How to Brew Red Cherry Project Sun-Dried Pineapple Yirgacheffe Pour-Over - Is Japanese Style Iced Pour-Over Yirgacheffe Delicious?

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

A Remarkable Discovery: Gedeo Zone 2018 Red Cherry Project

This is the most surprising single-origin coffee among our recent additions — the Gedeo Zone 2018 Red Cherry Project. Excessive rainfall in the early stages delayed the maturation of the new Yirgacheffe season by about 3 weeks, and those three weeks, to some extent, increased the sweetness of the coffee cherries, letting us experience Yirgacheffe with richer flavors and sweetness.

This natural-processed lot features the rare pineapple flavor found in Yirgacheffe, paired with an enchanting sweetness reminiscent of the pineapple treats from the tuck shops outside elementary schools. Prepared as a Japanese-style iced pour-over, the flavors of this bean become even more explosive.

Gedeo Zone 2018 Red Cherry Project

Due to excessive rainfall in the early stages

The maturation period of the new Yirgacheffe season was delayed by about 3 weeks

Those three weeks increased the sweetness of the coffee cherries to some extent

Resulting in richer flavors and sweetness

This natural-processed lot features the rare pineapple flavor found in Yirgacheffe

Paired with an enchanting sweetness

Reminiscent of pineapple popsicles from the tuck shops outside elementary schools, delivering a refreshing taste

How to Perfectly Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee ["Pineapple Yirgacheffe"]?

FrontStreet Coffee pour-over reference: weigh 15g of "Pineapple Yirgacheffe" coffee and grind it medium — the particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use a BG grinder at setting 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate), water at 90°C, and a V60 dripper for extraction.

Pour the hot water from the kettle in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the bed, starting the timer as brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, bring the coffee to 30g, then stop pouring. When the clock reaches 1 minute, begin the second pour — again in clockwise circles centered on the middle, taking care that the stream never hits where the coffee bed meets the filter paper, to avoid channeling.

Leave a ring when you reach the outermost layer of grounds, then continue pouring circle by circle toward the center. At 2 minutes 20 seconds the coffee should reach 220g, completing the brew.

Japanese-Style Iced Pour-Over ["Pineapple Yirgacheffe"]

FrontStreet Coffee iced pour-over "Pineapple Yirgacheffe" reference:

Yirgacheffe "Pineapple Yirgacheffe," light to medium roast, BG grinder at setting 5M (67% standard sieve pass rate), 20g of coffee, 150g of ice cubes, and 150g of hot water. The water temperature should be 1°C higher than the 91°C normally recommended for pour-over. For grind, use the normal Fuji 3.5 setting; for iced pour-over, go half a setting finer to Fuji 3.

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Then pour in segments: 60g in the first segment, 40g in the second. Use a relatively fine but tall water column to agitate the bed forcefully, making sure the grounds roll thoroughly — while keeping the water level from rising too high and avoiding the filter paper at the edges.

Total extraction time should be approximately 2.5 minutes (similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of coffee).

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia's southern Sidamo zone at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with coffee grown above 1,800 meters — one of the highest coffee regions on Earth. Its instantly recognizable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity became a byword for Ethiopian specialty coffee; so famous did the name become that in 2010 the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange finally separated it from Sidamo as its own designation. Newcomers to Ethiopian coffee should start with the classic FrontStreet washed Yirgacheffe everyday lot: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish at a friendly price — the ideal first specialty bean.

For a step up, try the FrontStreet Worka (Gudingding) Cooperative lot from the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. Once part of the YCFCU union's Worka cooperative, it was later recognized by coffee hunters as a "single-terroir" microlot. Processed in the most traditional washed style, it has none of the old bitterness — just fresh, bright citrus-lemon acidity wrapped in jasmine fragrance. And if you love fruit-forward naturals, the FrontStreet Red Cherry lot — only fully ripe cherries, sun-dried on raised beds and turned every 2-3 hours for the first days, over three to five weeks — delivers classic Yirgacheffe character plus tropical fruit: citrus-like acidity, berry juiciness, honeyed sweetness, and creamy smoothness.

Brewing suggestion for a V60: 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio with 90-91°C water, ground to a fine granulated sugar texture (80% pass through a #20 sieve). Bloom with 30g for 30 seconds, pour to 125g within about 1 minute, then add the final 100g once the level falls to two-thirds of the bed, finishing the pour at about 1 minute 35 seconds; drawdown completes at 2:00-2:10, then remove the dripper.