Yirgacheffe Washed Areka Coffee Region Introduction How to Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee

Processing Method: Washed

Happy coffee farmers first pick the cherries from the trees, then pour them into pools filled with water. Because cherries of different ripeness have different densities, overripe and underripe cherries, along with leaves and twigs, float on the surface, while sufficiently ripe cherries sink to the bottom. This naturally screens out the cherries that fail the first hurdle.

The ripe cherries that pass are then fed into the depulping machine to remove the skin and pulp.

Hand-poured Yirgacheffe

15 g of grounds, medium-fine grind (setting 3.5 on a Fuji ghost-teeth grinder), V60 dripper, water at 91-93°C. First pour 30 g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105 g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway before pouring again. Slowly pour until you reach 225 g in total, discarding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Next, the beans with remaining pulp and mucilage enter the fermentation stage, fermenting with microorganisms in water or in the air. Once fermentation is complete, the beans still in parchment go into washing channels to be thoroughly cleaned. After cleaning comes drying, during which the moisture content of the green beans is kept at around 12%. The beans are then packed in jute bags and left to rest for about 2-3 months to stabilize quality. Finally the parchment is removed, and they are 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 about 650-700 small-scale coffee farmers from nearby areas deliver their ripe cherries for processing in exchange for cash.

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 growers in poor countries and regions to improve their production conditions and offers them purchase prices 20% higher than fair trade prices.

The project's original intent also includes strengthening the connection between roasters and coffee farmers and 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 notes, green berries, peach, longan and red date aroma, honey sweetness, cocoa with subtle spice notes, full body with a persistent aftertaste.

Yirgacheffe Classification

Yirgacheffe is divided into two main categories based on processing method:

Category A: Washed processing, graded according to standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), divided into Gr-1 and Gr-2, where smaller Arabic numbers indicate a higher grade. G1 Yirgacheffe has a distinctive style, with citrus and floral notes fused in the cup that everyone finds irresistible.

Category B: Natural processing for green coffee beans, graded into Gr-1, Gr-3, Gr-4, and Gr-5. The highest grade, G1 natural Yirgacheffe, has a rich fruit aroma. Opening a bag of freshly roasted G1 natural Yirgacheffe can upend everything people assume about coffee. Only those who have tasted the highest grade of natural Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is a fruit.

Product Information

• Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
• Ingredients: In-house roasted
• Shelf Life: 90 days
• Net Weight: 227 g
• Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
• Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
• Sugar Content: Sugar-free
• Origin: Ethiopia
• Roast Degree: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the washed Yirgacheffe style at its most classic, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Yirgacheffe Gedeb Gordin cooperative lot. The cooperative sits at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, in the Worka area, and began as part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union before being identified as a single-origin micro-lot in its own right. It follows the most traditional washed process, and the result shows jasmine florals, bright citrus acidity, and a clean, refreshing cup.

If you prefer fruit over florals, try FrontStreet's natural-process Red Cherry, made only from fully ripe, sound cherries. After an initial sorting the cherries are dried directly on raised beds, turned every two to three hours during the first few days to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation, and after three to five weeks the dried fruit is removed mechanically and stored. Because the cherries dry with the fruit still attached, the coffee keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit: citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

FrontStreet brews these lots as a pour-over in a V60 at 90-91°C, using 15 g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind of about 80% pass-through on a China standard #20 sieve (EK43s setting 10, or fine-sugar texture). Start with a 30 g pour and a 30-second bloom, add 95 g to reach about 125 g on the scale, then, once the water drops to two-thirds of the bed, add the remaining 100 g to reach about 225 g. Drip completion should take 2:00 to 2:10.