The Meaning of Yirgacheffe: Flavor Characteristics of Ethiopian Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee is a coffee well understood by coffee enthusiasts. It is one of the most distinctive coffees in the world, enjoying a prestigious reputation globally. Yirgacheffe is located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley, with complex terrain divisions and an elevation of 1800-2000m, making it one of Ethiopia's highest altitude coffee-growing regions. To the west lies Lake Abaya, which has been a wetland since ancient times with abundant water resources, providing excellent resources for Yirgacheffe's washing stations.

At the same time, Yirgacheffe is a famous coffee town in Sidamo. The local climate is rainy but not humid, with fresh and clean air, allowing the cultivated coffee varieties to develop rich natural flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe is representative of East African specialty coffee. Due to its unique flavor profile, it has been separated as a distinct category. Yirgacheffe itself is also a small town, with three nearby small producing areas: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. Because the coffee flavors produced in these areas share significant commonalities with FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, these small producing areas have also been classified within the Yirgacheffe region.

The Meaning Behind the Name Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe (Yirga cheffe) – "yirga" means to settle down, and "cheffe" means wetland, so its original meaning is "let us settle and make a living in this wetland."

Processing Methods Determine Coffee Flavor

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe is also representative of coffee beans chosen for their floral and fruity flavor profiles. Someone once described the flavor characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee with the phrase "when coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom" – akin to the comfortable sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and olfactory cells. Beyond the floral aroma, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth, creating a wonderful tactile sensation. Of course, on such an excellent foundation, different processing methods will also produce different flavors in FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. So, let FrontStreet Coffee explain the differences between natural and washed processing of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe!

First, Let's Understand Natural and Washed Processing

Natural Processing:

The natural processing process first requires manual selection of defective coffee beans, as well as unripe or overripe coffee fruits. Afterward, the coffee fruits are evenly spread on drying grounds, and need to be turned several times daily. This process typically lasts about 2-3 weeks, depending on local climate conditions. When the moisture content inside the coffee beans drops to 11-13%, the natural drying step is complete. At this point, the coffee fruit shells have become dry and hard, and can be removed using a hulling machine.

Washed Processing:

The washed processing method involves pouring coffee fruits into water tanks to remove floating beans, then using a pulp screener to remove the skin and pulp. The processed coffee fruits are placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours, where fermentation bacteria dissolve the mucilage. At this point, fermentation bacteria and impurities remain on the coffee beans, so they are washed again. To ensure thorough cleaning, this step consumes large amounts of fresh water. After washing, machines (or sun-drying) are typically used to dry the coffee fruits until moisture content reaches 11-13%. Then, a hulling machine is used to remove the remaining parchment and silver skin, completing the washed processing.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will list some information and flavor details about natural and washed processed FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe to help coffee friends choose according to their personal preferences:

Among customers who come to FrontStreet Coffee to drink coffee, when they hope to drink washed processed FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee's barista will优先 recommend the FrontStreet Coffee Banko Gotiti Cooperative and FrontStreet Coffee Kochere from the bean shelf. If they want full, rounded mature fruit sweetness, FrontStreet Coffee thinks FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry would be more suitable.

Banko Gotiti Cooperative

Banko Gotiti Cooperative derives its name from a small village in the Gedeo region, famous for growing Ethiopia's highest quality coffee. Gotiti was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union YCFCU (26 cooperatives, 45,000 members), but later became independent in 2012 due to mature washed processing techniques, becoming a well-known team.

Traditionally, farmers would harvest coffee cherries and place them directly on patios or spread them on the ground for direct sun-drying until the coffee fruit's moisture content reached about 12% before sending for hulling and packaging. Coffee processed this way often develops earthy flavors, over-fermentation, and rotten fruit tastes. To improve these defective flavors caused by sun-drying, Ethiopia introduced washed processing technology from Central and South America. Cooperative members select, wash, ferment, and remove pulp and mucilage from purchased coffee fruits, then place them on raised beds to dry. Each step must be properly handled to ensure the quality of the final coffee output.

The washed processing method changed Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe coffee from its previous inconsistent quality, presenting FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee's fresh citrus tones and elegant white floral aromas after roasting, with overall bright and delicate flavors. Thus, Yirgacheffe became independent from the Sidamo region, becoming today's renowned coffee region. The Banko Gotiti Cooperative, with 300 member small farmers, is famous for growing Ethiopia's highest quality coffee. The processing method also follows the most traditional washed method, known as "Yirgacheffe's last piece of pure land."

