Yirgacheffe Washed Woka Flavor Profile & Taste | Yirgacheffe Coffee Varieties and Prices

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Product Information

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qian Street, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: House-roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Loose coffee beans
Roast Level: Raw coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Worka G1

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

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town of about 20,000 people. The three neighboring areas of Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya produce coffee with flavors almost identical to Yirgacheffe, so they too are classified under the Yirgacheffe name. In both culture and geography, Yirgacheffe resembles nearby Sidamo, yet it seems especially blessed with favorable conditions. Top-quality Yirgacheffe features floral notes, bright citrus acidity, lemon-toned aromatics, and a silky mouthfeel.

Brewing Instructions

For a hand-poured washed Worka, use 15 g of coffee ground to a medium-fine setting (Komachi grinder at 3.5) in a V60 dripper, with water at 90-92°C. Begin with a 30 g pour and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105 g and stop, wait until the water level drops halfway, then continue pouring slowly to 225 g total. Avoid the tail end. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, and extraction time is 2:00.

Compared with the traditionally sun-dried Harar region, sun-dried Yirgacheffe is far less common. As the home of Ethiopia's first washing station, Yirgacheffe is known to enthusiasts mainly through its washed coffee, prized for its elegant lemon and citrus character.

Washed coffees rarely show wild characteristics; they are pure and refreshing, which makes them well suited to light roasting. This washed Ethiopian coffee reaches the top G1 grade, which already signals very few defects.

Origin Story

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 is located 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, and it is known for producing high-quality Yirgacheffe. The Worka Cooperative has roughly 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was founded in 2002 and includes 26 other cooperatives, serving more than 45,000 coffee farmers.

Flavor Profile

The floral notes are prominent, and both the dry and wet aromas carry rich citrus scents. The opening presents lemon, kumquat, white grape juice, and other varied flavors. The middle to back of the cup shows a rich citrus sweetness with a full, soda-like quality. This coffee has a distinct personality that stands out, and it is quite rare to come across.

In Ethiopia's grading system, washed Grade 2 and natural Grade 4 are the highest levels, so in the past only Yirgacheffe WP G2 was commonly seen on the market.

Special Notes

Note: Yirgacheffe G1 was a grade specially requested by Mitsubishi from the Ethiopia Coffee & Tea Authority, and it first appeared on the market in 2002-2003. G1 beans are not produced through general screening; they are strictly hand-selected from green beans in the Knoga area of Yirga village, which has the highest altitude and excellent soil. The beans are almost uniform in size, attractive in appearance, and nearly free of defects. After tasting, they express Yirgacheffe's character especially well. Because of the strict process, annual Yirgacheffe G1 output is scarce, averaging around 600 bags.

Most Yirgacheffe coffee is processed by the washed method, fermented in washing tanks for about 72 hours to remove the pulp, then dried directly outside the processing station. The green beans are hand-selected, inspected by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, and exported through competitive bidding. Annual production is about 225,000 bags (60 kg each), previously sold mainly to Northern Europe (chiefly Germany) and Japan, and more recently to North America as well.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you love the bright lemon-citrus clarity of washed Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe range is the ideal place to start. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the classic everyday cup—known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and priced so it can be your first step into specialty coffee.

For a more terroir-specific version, FrontStreet Gedeb comes from the Gedeb cooperative in the Woka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, with a clean washed profile of citrus, lemon, and elegant white florals. If you prefer fruitier sweetness from the same region, FrontStreet Red Cherry is a fully ripe natural lot with berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.