Yirgacheffe Washed Woka Pour-over Brewing Data and How to Drink Yirgacheffe Washed Woka

Hand-poured washed Worka: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth blade setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 90-92C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Introduction to Natural Process Yirgacheffe

Compared with the traditionally natural-processed Harar region, natural-processed Yirgacheffe is not as common. As the home of Ethiopia's first washing station, the region is better known to enthusiasts for its washed Yirgacheffe, renowned for its elegant lemon and citrus character.

Coffee processed by the washing method is less likely to carry wild flavors, holding a pure and refreshing quality that suits light roasts. This washed Ethiopian coffee can reach the highest Grade 1 level, meaning very few defects.

Coffee Origin

This coffee comes from a single farm in Ethiopia, processed by the Worka Cooperative. Alemayehu Alako Farm is a member of the Worka Cooperative.

The Worka Cooperative sits in the southern part of Gedeb district, established in 2005 and joining the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) the same year. It is known for producing high-quality natural-processed Yirgacheffe coffee. The Worka Cooperative has approximately 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was established in 2002 and includes 26 other cooperatives, serving over 45,000 coffee farmers.

Flavor Profile

Distinct floral aromatics, with intense citrus notes in both the dry and wet aroma. The front reveals lemon, kumquat, white grape juice, and varied flavors. The middle to back sections show rich citrus sweetness with a soda-like richness. A distinctive personality, prominent, and quite rare to find.

Ethiopian Coffee Grading System

In Ethiopia's grading system, washed Grade 2 and natural-processed Grade 4 are the highest levels, so traditionally only Yirgacheffe WP G2 was available on the market.

Note: Yirgacheffe G1 was a special grade requested by Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation from the Ethiopia Coffee & Tea Authority, first appearing on the market in 2002-03. G1 beans are not produced by regular screening but are hand-selected from the highest-altitude, excellent-soil Knoga area of Yirga village. The raw beans are nearly uniform in size, quite beautiful in appearance, and almost free of defects. Once tasted, they express Yirgacheffe's character even better. Because of the strict process, Yirgacheffe G1's annual production is scarce, averaging about 600 bags.

Yirgacheffe is processed predominantly by the washed method, fermented in washing tanks for about 72 hours to remove the pulp, then dried directly outside the facility. After manual selection of the raw beans, they pass quality inspection by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and are exported through competitive bidding. Annual production is about 225,000 bags (60kg each), traditionally sold mainly to Northern Europe (primarily Germany) and Japan, and recently drawing attention from North America as well.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee
Ingredients: Self-roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Degree: Light roast

Coffee Details

Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Worka G1

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Worka
Roast Level: Light roast
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Local native varieties
Processing Station: Worka Cooperative
Flavor Notes: Lemon, kumquat, white grape juice

About Yirgacheffe Region

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town of about 20,000 people. Three adjacent small producing regions, Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya, grow coffee with flavors nearly identical to Yirgacheffe, so they too are classified within the Yirgacheffe regional category. Yirgacheffe resembles neighboring Sidamo in both culture and geography, but it seems especially favored with exceptional conditions. Top-quality Yirgacheffe coffee features floral aromatics, bright citrus fruit acidity, lemon-toned notes, and a silky-smooth mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yirgacheffe (Yirga cheffe) is a small town in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia. Altitudes across the area run roughly 1700-2100 meters, and the coffee trees are planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. This has been wetland since ancient times, and in the old language Yirgacheffe stands for a highly recognizable white florality with lemon-citrus acidity, so recognizable that it became shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee. In 2010, because the Yirgacheffe name had grown so powerful, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from the Sidamo region, which is how the Yirgacheffe coffee so well known today came to be.

If you are new to Ethiopian coffee, start with FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe, the classic everyday cup. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and its friendly price has made it the first specialty bean for countless drinkers. Pour-over suits it especially well, though it is also good as cold brew or espresso.

For something more distinctive, try FrontStreet Coffee's naturally processed Red Cherry. It uses a whole-cherry natural method in which only fully ripe, sound cherries are picked; after a first round of sorting at the mill they go straight onto raised beds to dry. For the first few days the cherries are turned every 2-3 hours to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation, and after 3-5 weeks of sun-drying the outer fruit is removed by machine and the beans move into storage. Because the fruit dries on the seed, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining the tropical fruit of natural processing: citrus-like acidity, a juicy berry body, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

FrontStreet's recommended brewing recipe for Yirgacheffe: use a V60 dripper at 90-91C with 15 g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, ground to EK43s setting 10, or roughly fine granulated sugar (about 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Bloom with 30 g of water for 30 seconds, then pour 95 g (about 125 g on the scale), finishing around the one-minute mark; when the water drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 g (about 225 g on the scale), finishing around 1:35. Drawdown completes at about 2:00-2:10 and the brew is ready.