How to Roast Ethiopian Coffee Beans? Which Ethiopian Coffee Brands Are Recommended

Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Chelelektu

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelelektu G1

01 | Region Introduction

Unique Geographical Environment

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia sitting at 1,700-2,100 meters, which makes it one of the highest coffee-growing regions in the world and a synonym for Ethiopian specialty coffee. Lakes Turkana, Abaya and Chamo bring abundant water vapor to the area.

Many coffee lovers struggle to tell Yirgacheffe and Sidamo apart, even though both are in Ethiopia. Simply put, Sidamo is a province and Yirgacheffe is a town within it. Sidamo sits at 2,100 meters, while the Yirgacheffe region is higher still, its highest points exceeding 2,600 meters — far above Sidamo. Yirgacheffe is known for its unique jasmine fragrance, bright and lively citrus acidity and black tea texture, while Sidamo features full-bodied berry and tropical fruit flavors.

Yirgacheffe is located in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia. That region governs the relatively well-known areas of Yirgacheffe and Kochere. Because Yirgacheffe's coffee has special flavors in a unique style that is widely loved, it has formed its own category in product classification and has always held a place in the global specialty coffee market. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in Sidamo province, with three neighboring producing areas: Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya. Since their coffee flavors are almost identical to and run parallel with Yirgacheffe's, Kochere is also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional category. In November 2009, Ethiopia implemented a new trading and grading system, adding the three sub-regions Wenago, Kochere and Genlena Abaya alongside Yirgacheffe.

Kochere is a small producing area about 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe. Its harvested beans come from numerous individual smallholder farmers, whose average coffee plot is about 1 hectare, with planting altitudes of roughly 1,900 to 2,000 meters. The varieties are mainly a mix of Typica and Heirloom (local native varieties). Because the region has relatively advanced raw-bean washing equipment, it has consistently performed at a high level in washed processing, praised for a clean sweetness with complex notes of honey and citrus. The local production model has small farmers deliver each harvest of red cherries directly to nearby cooperative washing stations for unified processing.

Ethiopia introduced washed processing technology in the 1970s. Today, raw-bean processing in Kochere is primarily washed. After the washing station selects and grades red cherry-colored fruit, the pulp is removed immediately for washing and fermentation. Once washed, the parchment beans are placed on racks to sun-dry. When humidity falls to 12% or below, they go straight to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) warehouse in Awassa. Cupping grading and quantity checks are usually carried out there, and washed beans are typically stored in parchment form until dehulling before export.

Since the ECX system was introduced in 2008, most raw coffee has been sold through bidding under it. This batch of naturally processed Yirgacheffe G1 Chelelektu comes from Chelelektu village within the Yirgacheffe Kochere producing region. The cherries come from roughly 500 local smallholder family members nearby. These farmers average less than 2 hectares of coffee each, at planting altitudes of about 1,900 to 2,000 meters. Their washed beans have been cupped by professionals, with historical records reaching as high as 94 points.

Raw Bean Information

Product Name: Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Chelelektu G1

Flavor Description: Raisins, dark berries, tropical fruits, and caramel

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe Kochere Region

Producer: Chelelektu Processing Station, local small-scale farmers in the town

Variety: Heirloom (local native varieties)

Grade: ECX Highest Grade G1

Altitude: 1,900 to 2,000 meters

Processing Method: Natural Processing

02 | Processing Method

This naturally processed coffee has slightly larger beans with lower density and moisture content. Every coffee from this station can be considered high-quality specialty processed coffee, with characteristics that outperform other coffees regardless of processing method. The beans from here can be counted among the best in the Yirgacheffe region.

After the station selects usable cherries, the entire pulp and skin are left intact, and the cherries are placed on raised beds for natural processing. It is precisely this labor-intensive bed drying that isolates the fruit from contact with the ground, prevents earthy off-flavors during drying and creates exceptionally clean fruit flavors. After more than two weeks of natural drying, the dark brown coffee fruits are professionally stored, waiting for the flavors to mature fully. Before shipment, the station removes the beans from the cherries, making the sweetness easy to imagine.

03 | Raw Bean Analysis

About Yirgacheffe Grading

By raw-bean processing method, Yirgacheffe can be divided into two main categories:

Category A: Washed processing, with grading standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), divided into Gr-1 and Gr-2. The smaller the number, the higher the grade. G1 Yirgacheffe has a distinctive style, and the citrus and floral aromas blended into the coffee liquid are an irresistible deliciousness.

