Washed Yirgacheffe G1 Hafursa Village Ethiopian Specialty Coffee

Coffee is a craft best learned by tasting widely and comparing notes with other drinkers.

Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe G1 - Hafursa Village

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Gediyo, Kochere

Altitude: 1,700 - 1,900 meters

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Producer: Member smallholders (approximately 750)

Annual Rainfall: Approximately 1,800 - 2,500 mm

Processing Method: Fully washed, then dried on African raised beds

Flavor Description

Floral, apricot, molasses, caramel, black tea and roasted cocoa aromatics, with a bright, sweet acidity and a rich, sweet mouthfeel.

Introduction

Yirgacheffe sits inside the Sidama region of Ethiopia and is celebrated for coffee with a flavour so distinctive that it is treated as a category in its own right. It has never lost its standing on the international market.

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town of roughly 20,000 people. Three neighbouring micro-regions - Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya - produce coffee so close in character to Yirgacheffe that it is classified under the Yirgacheffe name as well.

Yirgacheffe shares much of its culture and geography with neighbouring Sidama, but it appears to have been given an exceptional set of natural conditions. Top-quality Yirgacheffe shows florals, bright citrus acidity, a lemon-like aroma and a silky mouthfeel, and it has always drawn the attention of enthusiasts. As the specialty coffee industry has grown, coffee from this region has remained a fixed point of interest for international buyers.

The Hafursa Cooperative joined the Yirgacheffe Small Farmers Cooperative Union in 2002 and has since earned both Fair Trade and Organic certification. Its members grow coffee under shade close to their homes, intercropping with bananas and other nitrogen-fixing crops. All planting is done by hand with organic fertiliser, and pests are managed through ecological and natural methods.

Brewing Recommendations

Pour-over (V60): Grind size 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440), water temperature 90°C

French Press: Grind size 4, water temperature 90°C

AeroPress: Grind size 3.5, water temperature 87°C

Siphon: Grind size 4, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If washed Yirgacheffe is a region you want to understand first, start with FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe, the classic everyday lot from this part of Ethiopia. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body, and its friendly price makes it the first specialty bean many drinkers ever buy.

Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia's Sidama region, sitting at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with the coffee trees themselves planted above 1,800 meters - among the highest coffee-growing areas in the world. The area was wetland in the past, and its highly recognisable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity turned the name into shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee. In 2010 the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange split it from Sidama as its own origin, which is how the Yirgacheffe everyone knows today came to exist.

For pour-over, FrontStreet suggests a V60 at 90-91°C, 15 g of coffee and a 1:15 ratio, ground to fine-sugar size on an EK43s at setting 10 (about 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Bloom with 30 g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 95 g (about 125 g on the scale) over roughly one minute, then, once the water level falls to two-thirds of the bed, add the remaining 100 g (about 225 g on the scale) over about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drawdown finishes in 2:00-2:10; remove the dripper and the brew is done.