Difference Between Yirgacheffe and Sidamo—How to Brew

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About the Yirgacheffe and Sidama Growing Regions

These four cultivation systems are distributed across Ethiopia's nine major growing regions: Jimma, Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Harrar, Limu, Illubabor, Gimbi (Lekempti), Tepi, and Bebeka.

Yirgacheffe (Premium Growing Region): Elevation 1,800-2,000 meters | Garden Coffee System

Yirgacheffe is subordinate to the Sidama region but was separated due to its unique flavor profile. In addition to the town of Yirgacheffe itself, it includes three sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, Gelena, and Abaya.

Under Yirgacheffe, there are numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still live in difficult conditions and lack sufficient capacity to build family-style processing workshops. Therefore, many processing stations emerge to centrally purchase coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, process them, and then sell them to green bean traders. For example, Yirgacheffe's "Red Cherry Project" natural process beans sometimes only carry information about the Red Cherry Project, while other times the bean information is very detailed, allowing us to trace the origin to specific villages. For instance, Yirgacheffe "Berry Garden" can be traced back to Yirgacheffe, Kochere town, Bolje village, Lot 1 Natural G1 - Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere Bolje Lot1 Natural G1.

Additionally, other common Yirgacheffe region coffees available in China include:

Yirgacheffe Misty Valley: Since the Yirgacheffe region introduced washing techniques in the late 20th century, washed processing has significantly reduced defective beans, making this region's coffee beans popular among coffee enthusiasts worldwide. Local coffee merchant Abdullash Bagersh, missing the flavor of traditional natural process beans, improved the natural processing method to enhance flavor and reduce defect ratios, launching three extremely famous natural process Yirgacheffe beans: "Idido Misty Valley," "Beloya," and "Aricha."

Yirgacheffe Aricha: Originally named Idido, Aricha is a renowned coffee processing plant near the town of Yirgacheffe.

- Wenago: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Wenago

- Dormorso: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Dormorso

- Konga: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Konga

- Kochere: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere

- Chelelektu: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Chelelektu

- Gutiti: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gutiti

Sidama (Premium Growing Region): Elevation 1,400-2,200 meters | Garden Coffee System

Similar in flavor to Yirgacheffe, finely washed or natural processed Sidama also exhibits floral and citrus notes.

The Sidama growing region is located in southern Ethiopia. Agriculture dominates the local industry, with coffee growing areas situated around the East African Rift Valley.

Sidama's coffee flavors are extremely diverse. Different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties, combined with the region's towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, create diverse topography. The local geology consists of nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil with depths of nearly two meters, and surface soil appears dark brown or brown.

The region's greatest advantage lies in maintaining soil fertility through organic matter cycling, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or plant residue as fertilizer. This creates distinct differences and characteristics in the coffee produced by various towns.

The Guji Zone has consistently been a growing region worthy of significant attention, and its development in recent years confirms that the rise of the Guji region is indeed one of Ethiopia's important recent trends. Beyond beans from larger sub-regions such as Hambella and Shakiso, exceptional beans from processing plants or even single estates have emerged, surpassing what the traditional Yirgacheffe region can offer.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe varieties are local native landraces, small-bean varieties with relatively round shapes and very small beans, mostly between 14-15 screen size.

FrontStreet Coffee's Sidama varieties are also local native landraces, small-bean varieties slightly smaller than Longberry, with small beans but overall slightly larger than FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, mostly 15 screen size.

Local Native Varieties

Ethiopia has nearly 2,000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced varieties. So in terms of appearance alone, Ethiopia's coffee varieties are like a "grand view garden" - you can find everything: long, short, thin, fat...

Brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Process Yirgacheffe and Sidama

When we have FrontStreet Coffee's natural process Yirgacheffe and natural process Sidama, how should we brew them?

Regarding brewing methods, pour-over and siphon are optimal choices. During grinding, you can smell the rich natural process fruit aroma with noticeable sweetness.

Based on our experience, the main differences to consider when brewing FrontStreet Coffee's natural process Yirgacheffe and natural process Sidama are roast degree, altitude, and roast date.

In principle, darker roasts can use lower temperatures, while lighter roasts can use higher temperatures. For example, lightly roasted beans with longer aging times, coarse grinds, beans that tend toward acidity, and if you prefer bitterness over acidity, you can try using a higher temperature. Of course, while higher temperatures can indeed release more aromatic lipids and aroma, they sometimes accompany the destruction of certain flavors. Naturally, brewing temperature doesn't have a fixed standard - it can be determined based on your personal taste preferences or the bean's roast degree.

FrontStreet Coffee's Common Brewing Method: Three-Stage Pour-Over

Three-stage pouring method involves分段萃取, dividing one portion of water into three injections. Suitable for light roast, medium-light roast, and medium roast coffee beans. Use V60 dripper. Increase bloom time or number of pours to enhance coffee richness and body.

Grind size: Fuji 3.5, sugar-sized granules

The three-stage pour-over extraction method creates richer layers, allowing clear distinction between front, middle, and back-end flavors. The method involves increasing water volume with each pour after blooming, typically pouring when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the powder level surface. Using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction, taking FrontStreet Coffee's natural process "Flower Queen" as reference:

3.5 grind - 90°C water temperature

Sweetness: ☆☆☆☆
Acidity: ☆☆☆
Bitterness: ☆
Flavor Description: Excellent sweetness, comfortable entry, full-bodied mouthfeel. The acidity is relatively soft, with fruit flavors enveloping the palate. Bitterness is much less prominent, while the aftertaste is very sweet.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473