Category B: Naturally processed raw beans, graded Gr-1, Gr-3, Gr-4 and Gr-5. Again, the highest grade G1 natural Yirgacheffe has rich fruit aromas. Opening a bag of freshly roasted G1 natural Yirgacheffe can overturn everything you thought you knew about coffee. Only those who have tasted the highest-grade natural Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is a fruit.

Yirgacheffe varieties are local native types, small-bean in appearance, quite round and very small, mostly between 14-15 mesh.

Yirgacheffe Cherry Red Grade 1 raw beans have a yellow-green color typical of natural processing, with uniform, full beans and few defects.

Ethiopia Coffee Bean Roasting Analysis

Beans with such splendid flavors are naturally not suited to medium-dark roasting. This coffee is therefore meant to use a light, slow roast to bring out its rounded sweetness and rich floral and fruit aromas.

These beans are relatively small and carry moisture, so they absorb more heat during roasting, making the Maillard reaction proceed relatively quickly.

In the first roast I used a higher dropping temperature, applying 160 heat power before the beans dehydrated and turned yellow, to ensure enough heat to sustain through first crack, then developing directly toward second crack and defining the development curve.

In the second, third and fourth roasts I used the same 200-degree bean-in temperature and the same heat power, gradually reducing the power during the roast as needed.

This roast is a fast-roasted light roast:

Cupping:

Roasting Curve 2: Lemon, blueberry, floral aroma, stone fruits

Roasting Curve 3: Citrus, jackfruit, peach

Roasting Curve 4: Fermented, cream

Roasting Curve 2:

Using fast-roast mode, preheat the roaster to 200°C with the air damper set to 3.5. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160°, air damper unchanged. At 140°, adjust the heat power once, reducing to 130°. Roast to 5'03" and a temperature of 151°, when the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy aroma disappears completely and dehydration is complete. Adjust the heat to 105° and open the air damper to 4.

By the 8th minute, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the obvious toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma — the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the sound. At 8'30" first crack begins; reduce the heat to 80° and open the air damper fully (adjust the heat carefully, not so low that the cracking sound disappears), and drop at 198°.

The dry aroma of Yirgacheffe gives off rich fruit fragrances, with heavy dried-fruit flavors of strawberry, mango and apricot jam.

The wet aroma is like sweet syrup, like thick apricot pulp juice wrapped in rustic honey or chocolate. Entry is not intense, with medium body and acidity that is not obvious yet lively and bright, like fruit black tea.

04 | Brewing Analysis

Yirgacheffe's Flavor

Brewing Method

As for brewing methods, pour-over and siphon are optimal. When grinding the beans you can smell the rich natural fruit aroma, with obvious sweetness.

Gentle and elegant, sweet and charming. Yirgacheffe gives off extremely complex aromas, displaying an exceptionally outstanding mouthfeel that is hard to describe.

V60 filter cup, 15g of coffee, water temperature 86°C, grind setting 3.5,

Water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

27g of water for bloom, bloom time 28s

Segmented pour: 27-105-88, time 1:50 (timing starts from bloom)

Mouthfeel: Smooth, with layered texture, enhanced fermented berry sweetness

The wet aroma of the brewed coffee — fermented berry and fermented fruit-wine flavors — makes it hard to believe this is Yirgacheffe, though personally I don't especially like this wet aroma. Even so, from the extremely smooth entry to the delicate body, the emergence of ripe fruit's sweet and sour flavors is truly astonishing. The sweetness exceeds any Yirgacheffe I've tasted before. The aftertaste performs well too, worthy of the name "fruit bomb." It can basically guarantee that you will still taste sweetness in your mouth half an hour after drinking.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste what a light, slow roast can do with an Ethiopian bean, start with FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a clear tea note, roasted medium-light to hold on to that brightness. For the natural-processing side — the dried fruit and berry sweetness this Chelelektu lot is built around — FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry is the natural counterpart, with citrus acidity, a berry-juice body, honey sweetness and a creamy texture. Brew either on a V60 with 15g of coffee at 90-91°C and a 1:15 ratio; grind to an EK43s setting of 10, a fine-sugar consistency with about 80% through a #20 sieve, bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to roughly 125g over a minute, then top up to about 225g and finish in 2:00-2:10.