Yirgacheffe is part of the Sidamo region in southern Ethiopia, but its exquisite washed coffees are so well-known that is has been sub-divided into its own micro-region, which has been trademarked by the Ethiopian government. This steep, green area is both fertile and high- much of the coffee grows at 2,000 metres and above.
At first glance Yirgacheffe's hills look thickly forested, but in fact it is a heavily populated region and the hills are dotted with many dwellings and villages' growing a Garden of coffee. There are approximately 26 cooperatives in the region, representing some 43,794 farmers and around 62,004 hectares of garden coffee. The production is predominantly washed, although a smaller amount of sundried coffees also come out of Yirgacheffe.
