How to Reduce Bitterness in Yirgacheffe? The Correct Method for Adjusting Iced Pour-Over Coffee Strength

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What is Yirgacheffe?

Yirgacheffe, originally just a small town in the Sidamo province of Ethiopia, has become beloved by many coffee enthusiasts for the coffee beans grown here that offer fresh flavors and bright acidity. It is also one of the most watched coffee-producing regions in the global coffee industry.

Compared to traditional coffee that only had rich, mellow flavors, the emergence of Yirgacheffe coffee beans has subverted many people's understanding of coffee taste. Bright citrus acidity, fresh floral aromas, honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste, and tea-like lingering sweetness after swallowing have captivated countless Chinese people who grew up in tea culture.

Why Yirgacheffe Coffee is So Exceptional

Yirgacheffe coffee beans are so delicious that FrontStreet Coffee believes there are three reasons: high-altitude cultivation, naturally mixed coffee varieties, and pure, traditional coffee processing methods.

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Yirgacheffe originally belonged to the Sidamo province of Ethiopia, but in 1995, when Ethiopia's administrative regions were reorganized, Sidamo was no longer an administrative region, and Yirgacheffe was classified under the Gedeo Zone.

Later, coffee traders discovered that coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe area had very special white floral aromas as well as lemon and citrus scents, which were very popular with consumers. Therefore, many people would specially select coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region before export, hoping to sell them at better prices.

It wasn't until 2009 that the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange introduced a certification in several specific regions (Wenago, Yigacheffe, Kochere, Gelena~Abaya), dividing them into those with classic Yirgacheffe flavor (Yigacheffe A) and those without classic Yirgacheffe flavor (Yigacheffe B). This means that the Yirgacheffe you drink in coffee shops today may not actually come from the "Yirgacheffe" area, but still carries the Yirgacheffe name, much like how Yonghe soy milk doesn't necessarily come from Yonghe.

Yirgacheffe Subregions

Currently, most of the Yirgacheffe we can drink refers to the producing region or area. There are also many centralized coffee bean processing cooperatives in the Yirgacheffe area, such as Kochere, Worka, Gotiti, Chelelektu, Misty Valley, and Konga, which are more well-known and commonly heard of.

When trading these beans, green bean merchants usually label them as Yirgacheffe + cooperative name to indicate that these beans come from this village and cooperative in Yirgacheffe. Most Ethiopian coffee is related to place names, but not all varieties are classified by place names. For example, the Sidamo Flower Queen 8.0 on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list is a nice name given by domestic green bean traders to highlight its selling points.

Unique Characteristics of Ethiopian Coffee

Since Ethiopia is the origin of all coffee varieties, to this day there are still many wild/native coffee varieties in the Ethiopian region that have not been discovered or certified. Due to the large and complex number of varieties, most coffee trees planted by Ethiopian farmers are not subdivided by variety - they are all mixed cultivation and mixed harvesting. At the same time, these coffee varieties are named Heirloom.

Therefore, coffee cherries of different varieties will also vary in size. FrontStreet Coffee has observed and noted that coffee beans from the Ethiopian region exhibit varying sizes, which is a normal phenomenon and also a characteristic of Ethiopian coffee beans.

In the Ethiopian region, due to climate and conditions, people often use the most traditional processing methods when extracting coffee beans: washed and natural.

Processing Methods

The reason Yirgacheffe can have such a distinctive style, in addition to innate terroir conditions, is largely due to the washed processing technology introduced by the Ethiopian government from Central and South America in 1972. Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and be able to introduce continuous fresh water, resulting in higher production costs. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in the pool and moved back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean. Each step removes impurities and defective beans, so the quality of the green beans is more uniform, and the final trading price is higher than naturally dried coffee.

Washed coffee beans involve picking out bad fruits after harvesting, then removing the pulp and placing them in clean water pools for fermentation to decompose the mucilage, followed by washing with clean water and then sun-drying. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping, it was found that washed processed coffee beans have very clean and bright acidity and flavors, and can also clearly let everyone feel the quality of the coffee beans.

