The Story and Flavor Characteristics of Konga Coffee Beans from Yirgacheffe Coffee Region

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe coffee from the Yirgacheffe region is well-known to many, but this might be misleading—does it mean that all coffee from the Yirgacheffe region is washed? Actually, that's not the case. There are still some natural-processed coffee beans with amazing flavor characteristics. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to the natural-processed coffee from the Yirgacheffe region—FrontStreet Coffee's Konga coffee. The Yirgacheffe region is one of the premium coffee producing areas in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, and has become synonymous with specialty coffee. The FrontStreet Coffee washed Yirgacheffe coffee produced here serves as an entry bean for people stepping into the world of specialty coffee. Why does the Yirgacheffe region have such a high reputation?

The Growing Environment of Yirgacheffe Region

Early residents of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee region gathered in swamp areas, and the name Yirgacheffe itself means "choosing a place away from water to settle." Yirgacheffe is a small town in the southern Gedeo region, with an altitude of 1700-2100 meters, making it one of the highest-altitude coffee growing regions in the world. It originally belonged to the Sidamo region, but because the coffee produced here has very distinctive characteristics and easily recognizable flavor profiles that stand on their own, it was established as an independent region. It is bordered by three small regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya, which produce coffee with similar flavors to Yirgacheffe, so Kochere is also classified as part of the Yirgacheffe area. The Yirgacheffe region has a total of 28 member cooperatives of various sizes, each with limited production, typically grown in their backyards or mixed with other crops—truly small-scale farming.

Each coffee region in Ethiopia has different flavor characteristics, which is closely related to the local growing environment. Therefore, to let everyone experience the coffee flavors from different Ethiopian regions, FrontStreet Coffee has sourced over a dozen single-origin Ethiopian coffee beans, with five from the Yirgacheffe region alone.

Konga Cooperative

Konga Cooperative is one of the 26 cooperatives under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (YCFCU), located 5 kilometers south of Yirgacheffe town. Konga Cooperative was established in 1994 and joined the YCFCU cooperative union in 2002. It was named after the nearby Konga River and Konga village, hence the name Konga for the cooperative. Konga Cooperative consists of over 1,500 small-scale coffee farmer family members, whose coffee farms average less than 1.25 hectares, with growing altitudes ranging from 1800 to 2250 meters, and mainly featuring local heirloom varieties.

What makes Konga special is the local iron-rich red soil where coffee beans are grown, with a soil depth of up to 1.5 meters. The deeper soil has richer nutrients, and the high iron content soil is quite beneficial for growing coffee beans because iron is a micronutrient that helps plants produce chlorophyll. Through photosynthesis, this allows coffee plants to absorb more nutrients, thereby improving the quality of coffee cherries. It is precisely this unique geographical environment that enables the cultivation of such excellent coffee. The local fertile red land is one of the key factors for Konga Cooperative's production of fine coffee.

Konga Coffee Varieties

Perhaps observant friends have noticed that most Ethiopian coffee beans are labeled as local heirloom varieties. What exactly are these varieties? FrontStreet Coffee has learned that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and also its gene bank, containing numerous coffee varieties that are difficult to identify. The local government, for protection purposes, does not disclose information about these varieties. Since many varieties have taken root here for years and have already developed distinctive regional flavor characteristics, they are collectively referred to as heirloom varieties. Like many Ethiopian beans, Konga coffee beans belong to these local heirloom varieties.

Additionally, Ethiopia's green bean grading export standards do not include bean size as a criterion. Instead, grading is primarily based on the proportion of defective coffee cherries and cupping quality. Coffee beans containing fewer than 3 defects per 300 grams are classified as G1 grade. This is why we see Ethiopian beans of various shapes and sizes.

Natural Processing Method

Konga coffee comes from the Yirgacheffe region, so does that mean it's also washed? Of course, as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned earlier, Konga coffee is natural-processed coffee from the Yirgacheffe region. In fact, Yirgacheffe originally used the most ancient natural processing method, but in 1972, Ethiopia introduced Central and South American washing techniques to improve quality, making FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe jasmine and citrus aromas clearer and more refined, quickly becoming a world-class specialty bean. The exquisite washing technique played an indispensable role. Since the 1970s, this region has primarily focused on washed processing, becoming Ethiopia's most popular washed bean producing area.

Konga's natural processing method involves Konga Cooperative having unified drying beds for drying coffee beans, with extremely strict selection of coffee cherries—unripe, damaged, and overripe cherries are all removed, with only fully mature red cherries selected. The coffee cherries with their husks are placed on shaded raised beds for direct sun drying for 2 weeks until the moisture content reaches only 12%, after which they can be packaged and sent to the warehouse for grading and packaging. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee beans are relatively less bright than washed ones, but carry rich fermented fruit aromas with a fuller juice-like sensation.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that coffee bean freshness is a crucial factor, as fresh coffee beans allow one to fully experience the rich flavors of coffee. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who orders receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is perfectly fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: once coffee beans are pre-ground, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging can help mellow the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because ground coffee oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate more rapidly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters for FrontStreet Coffee Konga Coffee:

FrontStreet Coffee's Konga coffee beans have the classic flavors of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. To highlight its fresh citrus characteristics while preserving jasmine aromas, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-light roasting. Because Ethiopian coffee grows in high-altitude areas, the beans have a harder texture, so FrontStreet Coffee chose: V60 dripper, utilizing the V60's even flow rate to better accentuate sweet and sour layers, water temperature at 90°C, using higher temperature to extract aromatic compounds, water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15, coffee amount of 15g, and grind size (80% pass-through rate on China #20 standard sieve).

Using segmented extraction, bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds, i.e., 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. The reason for the blooming process is to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the subsequent extraction more stable. With small circular water flow, pour to 125 grams, then continue pouring to 225 grams and stop. Remove the dripper once the water has finished dripping through. Time from the start of pouring is 2'00". Next, take the entire cup of coffee, shake it well, and pour it into a cup for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Konga coffee flavor characteristics: After grinding, it has fresh and elegant jasmine notes; during brewing, you can taste lively berry and citrus acidity, with sweet cream and honey sensations. The overall mouthfeel is like drinking a mixed fruit juice, bringing considerable joy.

Ethiopian coffee is like a treasure trove, making people want to continuously explore. That's why FrontStreet Coffee has sourced over a dozen single-origin beans from different Ethiopian regions; of course, there are also over fifty coffee beans from other regions, offering different flavors to give you diverse experiences!

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 (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

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