Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Flavor Profile - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Specialty Coffee Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee has discovered that FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans are not only increasingly popular in pour-over single-origin coffee but have also won the favor of roasters and baristas in espresso single-origin and blend coffees. So what exactly does Yirgacheffe flavor taste like? This article discusses the flavor characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans.

Yirgacheffe Growing Region

Located in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Yirgacheffe is a small township in the southern Gedeo region with an altitude of approximately 1700-2100 meters. It originally belonged to the Sidamo growing region, but because the coffee processing methods differ and the coffee flavor has distinct recognition, it has become its own school and was established as an independent growing region representative.

In ancient Ethiopian language, the English "Yirgacheffe" consists of two words: Yərga (ይርጋ) meaning calm, settled down, and Č̣äffe (ጨፌ) meaning marsh-like wetland. Therefore, Yirgacheffe has the meaning of "let us settle down and make a living on this wetland." The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" can also be simply understood as having unique citrus and lemon fruit aromas, carrying the fragrance of jasmine flowers, with a fresh and bright texture and distinct layered acidity, clean without any off-flavors.

To promote the development of the coffee industry, the Ethiopian government registered the flavor profiles of three domestic coffee growing regions (including Yirgacheffe®) as commercial trademarks in 2004, and established the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008. Coffee is one of the commodities auctioned at the exchange. The government has conducted quality grading and flavor classification for exported coffee beans to ensure buyers can purchase coffee with trademarked flavors.

Next to Yirgacheffe are three small growing regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. The coffee flavors produced in these areas are similar to Yirgacheffe, so Kochere is also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional classification. The local Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) has been established, with a total of 28 member cooperatives of various sizes. A cooperative is equivalent to the size of a village, responsible for processing green coffee beans harvested from the same village or surrounding areas, and finally sold under the name of the cooperative.

Local farmers generally plant in their own backyards or mix with other crops, truly small-scale farming. During the harvest season, they sell coffee cherries to cooperatives for processing, so coffee origin information is usually the name of the processing cooperative. FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb cooperative is one of the very well-known green coffee bean processing cooperatives on the market, composed of more than 300 farmers, and their mature processing technology produces excellent quality coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Region

Altitude: 1900-2000m

Processing: Washed

Variety: Heirloom

Flavor: Jasmine, Citrus, Berries, Tea-like

Washed Processing

Traditionally, coffee from the Yirgacheffe region was processed using African natural drying methods, directly spreading coffee cherries on the ground for sun exposure. Later, the local government introduced washed processing technology from Central and South America. Through washing, the coffee's acidity becomes brighter and more lively, the floral and fruit aromas are fresher and more prominent, and it avoids negative flavors caused by over-fermentation during natural processing.

Washed processing involves using machines to remove the skin and pulp from harvested coffee cherries, then placing them in fermentation tanks for 12-36 hours. The mucilage layer is decomposed and separated by microorganisms during the fermentation process. Then they are placed in clean water tanks and thoroughly cleaned with tools, before being spread out to dry in the sun. FrontStreet Coffee has 7 FrontStreet Coffee house blend beans. Among coffees from Africa, the birthplace of coffee, FrontStreet Coffee chose FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe as the "face" here, allowing everyone to enjoy Yirgacheffe flavor - jasmine aroma, citrus and berry sweetness and sourness - at the lowest price.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Region

Altitude: 1900-2000m

Processing: Washed

Variety: Heirloom

Flavor: Jasmine, Citrus, Berries

What is the Red Cherry Project?

To increase the income of local Ethiopian farmers and improve coffee quality, Dutch trading company Trabocca BV launched the "Operation Cherry Red Project" in 2007. It mainly targets high-altitude growing regions such as Yirgacheffe in Ethiopia to improve processing technologies including washed, semi-washed, and natural methods. Professional cuppers were involved, and different microclimate zones would have different coffee harvest volumes set during harvest seasons, requiring only 100% mature red coffee cherries to be harvested, with production approximately 1500-3000KG. The economic loan support, new hardware equipment, and production knowledge technology provided by Trabocca Company have greatly improved the quality of coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region and even the entire country of Ethiopia. Correspondingly, the coffee also commands higher prices, thereby increasing farmers' income.

Natural Processing

After the Red Cherry Project was launched, Trabocca Company invested in purchasing new natural drying racks and shade nets for Yirgacheffe and other regions in 2008-2009. Combined with harvesting only plump, fully red cherries and manual turning throughout the day in time segments, the goal is to ensure coffee cherries dry evenly until the moisture content of green coffee beans reaches 11-12%, at which point the outer shell can be removed for packaging and storage.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed Yirgacheffe will have more berry acidity than washed processed coffee, with higher sweetness from fermented fruits. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has also introduced FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry coffee into espresso blends, pairing it with FrontStreet Coffee's whiskey barrel-fermented FrontStreet Coffee Sherry coffee to create FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend Coffee Beans. The espresso produced has vanilla cream-like crema with strong wine aroma, and the berry acidity on entry creates better layering in the coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Region, Aleltan Estate

Altitude: 1700-2200m

Processing: Natural

Variety: Heirloom

Flavor: Berries, Jasmine, Lemon

Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Grading System

With the growth of green coffee bean exports, the Ethiopian Commodity Trading Center has redefined the grading order and standards. According to processing methods, Yirgacheffe can be divided into two main categories: Class A and Class B. According to green bean characteristics and preliminary cupping scores, they are classified into 9 grades G1-G9. Among them, G1-G3 use cupping standards set by the American Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA) as reference, evaluating detailed flavors, and G1 and G2 with scores no lower than 85 are designated as Q1 grade. G1 is the highest grade of green beans, meaning 0-3 defective beans per 300 grams of green beans. G2 represents 4-12 defective beans per 300 grams of green beans. In other words, in terms of coffee bean defect rate, G2 will be higher than G1.

Brewing Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe beans are world-famous for their jasmine aroma and bright citrus-lemon acidity, so FrontStreet Coffee chose medium-light roasting. Coffee beans grown at high altitudes have a harder texture and require high water temperatures to extract the aromatic substances from the coffee. A finer grind can also make the coffee flavor more intense, and using a faster-flowing V60 dripper can make the flavor layers more balanced.

When brewing coffee, if you want to drink coffee with full aroma, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing fresh coffee beans. The coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are freshly roasted within 5 days. Because different roast levels require degassing, there is a 4-7 day resting period. Therefore, when everyone receives coffee beans purchased from FrontStreet Coffee's store, the coffee is at its optimal tasting period and can be brewed directly.

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 92-93°C

Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Coffee Dose: 15g

Wet the coffee grounds with twice the amount of water, bloom for 30s. Use a small water stream to pour steadily from inside to outside in circles until reaching 125g of water, then start segmenting. As the coffee liquid filters out, when the water level in the coffee bed drops below half of the dripper, start pouring the final 100g of water in the same circular manner. Remove the dripper once all the coffee liquid has finished dripping, then shake the coffee in the sharing pot before enjoying.

FrontStreet Coffee compared the three coffees mentioned above. Each bean has both consistency and its own flavor charm. All three coffees carry fresh floral and fruity notes with berry sweetness and sourness as the main profile. Among them, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe house blend beans have light jasmine aroma, clear citrus notes, and a clean mouthfeel. FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb cooperative coffee, also using washed processing, has clearer lemon-bright acidity with prominent cane sugar sweetness, which becomes a rounded tea-like sensation as the temperature drops. Finally, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans have rich tropical fruit aroma when ground, with berry and fermented fruit sweetness on entry, delicate texture, and persistent aftertaste.

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