Natural processed coffee beans involve picking out bad fruits after harvesting, then directly taking them for sun-drying until they reach the appropriate moisture content before bagging. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping, it was found that natural processed coffee beans have very full sweet and sour sensations, along with soft fermentation aromas.

In the Yirgacheffe region, because of abundant water resources, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe producing area are mainly washed processed. The most representative is undoubtedly the "Light-Medium Roast - Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans" sold by FrontStreet Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone

Producer: Gotiti Cooperative

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Local Heirloom

Processing: Washed Process

Since Yirgacheffe coffee beans are grown in high-altitude areas with relatively hard texture, light-medium roasting hasn't brought too much change to the structure of the coffee beans themselves. Therefore, for high-altitude, floral and fruity coffee beans like Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee uses water temperature of 90-91°C and grinding degree of fine sugar (80% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve).

Brewing Method

Three-Stage Extraction: First stage uses 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Second stage injects 95g of hot water. When the powder bed drops to halfway, begin injecting the third stage of 100g until all coffee has finished drip-filtering. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small water flow with gentle circular motion throughout to avoid uneven extraction.

Gotiti Pour-Over Coffee Flavor Profile: After grinding, it has elegant jasmine and citrus-like acidity. The extracted coffee enters the mouth with clear lemon brightness, prominent cane sugar sweetness, and as the temperature drops, it presents green tea mouthfeel with a persistent aftertaste.

Iced Pour-Over Coffee Parameters

Regarding what parameters to use for iced pour-over, FrontStreet Coffee once mentioned a formula in an article: Iced Pour-Over = Coffee Powder (fine grind) + 10x Hot Water + 5x Ice Cubes. Here, combined with fruit-acid type light-medium roast coffee beans, we also use 91-93°C water temperature, small water flow circular pouring, and three-stage technique to keep extraction time between 1 minute 50 seconds to 2 minutes, making it easy to brew a pot of flavorful iced coffee.

The juice-like sensation in coffee usually comes from the rich fruit aroma smelled combined with the sweet, sour, and juicy sensations in the mouth when drinking, reminiscent of the experience of eating certain fruits. When applied to today's iced pour-over theme, it means needing to extract both the acidic aromatic compounds from the front stage and pursue the sweet sensations from the middle and later stages to achieve the sweet and sour juice mouthfeel. Such requirements cannot be met by water flow stirring alone, so FrontStreet Coffee also adds an action: stirring.

Iced Gotiti Recipe

Coffee Beans: Ethiopia Washed Gotiti Cooperative

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:11 (160g hot water)

Ice: 75 grams

Grind: EK43s setting 9.5 (C40 approximately 22)

Dripper: Hario V60

Three-Stage: 30g, 90g (+ stir), 45g

Before pouring, first put ice cubes in the serving pot and pour in all the coffee powder. The first bloom stage remains unchanged, maintaining small water flow and pouring 30g in circular motion from center outward.

After 30 seconds, begin pouring 90g of hot water with large water flow in circular motion while raising the water level. When the timer scale shows 120g, stop pouring and use a small spoon to draw 5 circles along the filter cup wall in one direction, then wait for the coffee liquid to slowly flow down.

When the water in the filter cup is about to run out, use the small water flow and small circular motion from the first stage to pour the remaining 45g of hot water until all coffee liquid has dripped through. You can then remove the filter cup to end extraction. The time will typically fall between 1 minute 55 seconds to 2 minutes 5 seconds.

Coffee brewed this way, the washed Gotiti first presents a mouth-watering sweet and sour sensation like yellow peach, sweet orange, and grapefruit, with an overall tendency toward yellow stone fruit notes. Due to the addition of stirring, the coffee not only has rich fruit acidity but also carries a refreshing sweet sensation, and under the cooling effect of ice cubes, it's like drinking a cup of refreshing fruit tea.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473