Yirgacheffe Woka Coffee Bean Origin Flavor Description Growing Information Growing History

Yirgacheffe Worka Washed G1

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Worka

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: 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 specialty Ethiopian coffee. This area has historically been wetland - in the ancient language, "Yirga" means "settle down," and "Cheffe" means "wetland." Therefore, Yirgacheffe signifies "let us settle and thrive in this wetland."

Yirgacheffe (Specialty Region): Altitude 1,800-2,000m | Garden Coffee System

Yirgacheffe is administratively part of the Sidamo region, but it has been separated due to its unique flavor characteristics. Besides the town of Yirgacheffe itself, the region includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, Gelena, and Abaya.

Within Yirgacheffe, there are numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still face difficult living conditions and lack the capacity to build family-style processing facilities. As a result, many processing stations have emerged to centrally purchase coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, process them, and then sell to green bean traders.

Coffee trees are mostly grown in farmers' backyards or mixed with other crops in their fields, with each household producing limited quantities - typical of garden coffee. Award-winning Yirgacheffe beans almost always come from these coffee villages and communities. The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine floral aroma, lemon or lime acidity, as well as peach, almond sweetness, or tea-like notes. The phrase "flowers bloom as coffee enters the mouth" perfectly describes this experience, akin to the pleasant sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and nasal olfactory cells. Beyond the floral aromatics, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth, creating a wonderful tactile sensation. Many coffee chemists have begun studying the microclimate and soil conditions around Yirgacheffe to establish the formula for growing specialty coffee.

Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Ethiopia's Sidamo province, located in the northwestern part of Sidamo, surrounded by mountains and lakes. It is one of Ethiopia's highest altitude coffee-growing regions. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with about 20,000 people. The three neighboring sub-regions of Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya produce coffee with flavors almost identical to Yirgacheffe, so they are also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional classification. However, the production methods and flavors here are so outstanding that Ethiopian coffee farmers compete proudly to have their coffee associated with Yirgacheffe flavors. Consequently, it has separated from the Sidamo region to become its own distinctive style and Africa's most renowned coffee region.

02 | Worka Cooperative

Washed Ethiopian coffee can achieve the highest grade of G1, making it quite rare to find.

This coffee comes from a single farm in Ethiopia, processed by the Worka Cooperative. The Alemayehu Alako farm is a member of the Worka Cooperative.

The Worka Cooperative was established in 2005 and joined the prestigious Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) the same year, becoming known for producing high-quality natural-processed Yirgacheffe coffee. The Worka Cooperative has approximately 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was established in 2002 and includes 26 other member 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 from around the world, such as Banko Gotiti, Banko Dadhato, Halo Bariti, and others. Gotiti village was one of the first independently separated village areas several years ago, and many individual small farmers were originally members of the Worka Cooperative, naturally possessing excellent coffee production skills.

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

03 | Processing Method

Most coffee from the Yirgacheffe region uses the washed processing method. Coffee cherries are 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. Meanwhile, because the fruit pulp and mucilage are no longer attached to the parchment during drying, the characteristic fruity notes of natural-processed coffee are absent. Instead, the flavor profile tends toward clean and bright, with more pronounced acidity. The coffee is dried directly outside the facility. After manual selection of the 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), traditionally sold mainly to Northern Europe (primarily Germany) and Japan, but has recently been gaining attention from North America.

Washed-processed coffees are less likely to have wild flavors, possessing pure and refreshing characteristics suitable for light roast levels. This washed Ethiopian coffee achieves the highest grade of G1, indicating very few defects.

04 | Green Bean Analysis

Heirloom varieties are unique to Ethiopia, encompassing a wide spectrum of varieties including Typica, Mocha, Bourbon, and others. The Kaffa Forest is the cradle of Arabica coffee. While coffee varieties worldwide (both original and derived) number only in the hundreds, this treasure trove contains tens of thousands of varieties, most of which remain unclassified. Heirloom is Ethiopia's unique way of telling the world that its varieties are all-encompassing, summarized in a single word. The green beans are blue-green in color and relatively uniform in size.

African coffee beans use this defect percentage grading system, with Indonesian beans mainly divided into 6 grades, G1-G6. The highest grades for washed coffee are G1 and G2, while for natural-processed coffee they are G1 and G3.

What does this mean? As follows:

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

Natural: Grade-1, Grade-3, Grade-4, Grade-5 (G1 > G3 > G4 > G5)

Important notes:

a) Both washed and natural coffees can have Grade-1, with the condition being "zero defects" and Premium Cup. Whether washed or natural, Grade-1 is the rating for the best of the best or Cup of Excellence coffees.

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

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

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

05 | Roasting Analysis

The beans have quite high density. Roasting uses higher heat for the ramp-up, with the yellowing point at around 5 minutes and 30 seconds, then reducing heat and opening the airflow to enter the Maillard reaction. At 160°C, the heat is reduced again to extend the Maillard reaction time. First crack occurs at approximately 186.3°C. For this washed coffee, it's necessary to reduce heat before first crack to prevent excessive temperature rise and bitterness. The beans are dropped at 194.2°C after 1 minute and 40 seconds.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Flame

Preheat the roaster to 200°C, load the beans with airflow setting at 3. After 30 seconds, start the flame with heat set to 160. Temperature recovery point at 1:32. Yellowing at 5:30, grassy aroma disappears, entering the dehydration phase. Reduce heat to 120, open airflow to 4. At 170°C, reduce heat again to 50.

After eight minutes, dehydration is complete, with wrinkles and black spots appearing on the bean surface. Toasty aroma transforms into coffee aroma, signaling the prelude to first crack. At this point, reduce heat to 40 and listen carefully for first crack sounds. First crack begins at 9:00, adjust heat to 40, fully open airflow to 5. Development time after first crack is 1 minute and 40 seconds, dropping at 194.2°C.

Flavor: This finely washed coffee makes the acidity more pronounced and delicate, presenting yellow lemon acidity, caramel sweetness, cream and lemon black tea flavors, with a floral aftertaste.

06 | Brewing Analysis

Three-pour brewing method for segmented extraction

This method creates richer layers, clearly defining the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. The approach involves increasing water volume after each bloom, typically pouring when the coffee level 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 to 120g, stop, then slowly pour to 225g

That is: 30-120-225

Other drip brewing recommendations:

French Press: recommend grind size 3.5-4, water temperature 86-88°C

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

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Heirloom Worka G1 Single Origin Specialty Coffee Beans

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

Black Honey has orange blossom aroma, with prominent caramel and cream notes. Adding Yirgacheffe Worka enhances the caramel character while adding some lemon acidity. It tastes very refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473