How to Sell Yirgacheffe - The Charms of Yirgacheffe - Introduction to Yirgacheffe's Flavor Characteristics

The Fascinating Journey of Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Last time we introduced the first specialty coffee bean: Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia. Have you visited a specialty coffee shop to experience its charm in person? The reason Yirgacheffe has such a captivating flavor, changing from the first sip to the last, is closely tied to the processing that turns coffee cherries into green beans.

When the cherries ripen and turn red, they are harvested. The pulp must then be removed so only the seeds remain, and the moist beans are dried until they hold only about 12% moisture. At that level the beans are stable, which helps preserve their flavor characteristics and allows the green coffee to be stored for a long time.

Yirgacheffe beans are small and neat, short and round. Through natural drying, using sunlight to dry both the cherries and the green beans, sugars and essences from the cherry pulp work their way into the bean. The natural method, however, skips two important steps: filtering out lower-density defective beans in water tanks, and removing unripe cherries with a pulp sorter. If defective beans slip through, they easily bring off-flavors and unpleasant tastes.

Fortunately, the local coffee industry is full of dedicated people. They are meticulous when harvesting ripe cherries, removing unripe green cherries and defective fruit. During natural drying they also pick out damaged, moldy or otherwise flawed beans, protecting the quality of the finished coffee.

It is precisely this careful selection that lets Yirgacheffe fully express its rich floral notes, citrus aroma, fruit sweetness and fruit acidity.

Coffee Knowledge

Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU)

It plays a very important role in the Ethiopian coffee industry.

When beans have complete traceability, international buyers can trace their origins and cooperative members can obtain reasonable profits, which improves education in local villages, raises quality of life and more.

Recommended Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Kochere brings excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it offers exceptional value. A 227 g package costs only about 75 yuan. At 15 grams per cup of single-origin coffee, one package makes 15 cups, putting each cup at only about 5 yuan. Against cafe prices that often run tens of yuan a cup, that is outstanding value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse range of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known origins. Online shop services are available at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yirgacheffe is a town in Sidamo in southern Ethiopia, sitting at about 1700-2100 meters, with the coffee trees planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. It was long a wetland, and its name became shorthand for the white florals and lemon-citrus acidity that make Ethiopian specialty coffee so recognizable. In 2010, once Yirgacheffe's fame had grown so large, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated it from Sidamo, which is how Yirgacheffe became a name in its own right.

For a first taste of Ethiopia, FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the classic entry. 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 for many drinkers. If you want to go deeper, FrontStreet Gudingding Cooperative comes from Gudingding village in the Woka area at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe. It began as part of the Woka cooperative under the YCFCU and was later recognized as a single origin in its own right. It keeps the traditional washed process, and the cup is free of the old bitterness, with fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity and jasmine fragrance.

For a natural-process counterpoint, FrontStreet Red Cherry uses fully ripe cherries dried in the sun. The cherries are sorted on arrival, then spread on racks; in the first days they are turned every 2-3 hours to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of sun drying, the outer pulp is scraped off by machine according to the weather and temperature, and the beans are moved to storage. Because the fruit dries with the pulp, the cup keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit from the natural process: citrus acidity, berry juiciness, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness.

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