What Does Yirgacheffe Natural Woka Taste Like & How to Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee

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Yirgacheffe Worka Washed G1

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Worka Washed

Origin: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Worka
Roast Level: Light Roast
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Local Heirloom
Processing Station: Worka Cooperative
Flavor Notes: Lemon, Kumquat, White Grape Juice

01 | Region Introduction

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia with an altitude of 1,700-2,100 meters, and it has become synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. This area has been wetland since ancient times. In the local language, "Yirga" means "settle down," and "Cheffe" means "wetland." Therefore, Yirgacheffe signifies "let us settle and make a living in this wetland."

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe (Specialty Region): Altitude 1,800-2,000 meters | Garden coffee system

Yirgacheffe is subordinate to the Sidamo region, but due to its unique flavor profile, it has been separated as an individual region.

In addition to the town of Yirgacheffe itself, the region also includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya.

Under Yirgacheffe, there are numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still live difficult lives and lack sufficient capacity to build family-style processing workshops. Therefore, many processing stations emerge to centrally purchase coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, process them, and then sell to green bean dealers.

Coffee trees are mostly planted in farmers' backyards or mixed with other crops in farmland. Each household's yield is limited, making it typical garden coffee. Award-winning Yirgacheffe beans almost always come from the aforementioned coffee villages and communities. The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine fragrance, lemon or lime acidity, as well as peach, almond sweetness, or tea notes. The phrase "coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom" perfectly describes this experience, like flowers stimulating the taste buds and olfactory cells with a comfortable sensation. Besides the floral aromas, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth, creating a wonderful tactile experience. Currently, many coffee chemists have begun studying the microclimate and soil conditions around Yirgacheffe to formulate cultivation equations for specialty coffee.

Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Ethiopia's Sidamo province, located in the northwest of Sidamo, surrounded by mountains and lakes, making it one of Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee-growing regions. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with about 20,000 people. The three neighboring small regions—Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya—produce coffee with flavors almost identical to FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe, so they are also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional category. However, the production methods and flavors here are so outstanding that Ethiopian coffee farmers compete to be proud of their coffee bearing Yirgacheffe flavor characteristics. Thus, it separated from the Sidamo region to become its own distinctive style and also Africa's most renowned coffee region.

02 | Worka Cooperative

FrontStreet Coffee washed Ethiopian coffee can achieve the highest grade G1, which is extremely rare.

This bean 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 was established in 2005 and joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in the same year, known for producing high-quality FrontStreet Coffee natural Yirgacheffe. The Worka Cooperative has about 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was established in 2002 and includes 26 other cooperatives, serving over 45,000 coffee farmers.

Worka is located in the southeasternmost part of Yirgacheffe, in the Gedeb region. In earlier years, this area exported locally produced green coffee beans under the name Worka or had them processed by the Worka Cooperative. However, in the past two to three years, individual single-origin sources have been discovered one by one by coffee hunters worldwide, such as Banko Gotiti, Banko Dadhato, Halo Bariti, etc. Gotiti village was one of the earliest independently separated village areas several years ago. Many individual small farmers were originally members of the Worka Cooperative, so their coffee production skills are naturally excellent.

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

03 | Processing Method

The refined processing method in the Yirgacheffe region is predominantly the washed method. Coffee is placed in washing tanks for about 72 hours to ferment and remove the pulp. Some of the acids produced during the mucilage fermentation process enter the beans. Simultaneously, because there is no pulp and mucilage attached to the parchment during drying, it lacks the characteristic fruitiness of natural-processed coffee, with flavors leaning toward clean and bright, and more noticeable acidity. Drying is done directly outside the factory. After manual selection of green beans, they undergo quality inspection by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and are exported through competitive bidding.

The annual production is approximately 225,000 bags (60kg each), previously mainly sold to Northern Europe (primarily Germany) and Japan, but recently has also gained attention from North America.

Coffee processed using the washed method is less likely to have wild flavors, possessing pure and refreshing characteristics, suitable for light roast levels. This FrontStreet Coffee washed Ethiopian coffee can achieve the highest grade G1, which already indicates very few defects.

04 | Green Bean Analysis

Heirlooms (local native varieties) are a unique designation in Ethiopia, encompassing a wide variety of cultivars including Typica, Mocha, Bourbon, and others. The Kaffa Forest is the cradle of Arabica coffee. The total number of varieties (original or derived) from coffee-producing countries worldwide amounts to only several hundred, while this treasure trove contains tens of thousands of varieties, most of which remain unclassified. Heirlooms are a unique designation in Ethiopia, as if telling the world that its varieties encompass everything, summarized in just one word. The green beans are blue-green in color and relatively uniform in size.

African coffee beans use this defect ratio grading method. Indonesian beans are mainly divided into 6 grades, namely G1~G6. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2; for natural beans, the highest grades are G1 and G3.

What does this mean? As follows:

Washed: Grade-1; Grade-2 (G1 > G2)

Natural: Grade-1 and Grade-3~Grade-5 (G1 > G3 > G4 > G5)

Several points to note:

a) Regardless of washed or natural processing, both have Grade 1, with the condition of "zero" defects and Premium Cup. Whether washed or natural, Grade 1 is the rating for the best of the best in specialty coffee or Cup of Excellence coffee.

b) The lowest grade for natural Yirgacheffe and Sidamo is Grade 4.

c) Beans of the same grade, such as Limu Grade 2, can be good or bad, depending on the exporter's sorting level and investment.

d) Given the current "zero defect" requirement, Grade 1 beans (including both washed and natural) are extremely rare because the processing cost is very high, and very few suppliers are willing to do it.

05 | Brewing Analysis

Three-pour water segmented extraction method

Creates richer layers, clearly distinguishing the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. The method involves increasing water amount each time after blooming, typically pouring water when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the surface of the coffee bed, using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction:

Recommended brewing methods: Siphon, Pour-over

Grind size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 90°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s

Segments: Pour water to 120g, pause, then slowly pour to 225g

That is 30-120-225

Other drip extraction suggestions:

French Press: recommended grind size 3.5-4 / water temperature 86-88°C

AeroPress: recommended grind size 2.5, water temperature 86-88°C

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Heirloom Worka G1 Single Origin Specialty Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee 【Cold Drip Recipe】: FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Worka 30g + FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Black Honey 30g, water-to-coffee ratio 1:10, BG grind 3D (close to cupping grind size).

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Black Honey has orange blossom fragrance, with prominent caramel and cream notes. Adding FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Worka enhances the caramel character and also brings some lemon acidity, making it very refreshing to drink and perfect for a hot summer day.

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