Coffee Description
A delightfully sweet and smooth coffee with tasting notes grape bubblegum, white tea, vanilla syrup.
Roast Level from the Roaster
Refers to the roast level in comparison with other coffees from the roaster
Light/Medium
Variety
Dega
Process
Honey
Region
Yirgacheffe
About Smallholder Producers of Ethiopia
Literally translated as “Land of Many Springs,” Yirgacheffe has the ideal topography,
elevation, and water sources to produce and process exceptional coffees. Yirgacheffe is one
of the woredas, a district like a municipality or county that includes many towns, of the
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. Yirgacheffe is
part of the Gedeo Zone of SNNPR and the Yirgacheffe woreda is bordered to the south by
Kochere, to the west by Oromia Zone, to the north by Wenago, to the east by Bule, and to
the southeast by Gedeb. The Yirgacheffe woreda is 409km from Ethiopia’s capital of Addis
Ababa and has a population of almost 200,000 people, less than 10% of whom live in cities.
Coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe are typically multi-generational, small-scale landholders,
sometimes with only a few acres of land. Most coffees in Yirgacheffe are sold as cherry to
centralized washing stations that help further separate flavor profiles. Many farmers also
grow the subsistence crop enset ventricosum, also known as false banana.
Yirgacheffe is considered by many to be the birthplace of coffee and the coffee trees grown
in the region are a naturally occurring mix of heirloom varietals cultivated among other
species in coffee gardens and coffee forests. Washed Coffee was introduced to Ethiopia in
the 1970’s, and Yirgacheffe was the location of the first wet processing mill.
The climate in Yirgacheffe is warm and temperate. In the winter, there is much less rainfall
than the summer, with an annual average of 1525mm and a difference of 246mm of
precipitation between the wettest and driest months. The average temperature across
Yirgacheffe is 18.4 degrees Celsius.
Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Theory Coffee Roasters
Roasting coffee was originally an escape fantasy/retirement dream for owner Sam LaRobardiere, until roasting equipment and some green coffee basically fell into his lap. Then as a hobby roaster, he began selling at a pop-up for community events and artisan markets, and in 2018 took the leap to open both a roastery and coffee shop.
Over the years, the folks at Theory Coffee Roasters have honed their coffee skills and built strong coffee-sourcing relationships. Along the way, they have had some fun achievements. Theory brought home the gold medal in the highly competitive espresso category at the nation’s largest roasting competition, Golden Bean North America, in 2018. Theory placed top 10 Overall in the Good Food Awards 2019. Shortly after, Theory Competed against 8 other roasters and won the Twitter Headquarter’s Brew-Off competition in 2019 becoming the sole coffee provider for the Twitter HQ in San Francisco. Theory was also included in the Food & Wine Magazine’s 100 Best Coffee Shops in America in 2019. They were also named as one of the top 30 Coffee Roasters in North America in Fresh Cup Magazine. Joel Lohner, roasting and production manager, placed as one of the top 3 in cup tasters at the Coffee Champ competition. Sam LaRobardiere and Joel Lohner both received their Q-Grader license, which is the equivalent to a wine sommelier in the coffee industry.
While Theory is motivated by the great accomplishments of the past, we continue to be even more excited about the future. Our commitment is to continue to bring our beloved customers even more award-winning coffees that are roasted to display the optimal balance of each coffee's best attributes. You can buy with confidence that Theory will deliver the best coffees in the world...right to your doorstep.
