Yirgacheffe Coffee Price: Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Price & Drip Bag Coffee Cost

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Today's protagonist is Yirgacheffe coffee. The phrase "coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom" perfectly describes Yirgacheffe coffee, akin to the comforting sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and olfactory cells. So what are the flavor differences between washed and natural-processed Yirgacheffe coffee?

Difference One: Two Different Green Bean Processing Methods

Coffee beans must immediately enter processing after harvest, otherwise they will begin to ferment and develop off-flavors. There are two processing methods: "natural processing" and "washed processing," each creating different flavor profiles.

Natural-processed beans have complete natural richness, gentle aromas, and more body; washed processing has good richness, high aroma, and lively acidity.

Natural Processing (Natural/Dried-in-the-Fruit)

After harvesting, the cherries begin sun-drying without any processing. This is the oldest existing processing method. The drying process typically lasts about 4 weeks. The processing method must be extremely rigorous to ensure the coffee doesn't lose any flavor. Natural processing requires extremely dry local climate conditions. In some regions, people use drying machines to assist the coffee cherry drying process (the drying machine's hot air can accelerate drying and help control the drying degree).

Full Washed Processing (Washed)

This method uses washing and fermentation to remove the pulp, mucilage, and parchment. Farms using washed processing must build washing tanks and have access to a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in the tank and moved back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean.

After washing, the coffee beans are still enclosed in parchment, with a moisture content of 50%. They must be dried to reduce the moisture content to 12%, otherwise they will continue to ferment, become moldy, and spoil.

The better processing method is sun-drying, which takes 1-3 weeks, but produces excellent flavor and is highly preferred.

Difference Two: Coffee Bean Appearance

Green beans: Generally, washed green beans are blue-green, while natural-processed green beans are yellow-green.

Roasted beans: Washed Yirgacheffe has more silver skin, while natural Yirgacheffe has less silver skin.

Difference Three: Taste Differences

Dry Aroma Differences:

Cupping: [Using 8 grams of coffee powder to 150ml of 94°C hot water in a cup, let the coffee steep for 3-4 minutes until forming a crust]

Natural Yirgacheffe coffee: Light fermentation wine aroma, spice fragrance

Washed Yirgacheffe coffee: Jasmine flower aroma, lemon or lime citrus aroma

Taste Differences:

Natural Yirgacheffe coffee: Natural processing is somewhat complex, with light fermentation wine aroma. The bitter notes are heavier, with much richer taste, honey sweetness, cocoa notes with hints of spice, full body, and persistent aftertaste.

Washed Yirgacheffe coffee: Washed processing has brighter acidity, like citric acid, with more refreshing taste, more prominent citrus fragrance, and some black tea sensation in the latter part.

Similarity: Both have fruit acidity, similar to lemon and citrus fruits.

Pour-Over Data

Natural Yirgacheffe coffee: Recommend using 15g of coffee, 89°C water temperature, Fuji grinder setting 4, V60 dripper, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio. First pour 30g, bloom for 30s, second pour 104g water then stop, continue pouring to 225g, discard the tail water, extraction time around 2:02s.

Washed Yirgacheffe coffee: Recommend using 15g of coffee, 92°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, V60 dripper. First pour 30g, bloom for 30s, second pour 110g water then stop, continue pouring to 215g, discard the tail water, extraction time around 2:05s.

This pour-over method allows you to experience Yirgacheffe coffee's comforting sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and olfactory cells.

Light Roasting Preference

So why do some domestic roasters now apply light roasting to Yirgacheffe coffee?

Light roasting makes the tropical-grown Yirgacheffe coffee's fruit aromas more prominent and rich. Upon entry, the slight acidity resembles apple's sour fragrance, which反而 highlights the coffee's richness, making the bitterness more aromatic and worth savoring. Essentially, coffee is a fruit. The characteristic of Yirgacheffe coffee lies in maintaining sweet and sour fruit flavors even after high-temperature roasting.

Regardless of the country, the decision to roast lies with the barista and roaster. Their personal understanding of coffee beans and different preferences determine the roasting method.

Yirgacheffe Coffee Brand Recommendations

Under Yirgacheffe, there are numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still live difficult lives. They don't have sufficient capacity to build family-style processing workshops, which is why many processing stations emerge—collectively purchasing coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, processing them, and then selling to green bean merchants. Therefore, Yirgacheffe coffee quality inevitably varies. To find excellent quality Yirgacheffe coffee without keen judgment, it's recommended to choose highly reputable brands.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee offers full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it's extremely cost-effective—each 227g package costs only 85-95 yuan. Calculating at 15g of coffee beans per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 6 yuan.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473