Pour-over Brewing Parameters for Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Washed Woka Landrace Specialty Coffee Beans

Pour-over washed Worka: use 15g of coffee at a medium-fine grind size (setting 3.5 on a Fuji ghost-tooth grinder), a V60 dripper, and water at 90-92°C. Pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to halfway, pour slowly up to 225g in total and discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15; extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Worka G1

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Worka

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Processing Station: Worka Cooperative

Flavor: Lemon, kumquat, white grape juice

Yirgacheffe is itself a small town of roughly 20,000 people. Three neighboring micro-regions — Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya — produce coffee so similar in flavor that they are classified under the Yirgacheffe name as well. Culturally and geographically, Yirgacheffe sits close to the Sidamo region, but it seems uniquely blessed by natural conditions. Top-grade Yirgacheffe is famous for its floral character, bright citrus acidity, lemon-toned aromatics, and a silky-smooth mouthfeel.

Unlike the traditionally natural-processed Harar region, natural Yirgacheffe is relatively uncommon. As home to Ethiopia's very first washed processing station, the region is best known to enthusiasts for its elegant lemon and citrus character, particularly in its washed coffees.

Washed coffees rarely show wild, funky traits; they tend to be pure and refreshing, which suits light roasts perfectly. This washed Ethiopian lot reaches the top G1 grade, meaning very few defects.

Introduction

This coffee comes from a single farm in Ethiopia, processed through the Worka Cooperative — the Alemayehu Alako Farm is one of its members.

The Worka Cooperative sits in the southern part of Gedeb district. It was established in 2005 and joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) that same year, building a reputation for high-quality washed Yirgacheffe. Around 300 coffee farmers belong to the cooperative. The YCFCU itself was founded in 2002 and now counts 26 other member cooperatives, representing more than 45,000 coffee farmers.

Flavor: Distinct floral notes; both the dry and wet aroma are rich with citrus. The front of the palate brings lemon, kumquat, white grape juice, and other layered flavors, while the middle and back showcase lush citrus sweetness and a soda-like brightness — a distinct personality that genuinely stands out, rare and exceptional.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

New to Ethiopian coffee? Start with FrontStreet Coffee's classic washed Yirgacheffe house coffee — beloved for its white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and tea-like finish, all at a friendly price that has made it many people's very first specialty bean. For something one step up, FrontStreet's washed Worka/Gotinga Cooperative lot from the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe carries the same traditional washed craft with no bitter edge: clean, luminous citrus and lemon acidity wrapped in jasmine fragrance.

To brew Yirgacheffe at home, FrontStreet suggests a V60 with 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, water at 90-91°C, and a grind about the size of fine caster sugar (80% passing a #20 sieve). Pour 30g of water and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour to about 125g on the scale within the first minute; once the water drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed, add the final 100g up to roughly 225g, finishing the pour around 1:35. Let it draw down fully by 2:00-2:10, then lift the dripper.