An Introduction to the Hand-Drip Flavor Characteristics of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe GOTITI Processing Station Goting Goting Coffee Beans

When it comes to coffee with floral and fruity aromas, FrontStreet Coffee immediately thinks of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. Although FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha also has floral and fruity notes, in terms of distinctiveness, FrontStreet Coffee still believes that FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe aroma is more pronounced. Yirgacheffe is a premium coffee-producing region in Ethiopia, originally belonging to the Sidamo region, but was separated due to its unique flavor profile!

About Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe was originally a small town in Ethiopia, located in the Sidamo administrative province. This town has been a wetland since ancient times - in the ancient language, "Yirga" means "to settle down," and "Cheffe" means "wetland."

Yirgacheffe is one of the highest-altitude coffee-growing regions globally and synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. With an elevation of 1700-2100 meters, it enjoys year-round cool and misty weather with spring-like conditions. The terrain and unique cultivation system provide optimal conditions for growing specialty coffee beans. Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Sidamo. This town is located in the northwest of Sidamo, nestled by mountains and lakes, making it one of Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee regions. However, due to its unique flavor profile, it has become independent from Sidamo, establishing its own identity and becoming Africa's most renowned coffee region.

Coffee trees in the Yirgacheffe region are mostly grown in farmers' backyards or intercropped with other crops in fields. Each household's production is limited, making it typical garden coffee.

What we often refer to as the "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine fragrance, lemon or lime acidity, as well as peach, almond sweetness, and tea notes. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee offers rich layers and delicate body, with captivating flavors and a sweet aftertaste. The phrase "flowers bloom as coffee enters the mouth" perfectly describes it - akin to the pleasant sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and olfactory cells. Beyond the floral aroma, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth, creating a wonderful tactile experience.

Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone Region

Gedeb is a town located below Kochere town, 60 kilometers from Yirgacheffe town, and is a famous specialty coffee bean-producing region in Ethiopia. With an elevation of 1900-2200 meters, much higher than typical Yirgacheffe regions, this high-altitude advantage makes Gedeb an exceptionally suitable area for coffee cultivation. It is an emerging micro-region gradually gaining recognition. Although this town is classified under the Kochere region in ECX auction markets, it holds the same administrative level as Kochere town.

In the specialty coffee industry, it can be distinguished separately from Kochere as a Yirgacheffe sub-region of the same level. This town includes villages such as Worka Sakaro, Halo Bariti, Banko Gotiti, and Banko Dahato that produce coffee.

When discussing Yirgacheffe, we must first introduce the regional classification methods here. Under the ECX regional classification system, Yirgacheffe is mainly divided into four regions: Wenago, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, and Gelana Abaya. Administratively, the Kochere region covers two Woredas: Kochere in the west and Gedeb in the east. In recent years, Gedeb has often been independently recognized as a micro-region, and the Banko Gotiti cooperative is located in the Worka Kebele within Gedeb at the southern end of Yirgacheffe.

The Banko Gotiti cooperative was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU) and became independent as Banko Gotiti cooperative in 2012, currently having about 300+ small farmer members. In the past, direct exports from Ethiopia could only be achieved through:

(1) Private processing station system through ECX bidding exports

(2) Cooperative system

(3) Single estate/farm

However, starting from 2018, the ECX system was reformed, no longer concealing the origin of coffee batches, and private processing stations can now export directly to buyers. Besides increasing transparency and traceability, this also allows buyers and sellers to establish closer partnerships. For cooperatives, this may not have had an impact, or perhaps it increased competition with private processing stations, but overall, this change undoubtedly represents another step forward for the specialty coffee industry.

Banko Gotiti Cooperative

The Banko Gotiti cooperative is located in the Worka region at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe. It was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU). However, as people pursued traceability of green coffee beans, independent "single regions" were gradually discovered one by one by coffee hunters worldwide. Therefore, in 2012, Banko Gotiti, with about 300 farmer members, independently established the "Banko Gotiti Cooperative."

Banko Gotiti village was one of the earliest village areas to become independent. Many small farmers were originally members of the Worka cooperative, so their coffee production skills are unquestionable. Banko Gotiti cooperative is known as the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, so it still uses very traditional processing methods for green beans (washed and natural processing methods).

Washed Processing

Ethiopia's washed processing technology was introduced from Central and South America in 1972. The washed processing process is complex and cumbersome, requiring large amounts of fresh water, making it more costly than natural processing and less commonly used in water-scarce African regions.

Washed processing steps: After picking coffee cherries, place them in water and use buoyancy to remove underripe fruits. Then use a pulper to remove the cherry skin/pulp, and let them rest in fermentation tanks for 18-36 hours until the mucilage layer decomposes. After fermentation completes, the parchment beans are washed in channels for 30-60 minutes. Through specially designed channels combined with water flow, low-density, poor-quality beans are removed. The high-quality coffee beans are then drained of moisture and spread on African-style raised beds to dry.

Because the pulp is removed before drying, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe inherent aroma becomes clearer and more transparent, presenting citrus, lemon notes and elegant white floral aromas, with overall bright and delicate flavors. After launching washed processed coffee beans, Yirgacheffe became a representative of world specialty coffee regions.

Heirloom Varieties

Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way, mainly because Ethiopia has too many varieties. It's like a natural gene bank for Arabica - on one hand, there are numerous varieties making identification and classification difficult; on the other hand, the Ethiopian government,出于 protection considerations, is unwilling or unable to disclose information about these varieties.

In Ethiopia, most coffee grows in wild or semi-wild states, in fields, backyards, or under forests. When coffee cherries ripen, farmers gather these cherries for processing. In reality, this is a grand mixture of many different natural variants. Because these cherries grow under the same terroir, they form similar flavor profiles - this is the foundational framework of regional coffee flavors. Ethiopia has nearly 2000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So purely judging by appearance, Ethiopian coffee varieties are like a "grand garden" - containing everything: long, short, thin, fat. This is also why we often see Ethiopian coffee beans of varying sizes.

Roasting Profile Analysis

For beans like FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters often use light roasting to present their floral and fruity characteristics. For this FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Banko Gotiti, we still use low heat to extend the bean's dehydration time.

Yangjia 800N roaster (300g batch size)

Preheat to 175°C, air damper at 3, heat at 120. Return temperature at 1'32", when temperature reaches 140°C, heat remains unchanged, air damper opens to 4. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. At 166°C, heat reduces to 100; at 176°C, heat reduces to 80, air damper remains unchanged.

At 8'28", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 9'38", adjust air damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not so low as to eliminate cracking sounds). Develop for 1'30" after first crack, discharge at 193.5°C.

Agtron bean color value 74.6 (above image), Agtron ground color value 79.8 (below image), Roast Delta value 5.2.

Cupping Profile

[FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Banko Gotiti] Flavor: Tropical fruits, cream, honey, berries, citrus.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Guide

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti

FrontStreet Coffee: Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Natural

Grade: G1

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 91°C

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind: Medium-fine (Chinese standard #20 sieve 80% pass-through)

Brewing Method: Step infusion

Use 34g of water for bloom for 36 seconds. Continue pouring with small circular motion until 120g, then segment. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 229g and stop pouring. Wait until water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time: 2'00".

[FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Banko Gotiti] Flavor: Overall mouthfeel is substantial, with prominent fermentation aroma and tropical fruits. As temperature changes, berry and cream flavors emerge. The aftertaste leaves a persistent citrus sweet and sour sensation on the teeth and lips.

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