
Gedeo is a zone of Ethiopia's South Ethiopia Regional State, an exclave on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands covering about 1,211 km² at 1,268-2,993 m, with Dilla as its administrative center. Yirgacheffe is a town in Gedeo and a trademarked coffee name that Ethiopia owns. Roaster guides give roughly 1,700-2,200 m for Yirgacheffe coffee, mostly washed, and describe jasmine, bergamot, citrus and a tea-like body.
Field notes
- i
Yirgacheffe is a town in Gedeo, and the Yirgacheffe name is a trademark owned by Ethiopia.
- ii
The Gedeo Cultural Landscape was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.
- iii
In the Gedeo Cultural Landscape, coffee and enset are grown together under mature native trees, across land that runs from about 1,307 to 3,072 m.
- iv
The Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union formed in 2002, and Aramo, one of its member cooperatives, was established back in 1976.
- v
The town of Yirgachefe, seat of the woreda that shares its name, sits at about 1,880-1,919 m.
In the cup, according to guides
- FloralOften notedGuides describe jasmine and bergamot aromatics and vibrant floral notes for Yirgacheffe.
- Tea likeOften notedA tea-like body is described for Yirgacheffe.
- AcidityMoreGuides describe bright, complex acidity for Yirgacheffe.
- CitrusOften notedAn exporter lists lemon and bergamot for washed Yirgacheffe, and a cooperative lot is described with orange and lemon notes.
- BerryOften notedOne exporter describes natural Yirgacheffe lots with blueberry and strawberry notes.
Within Gedeo (Yirgacheffe)
Varietals
Elsewhere in Ethiopia
Sources · 11 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10.
- Gedeo Zone · Wikipedia
- Coffee production in Ethiopia · Wikipedia
- Guide to Ethiopian Green Coffee Origins · Ethio Coffee (exporter)
- Ethiopian Coffee: Taste, Growing Regions, Production, and Brewing · Colipse Coffee
- Yirgacheffe coffee: origin page · Ethio Coffee Import and Export PLC (Ethiopian exporter)
- Ethiopia Yirgacheffe YCFCU Aramo G2 · Inter-American Coffee
- Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia (Konga cooperative) · Union Roasted
- Gedeo Cultural Landscape · Wikipedia
- Irgachefe (Yirgachefe) · Wikipedia
- Wolisho (cultivar page) · Inheritance Coffee
- Varieties Glossary · Sucafina