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Pour-over Sweet Talk

15g of grounds, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost tooth burr grinder at setting 3.5), a V60 dripper, water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops halfway, then pour slowly until the total reaches 225g. Discard the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Grading System

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

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

Coffee Details

Region: Oromia, Ethiopia

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Altitude: 2000m

Processing Method: Washed

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop

Address: FrontStreet Coffee, 10 Bao'an Qian Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Roast Level: Raw or roasted coffee beans available

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Ethiopia

Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopian Coffee Regions

Ethiopia grows coffee in every imaginable way, from vast wild forests and semi-developed land to traditionally managed small plots and modern plantations. Roughly 50% of the coffee is grown above 1,500 meters. Along these four production modes, Ethiopia divides into nine major coffee regions, including five specialty areas, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limmu, and Kaffa, plus four commercial bean regions, Djimmah, Illubabor, Tepi, and Bebeka. Each region uses either natural or washed processing, and the method shapes the flavor. Today, natural processing accounts for about 80%, washed for about 20%.

Processing Method

This micro-lot is first hand-sorted to 100% red cherries, then pulped with Agared equipment to remove skin and fruit. The beans, still coated in mucilage, ferment for 36 hours in fermentation tanks, followed by 4 hours of soaking. They are then spread on 30 x 1.8 meter drying beds to dry before hulling. After hand sorting to G1 grade, they are packed in GrainPro bags and covered with jute.

The Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the world's coffee homelands. The indigenous Oromo were among the first people anywhere to use coffee as food, dating back to the 5th century AD. Oromia lies roughly between 3°-15° North latitude and 33°-40° longitude. The region is world-renowned for its primitive plant species and biodiversity. This is where coffee was born. For the local Oromo, coffee is more than a drink: it is food, an important part of trade, their stimulant, and a key tool for keeping the peace.

Flavor Profile

Distinct wild ginger and bergamot notes over a black currant undertone. The finish carries a raisin-like sweetness, and the overall profile recalls Earl Grey tea.

Ethiopian Coffee Grading

Ethiopian coffee uses a defect-based grading system similar to Indonesia's, mainly divided into six grades, G1-G6. Ethiopia follows the same approach: the highest grades for washed coffee are G1 and G2, while the highest grades for natural coffee are G1 and G3.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to get to know Ethiopia, FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with the most classic option, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe, known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body. Its accessible price has made it the first specialty bean for many drinkers. Yirgacheffe is a small town in Sidamo, southern Ethiopia, at about 1,700-2,100 meters, with trees planted above 1,800 meters, one of the highest coffee regions in the world. It has been a wetland since ancient times, and its highly recognizable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity turned its name into a shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee; in 2010, its fame grew so great that the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated it from the Sidamo region.

Within the town are many smaller areas and villages, and some skilled cooperatives stand out. The most representative is FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedingding Cooperative. It sits in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe and was once part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe union YCFCU, later recognized worldwide as a distinct single-origin area as buyers chased traceability. Following the most traditional washed processing, it is often called the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, and it carries no traditional bitterness, just clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance. For a natural alternative, FrontStreet Coffee's sun-dried Red Cherry uses only fully ripe, sound cherries, dried on raised beds for three to five weeks with turning every 2-3 hours early on so the fruit dries evenly and never over-ferments, giving classic Yirgacheffe character with tropical fruit, berry-juice body, honey sweetness, and creamy smoothness.