An Introduction to Yirgacheffe Coffee Varieties, Regions, and Estates

FrontStreet Coffee Sun-Processed Yirgacheffe Ethiopia Aricha G1 Yirgacheffe

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Yirgacheffe, Gediyo

Altitude: 1900-2100 meters

Processing Method: Natural (Sun-dried)

Variety: Heirloom

Producer: Kebel Aricha

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

This lot of FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe is produced at the Kebel Aricha processing station, where roughly 650-700 smallholder farmers from the surrounding area deliver their ripe cherries for processing in exchange for cash. Once the station has sorted the usable cherries, they go straight onto raised drying beds in the sun. For 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 remove the outer pulp mechanically depending on weather and temperature, then move the beans to Addis Ababa for storage. Naturally processed beans are normally kept in parchment until hulling just before export to protect green bean quality. This FrontStreet sun-processed Aricha lot has been rated G1, the highest grade awarded by the ECX, showing excellence in green bean appearance, consistency, freshness, dry aroma and flavor. If you enjoy bright acidity and rich berry flavors, this is one to seek out.

Flavor Description: Light fermented wine aroma, jujube, sweet orange, dark berries, lychee, starfruit, peach, nectarine, longan and red date, honey sweetness, cocoa with subtle spice, a full body and a persistent aftertaste.

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 to improve their production conditions, and it pays them 20% above fair trade prices.

The project's original mission also includes strengthening the relationship between roasters and farmers while guiding farmers toward higher-quality coffee. To date, Sasa has built relationships with growers in eight countries, among them Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Costa Rica.

FrontStreet Coffee Kochere Washed G2 Yirgacheffe Roasted Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G2

Region: Yirgacheffe

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local heirloom

Flavor: Jasmine floral aroma, lemon, bergamot, honey, grapefruit

Kochere lies about 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe in Ethiopia and represents a small coffee-producing sub-region. It is a prosperous area known for coffee and one of the three famous micro-regions of Yirgacheffe. The local population is approximately 100,000, with coffee as their main source of income, and the processing and equipment here are very advanced. The well-known review site Coffee Review gave Kochere washed beans a high rating of 94 points.

Ethiopia has nine main coffee-producing regions: Nekempte (Lekempti), Gimbi, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. The most renowned specialty regions among them are Nekempte (Lekempti), Limu, Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe sits within the Sidama administrative region of Ethiopia, which means Yirgacheffe is a smaller area inside Sidama.

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town of approximately 20,000 people. The three neighboring sub-regions of Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya produce coffee with flavors nearly identical to Yirgacheffe's, so they are grouped under the Yirgacheffe regional category as well. Culturally and geographically, Yirgacheffe resembles neighboring Sidamo, but it appears especially blessed with uniquely favorable conditions. Top-quality FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe shows floral aromas, bright citrus acidity, lemon notes and a silky mouthfeel.

Kochere's production model centers on local smallholders delivering their batches to cooperatives for unified processing. The area's 100,000 residents depend on coffee for their livelihood, and the related activity has become their main economic source. Thanks to coffee income, the local standard of living is markedly better than in many Ethiopian villages, with complete health facilities, higher education institutions and other infrastructure. Advanced processing equipment has consistently allowed Kochere to meet high standards in washed processing, delivering clean sweetness with complex molasses and citrus notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you are new to the Ethiopia region, FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe, the house's everyday Yirgacheffe. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body, and its affordable price has made it the first specialty coffee for many drinkers. Yirgacheffe is a town in southern Ethiopia's Sidama zone at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. Its instantly recognizable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity turned the name into shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee, and in 2010 the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange formally separated it from Sidama.

Within the town, FrontStreet Guodingding Cooperative is the most representative. It sits in the Worka region at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge and was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU alliance; as buyers pursued traceability, it was singled out as a single-origin lot and called the last clean corner of Yirgacheffe. Produced with the traditional washed method, FrontStreet's washed Guodingding has no traditional bitterness—just crisp, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance.

FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry takes the opposite route. Only fully ripe, sound cherries are picked; they are sorted at the mill and then dried directly on raised beds, turned every 2-3 hours in the first days to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of sun drying, workers remove the outer pulp mechanically and move the beans to storage. Because the fruit dries on the bean, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character alongside the tropical fruit of natural processing: citrus acidity, a berry-juice quality, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness.

All three brew well as pour-over. Use a V60, water at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, and grind to EK43s setting 10—about fine sugar, with 80% passing a #20 sieve. FrontStreet's method: pour 30ml and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour 95ml (about 125g on the scale), finishing that pour in roughly one minute; when the water drops to two-thirds of the bed, pour the remaining 100ml (about 225g on the scale), finishing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drawdown completes between 2 and 2 minutes 10 seconds—remove the dripper and extraction is done.