A relatively close to home roastery that’s drawing rave reviews on their Yirgacheffe? We’re in! For the first coffee analysis done here on the Sugarwood blog, let’s dive in and see what their coffee has to offer in this Sugar Creek Ethiopian Yirgacheffe review.
About Sugar Creek
Sugar Creek Coffee Roasters is located a short drive from downtown Charlotte, North Carolina in a suburb called Indian Trail.
The crew at Sugar Creek got started with their own roastery in 2019. While not explicitly stated, it appears they share space with Sweet Union Brewing, a craft brewery.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe: First Impressions
Upon arrival, I was first struck by the packaging. Along with my coffee, Sugar Creek included a brief hand-written thank you note along with some stickers and swag. The hand written thank you note was a classy touch, a bit surprising, and says a lot about how they do business.
If you know coffee, you know a lot of people consider Ethiopia the birthplace of coffee. Today, the country produces about 200,000 metric tons of coffee each year. So, often just saying a coffee, “is from Ethiopia” doesn’t tell us a whole lot. Here is what Sugar Creek shares about this specific bean:
“The coffee was cultivated by some 650 smallholder farmers in the town and surrounding area of Aricha, Yirgacheffe district. These farmers occupy an average of 2 acres land each at altitudes of between 1,900 & 2,100 meters and deliver coffee cherries to Aricha washing station.”
Sugar Creek Coffee Roasters
But how is the coffee?
At first glance of the coffee itself, there are no obvious issues with the beans from Sugar Creek. I’m seeing a fairly uniform, milk-chocolate brown hue, which is what I’d consider quite standard for a Yirgacheffe. Doing a deeper dive, there was some unrecovered coffee chaff that made its way into my bag. Nothing I’d consider significant.
The bag itself is relatively aromatic. Notes of chocolate fill my nose as I inhale from the brown grocery-store bag colored coffee container.
Brew It Up
Mirroring what I imagine most of us normal coffee drinkers do, we get the beans grinding in the Barsetto drip machine at home.
Sugar Creek advertises this blend as presenting notes of chocolate, lime, apricot and coconut.
Drinking the Sugar Creek Ethiopian Yirgacheffe black, my first thought is sour citrus. Perhaps it was their suggestion of lime but my palate is quickly convinced there is truth to that on-bag advertising. The first thing to hit our mouth since toothpaste and water on this day, the lime is undeniable with the first few sips from the mug.
From there, the chocolate sets in. Not super dark chocolate but I wouldn’t classify it as a milk chocolate either. At a higher level, the coffee is what I’d expect – fairly light, bright and one of the few things I would welcome seeing with sleep in my eyes first thing in the morning.
As for that acidity, a quick reading from a pH meter confirms what our mouths already knew. There’s plenty of acidity here, a 4.9 on the meter.
Adding a touch of cream, that velvety addition of the dairy brings a touch more complexity to the experience. Drinking it black, I didn’t pick up much depth to this blend.
Final Thoughts
This is a welcome addition to any coffee drinkers morning rotation. While not life changing, nor incredibly complex, my fear is that I’m missing something due to it being my first cup in the morning. Any complexity might have slipped right past my dulled senses as the sun comes up!
I’ll happily brew another pot of this coffee and expect this first bag that I enjoyed won’t be the last. I score it a 93 out of 100 and would recommend it to any coffee drinker.