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone
Producer: Banko Gotiti Cooperative
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local heirloom varieties
Processing: Washed processing
Grade: G1
Flavor: Citrus, berries, lemon, cane sugar, green tea

FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry coffee beans are made from 100% mature red coffee fruits processed using traditional natural methods, preserving the complete coffee fruit. More sugar substances from the pulp and mucilage penetrate into the beans, resulting in richer sweetness in flavor with a slight fermentation sensation.

During the drying process, the sugars and aromas from the pulp are well preserved and penetrate into the raw coffee beans. At the same time, the longer the natural processing time, the more complete the fermentation. Because the natural method allows coffee fruits to dry naturally, coffee beans mature naturally inside the fruit without interference from external environments, so naturally processed coffee beans amplify their inherent flavors, with more obvious tropical fruit acidity and berry flavor tones than washed coffee, fuller fermentation aromas and sweetness, and a richer aftertaste. It's worth mentioning that the name of FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry coffee beans on the menu comes from a "coffee revolution" in 2007: the Red Cherry Project.

The "Red Cherry Project" was initiated in 2007 by Dutch trading company Trabocca BV to improve Ethiopian coffee quality. This project mainly focuses on improving processing technologies such as washing, semi-washing, and natural processing in some high-altitude regions like Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe, with professional cuppers joining to formulate different coffee harvest quantities for different microclimate zones during harvest seasons. Only 100% mature red coffee cherries must 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 coffee bean quality of the Yirgacheffe region and even the entire country of Ethiopia, correspondingly resulting in higher coffee prices and increased income for coffee farmers.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Natural G1 Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Processing Station: Aletela
Altitude: 2300m
Variety: Local heirloom varieties
Processing: Natural processing
Flavor: Berries, lemon, strawberry, fermented wine aroma

Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Daily Bean uses washed processing and medium-light roasting, featuring classic Yirgacheffe flavor profiles, suitable for various brewing methods such as pour-over, cold brew, French press, etc. FrontStreet Coffee's Daily Bean series allows friends new to the coffee world to taste the basic flavors of the region at affordable prices, with small packaging design also avoiding waste from unfinished drinking. If you want to taste the classic aroma of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee thinks that hand-brewed black coffee extraction is most suitable.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

Coffee beans have a 4-7 day degassing period after roasting, then enter an optimal tasting period. As storage time increases, the coffee's aroma will accelerate dissipation, and flavor characteristics will significantly diminish. FrontStreet Coffee ensures that everyone drinks coffee at its best period by guaranteeing only beans roasted within 5 days are shipped. Fresh coffee beans are more beneficial for extracting the quality flavors of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe.

Considering that FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans all use light roasting, the coffee beans have a harder texture. High-temperature water at 92℃-93℃ can better stimulate the floral and fruit flavors in FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. In terms of grind size, too coarse cannot extract body substances, making the brewed coffee appear thin; too fine can easily lead to over-extraction at high water temperatures, making the brewed coffee prone to bitterness. FrontStreet Coffee recommends medium-fine grind size (78% pass rate through China Standard No. 20 sieve), corresponding to the EK43s grinder setting of 10 used in store production.

In terms of brewing ratio, FrontStreet Coffee thinks 1:15～1:16 are both acceptable. If you want a richer taste, use 1:15; if you want to more clearly perceive floral aromas and sweetness, you can use 1:16 to let the flavors disperse more.

FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Brewing Parameters:

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 92-93℃
Coffee Amount: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (78% pass rate through No. 20 sieve bowl)

First, place the folded filter paper in the dripper to fit, pour 15g of ground coffee powder into the dripper, and zero the electronic scale.

For the first pour, inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Start timing while pouring water, using small water flow to inject from the center point and spiral outward, ensuring the entire coffee bed is moistened.

After 30 seconds, begin the second pour with slightly larger water flow, steadily injecting 95g of water to raise the entire coffee bed. The water stream needs to be injected vertically and evenly. At this point, the timing scale shows 125g, completed around 55 seconds.

When the liquid level drops to halfway, begin using small water flow in small circles to inject the third 100g portion. Try to control the water flow to avoid circles that are too large, which can easily scatter the coffee bed and cause under-extraction. The final total injection amount is 225g, with drip completion time around 2 minutes. After removing the dripper, shake the coffee liquid in the sharing pot evenly and you can begin tasting.

The amount of water for each pour is not fixed; we can adjust according to our accumulated pour-over experience and understanding of the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes there are thousands of ways to brew a delicious cup of coffee. As long as we study more and practice more, mastering various pour-over parameters is not difficult.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473