How is the Market for Yirgacheffe Washed Aricha Coffee Beans - Which Yirgacheffe Coffee Brand is Best

In washed processing, the beans with remaining pulp and mucilage enter the fermentation stage, where microorganisms in the water or air break the mucilage down. Once fermentation is complete, the beans with their inner parchment are sent through washing channels to be thoroughly cleaned. After washing comes drying, during which the moisture content is kept at approximately 12%. The beans are then packed into jute bags and left to rest for 2-3 months to stabilize their quality. Finally, the inner parchment is removed and the coffee is ready for sale.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Aricha G1 Washed

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Yirgacheffe Gediyo

Altitude: 1900-2100 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Producer: Kebel Aricha

Flavor: Sweet orange, cherry, honey sweetness

This batch of Yirgacheffe was produced at the Kebel Aricha processing station, where approximately 650-700 small coffee farmers from nearby areas deliver their ripe coffee cherries for processing in exchange for cash.

About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Champion, launched 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 impoverished countries and regions, improving their production conditions and offering them purchase prices 20% higher than fair trade prices.

The project's original purpose also includes strengthening the connection between roasters and coffee farmers while guiding farmers to cultivate high-quality coffee. To date, Sasa has established relationships with coffee growers from eight countries, including Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

Flavor Description: Sweet orange citrus notes, green berries, peach, longan and red date aroma, honey sweetness, cocoa with subtle spice notes, full body with a long-lasting aftertaste.

Yirgacheffe Processing Methods

Yirgacheffe coffee beans are generally classified into two main categories based on processing method:

Category A: Washed processing, with grading standards established by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), divided into Grade 1 and Grade 2, where smaller Arabic numbers indicate higher grades. Grade 1 Yirgacheffe has a distinctive style, with citrus and floral notes integrated into the coffee liquid, a flavor that everyone finds irresistible.

Category B: Natural processing, with grades divided into Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5. Similarly, the highest grade G1 natural Yirgacheffe has rich fruit aromas. Opening a bag of freshly roasted G1 natural Yirgacheffe can completely change your perception of coffee. Only those who have tasted the highest grade natural Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is truly a fruit.

Processing Method: Washed

Happy coffee farmers first pick cherries from the trees and pour them into pools filled with water. Because cherries of different maturity have different densities, overripe and underripe cherries, along with some branches and leaves, float on the surface, while sufficiently ripe cherries sink to the bottom. This naturally screens out the cherries that pass the first selection round.

The selected ripe cherries then enter the depulper to remove the skin and pulp.

Hand-pour brewing for Yirgacheffe: 15g of coffee, ground to medium-fine (Fuji grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 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 to halfway in the coffee bed, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Aricha's washed profile of sweet orange, cherry, and honey sweetness is exactly the classic Yirgacheffe signature, and FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the everyday way to enjoy it. Known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, it offers approachable pricing that makes it the bean most people start their specialty coffee journey with.

For a cleaner, single-lot version, FrontStreet Washed Gedingding Cooperative comes from the Worka area at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge, once part of the YCFCU. Following traditional washed processing, it delivers fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance and none of the traditional bitterness, making it easy to fall for on the first sip.

And if you want the fruitier side of Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry uses a whole-cherry natural process, picking only fully ripe, sound fruit and drying it on raised beds. It keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while adding a sun-dried tropical fruit note, with citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.