Yirgacheffe Natural Process Aricha Coffee Origin Guide | How to Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee

Pour-over natural processed Yirgacheffe Aricha: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost tooth grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 90-92°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half before continuing, pouring slowly up to 225g. Discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Originally, Yirgacheffe's coffee trees were cultivated by European monks (much like Belgian monks growing grain to brew beer) and later taken over by farmers and cooperatives. Yirgacheffe is really a collection of surrounding coffee communities and cooperatives — Idido near Misty Valley, Harfusa, Hama, and Biroya among them — nearly all using washed processing, though small amounts of premium beans are deliberately natural processed to heighten the captivating fruit aroma and body. These mountain villages sit wrapped in mist, spring-like all year: summer breezes are cool but not hot, rains frequent but not humid, and winters never bring frost. The result is a distinctive regional flavor of citrus and florals. The trees are mostly planted in farmers' backyards or intercropped with other crops in small plots, each household producing only a small quantity — classic garden coffee. Nearly all the award-winning Yirgacheffe lots come from these villages and communities.

Processing Method: Natural

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Aricha G1

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo

Altitude: 1900-2100 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Producer: Kebel Aricha

Flavor: Light fermented wine aroma, sweet orange, spices, honey sweetness

About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Champion, started a green bean sourcing project called Project Origin three years ago with his business team at ONA Coffee. The project works directly with coffee farmers in poorer countries and regions, improving their production conditions and paying them prices 20% higher than fair trade.

The project also aims to strengthen the connection between roasters and farmers and to guide growers toward cultivating higher-quality beans. So far, Sasa has built relationships with coffee growers in eight countries, including Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

Flavor Description

Light fermented wine aroma, dates, sweet orange notes, dark berries, lychee, starfruit, peach, juicy peach, longan and red date aroma, honey sweetness, cocoa with subtle spices, full body with a persistent aftertaste.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee. Ingredients: In-house roasted. Shelf life: 30 days. Net weight: 227g. Packaging: Bulk. Taste: Acidic coffee beans. Roast level: Roasted coffee beans. Sugar content: Sugar-free. Origin: Ethiopia. Coffee type: Yirgacheffe. Roast degree: Light roast.

This Yirgacheffe lot was produced at the Kebel Aricha processing station, where roughly 650-700 small coffee farmers deliver ripe cherries for processing in exchange for cash. After selecting usable cherries, the station spreads them directly on raised beds to sun-dry. During the first few days, the cherries are turned every 2-3 hours to prevent over-fermentation. After four to six weeks of natural processing, workers strip the outer pulp mechanically depending on weather and temperature, then the beans travel to Addis Ababa for storage. Natural lots are typically stored in parchment until dehulling just before export, to protect green bean quality. This natural Aricha was rated G1 — the highest grade — by the ECX, with excellent quality in appearance, consistency, and freshness, from dry aroma to flavor. If you love bright acidity and rich berry flavors, do not miss it!

Yirgacheffe Classification by Processing Method

Yirgacheffe divides into two main categories based on green bean processing:

Category A: Washed processing, graded under standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) as Gr-1, Gr-2 — the smaller the Arabic numeral, the higher the grade. G1 washed Yirgacheffe has a distinctive style, with citrus and floral notes woven through the cup — a flavor no one can resist.

Category B: Natural processing, graded Gr-1, Gr-3, Gr-4, Gr-5. Here too the top grade, G1 natural Yirgacheffe, carries the richest fruit aroma. Opening a bag of freshly roasted G1 natural Yirgacheffe can completely overturn your idea of what coffee tastes like. Only those who have tried the highest grade natural Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is a fruit...

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this natural Aricha wins you over, the washed side of Yirgacheffe deserves equal attention. The entry-level FrontStreet Coffee washed Yirgacheffe is the classic daily bean: white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish, at a friendly price that has made it many drinkers' first specialty coffee. The washed Guodingding cooperative lot goes a step further — from the Woka zone at Yirgacheffe's southeastern tip, originally part of the Woka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU), it shows no conventional bitterness at all, just clean, bright citrus-lemon acidity wrapped in jasmine.

For another natural in the same spirit, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry uses only fully ripe, defect-free cherries, sun-dried whole on raised beds and turned every 2-3 hours during the first days to prevent uneven heating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of drying, the dried fruit is hulled and the beans warehoused. Because the fruit dries on the bean, the cup combines classic Yirgacheffe character with tropical natural-process aromatics: citrus acidity, berry juiciness, honey sweetness, and cream-like smoothness.

As for brewing, FrontStreet Coffee's standard Yirgacheffe recipe works beautifully for naturals too: a V60 with water at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind around 80% pass-through on a #20 sieve (fine-sugar size). Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 125g, then top up to 225g when the bed drains to two-thirds — extraction finishes in about 2 minutes to 2 minutes 10 seconds.