Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Ethiopian Coffee Beans - Is Yirgacheffe Coffee Expensive and Delicious?

An Introduction to Yirgacheffe Coffee for Beginners

As a newcomer to specialty coffee, do you feel overwhelmed when choosing coffee beans? If you want to quickly understand the flavor layers in coffee but cannot immediately accept coffee's bitterness, FrontStreet Coffee recommends starting with the "Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans" from FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee bean series.

FrontStreet Coffee has launched a series of coffee beans that showcase the characteristic flavors of 7 major coffee-producing regions, available at 25 yuan per 100g, to share with everyone. This is especially for those who are new to specialty coffee but worry about wasting money on expensive beans that don't suit their taste. Although called "daily beans," this doesn't mean the coffee beans in this series are of poor quality. After all, these are the gateway to introducing everyone to specialty coffee, and this series plays a crucial role in determining whether people will like coffee beans from a particular region.

Understanding Regional Flavor Characteristics

Regarding regional flavor, it refers to how coffee beans, regardless of variety or processing method, exhibit flavors that represent a particular area due to the local terroir when grown in a specific region. For example, whenever people taste coffee with citrus fruit acidity, they think of coffee beans from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region; when tasting coffee with herbal spice and rich flavors, they think of coffee from Indonesia's Sumatra region. FrontStreet Coffee recommends starting with Ethiopian washed Yirgacheffe coffee beans because this coffee is not too acidic, has low bitterness, making it easier for everyone to learn and recognize the flavor layers in coffee.

The Origin and Development of Yirgacheffe

The Yirgacheffe origin is located in southern Ethiopia, meaning "natural wetland" in the local language. This region was originally part of another famous Ethiopian coffee-producing region - the Sidama region - and was a small town within the Sidama coffee region. However, because the coffee produced annually in Yirgacheffe town has unique floral aromas and citrus fruit acidity, in 2010, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated the Yirgacheffe region from the Sidama region, forming the Yirgacheffe region that everyone loves today.

Coffee Processing in Yirgacheffe

Since Yirgacheffe town is not large in area, most people here grow coffee trees in their backyards. After harvesting coffee cherries, they are sent to nearby coffee cooperatives for collective processing and exported under the cooperatives' names. At the same time, because the town has abundant water resources, there is sufficient water to wash-process coffee cherries, producing higher quality, cleaner acidity. Therefore, many cooperatives in the Yirgacheffe region are famous for washed coffee processing, such as the Kochere Cooperative, Worka Cooperative, and others.

Of course, the town also produces natural-processed coffee beans and currently popular special processing method coffee beans. Compared to washed coffee beans, natural-processed coffee beans have fuller flavors and slight fermentation aromas; while special processing methods emphasize certain coffee flavors.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

As the birthplace of all coffee varieties, Ethiopia has numerous local coffee varieties - some confirmed, some unconfirmed, and some protected and not publicly disclosed. Therefore, coffee grown in Ethiopia is rarely planted as a single variety; most are all varieties mixed together, planted and harvested together. Consequently, coffee beans from this region, except for individual specific varieties, are collectively called Ethiopian Heirloom. Also, because there are differences in coffee bean sizes between varieties, another characteristic of Ethiopian coffee beans is their uneven size.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Selection

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe region coffee beans include not only the washed Yirgacheffe coffee beans mentioned at the beginning of this article, but also natural red cherry (fully red coffee cherries) coffee beans from Aletaland Cooperative, washed-processed coffee beans from Kochere Cooperative, and washed-processed coffee beans from Worka Cooperative. To preserve Yirgacheffe region's unique floral aromas and citrus fruit acidity, FrontStreet Coffee uses light roasting, retaining most of the acidity while bringing pleasant sweetness. To let everyone experience the charm of freshly roasted coffee beans, all coffee beans are shipped within five days after roasting when you order on Taobao!

Brewing Recommendations

When brewing Yirgacheffe region coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using higher water temperature and a grind size similar to fine sugar (80% pass rate through China No. 20 standard sieve) with water temperature of 90-91°C. The brewing ratio建议使用1:15, and the brewing technique建议使用三段式注水.

Three-Stage Pouring Method

Start timing, first pour to 30g of water, and bloom for 30 seconds; then start the second stage with small water flow in circular motions to 125g, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before pouring again, then continue with small water flow in circular motions to 225g. After complete drip filtration, the total extraction time should be around 2 minutes 00 seconds to 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Brewing Flavor Profiles

FrontStreet Coffee Daily Bean Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans Brewing Flavors: Jasmine, berries, lemon, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Aletaland Cooperative Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans Brewing Flavors: Berries, strawberry, lemon, fermentation aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Worka Cooperative Washed-Processed Yirgacheffe Beans Brewing Flavors: Lemon, plum, pomelo, ginger flower, Tieguanyin

FrontStreet Coffee Kochere Cooperative Washed-Processed Coffee Beans Brewing Flavors: Lemon, black tea, orange blossom, fruity sweetness

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473