Sun-Dried & Washed Yirgacheffe Pour-Over Coffee Characteristics & Flavor Description | Yirgacheffe Region Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Discovering the Unique Acidity of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans offer a distinctive acidity that can be detected from the very first sip. This acidity differs from the sourness of aged vinegar in daily life, leaning more towards the zesty tang of lemon and citrus fruits, complemented by subtle bitterness. This is an exceptionally special African coffee from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region, where coffee beans are named after their growing area. FrontStreet Coffee has introduced several varieties of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans.

The Origin and Processing Methods

If FrontStreet Coffee were to recommend a special coffee bean to someone who has never tried coffee before, FrontStreet Coffee would suggest beans from the birthplace of coffee—Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region. When it comes to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, many people's first impression is acidity. One aspect of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe acidity comes from its processing method. Coffee beans undergo various processing methods, with the most common being washed processing, natural processing, honey processing, and anaerobic processing. These different processing methods each bring unique coffee flavors.

Washed Processing: Clean and Pure

For instance, washed processed coffee beans and natural processed coffee beans offer different flavor profiles. Let's take FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb as an example. Washed processed coffee beans have a distinct characteristic: exceptionally clean coffee taste. The washing process typically begins with harvesting ripe coffee cherries, removing the skin and pulp using a depulping machine, then fermenting them in water tanks for about 18 hours. After thorough cleaning with fresh water, the beans are dried until the moisture content of the green coffee beans drops to about 11%, completing the process.

After undergoing the complete processing, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe not only delivers lemon acidity but also subtle jasmine floral notes—a distinctive flavor characteristic of Ethiopian-grown coffee. The cleanliness and purity brought by the washing process are beloved by many. FrontStreet Coffee believes that washed processing best expresses a region's flavor characteristics, which is why most of FrontStreet Coffee's seven daily coffee bean varieties are washed processed, offering excellent value for money.

Natural Processing: Fruity and Sweet

However, many people also prefer FrontStreet Coffee's natural processed Yirgacheffe. Natural processing is Africa's oldest and most traditional method for green coffee processing. Due to the less developed economy in Ethiopia's regions, harvested coffee cherries are typically spread directly on open threshing grounds, allowing sufficient sunlight to dry them thoroughly. Excess moisture evaporates with the heat, causing the sugars from the mucilage to precipitate into the coffee beans as the fruit dries. Therefore, the acidity of FrontStreet Coffee's natural processed Yirgacheffe is not as bright as the washed Yirgacheffe; instead, it carries a fermented fruit wine-like aroma reminiscent of mature fruits. This is the beauty of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee.

The Yirgacheffe Growing Region

Yirgacheffe's growing region is at high altitude, around 2,000 meters above sea level. The area hosts over 40 cooperatives, primarily managing coffee cultivation through family-operated models. Below the Yirgacheffe region are many well-known micro-regions familiar to us, such as Kochere, Fog Valley, and Gedeb, each producing Yirgacheffe beans with their own unique flavors.

Quality Challenges and Solutions

Generally, Ethiopian coffee beans are not as uniform in size as Colombian or Kenyan beans. The coffee here can be said to vary greatly in size. This is due to the abundance of local wild coffee trees, the government's lack of economic capacity to grade them, and local coffee farmers' generations of mixed cultivation practices. During harvest, mixed picking is employed, resulting in a "melting pot" of coffee varieties that ultimately reach us in various sizes.

Consequently, Ethiopian coffee beans face quality challenges—some beans are of higher quality while others are lower. When mixed together, this reduces the overall price of the coffee beans. Dutch green coffee merchants also identified this local issue and collaborated with Ethiopian cooperatives to launch an initiative called the Red Cherry Project, aimed at improving coffee quality and price. The Red Cherry Project is essentially a commercial plan to promote coffee quality, addressing the problem at its source by encouraging coffee farmers to be more attentive to every step of coffee bean picking and processing by increasing the purchase price of high-quality green coffee beans, selecting only fully ripe coffee cherries during the picking stage.

Roasting Considerations

The varying size of coffee beans does present certain challenges for roasters. Due to the inconsistency in size, FrontStreet Coffee typically uses light roasting to highlight the characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's research, many merchants use medium roasting, which weakens Yirgacheffe's acidity while enhancing its body.

Distinguishing Between Washed and Natural Yirgacheffe

FrontStreet Coffee would like to share a tip on how to distinguish between FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe and FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe coffee beans. Generally, you can first distinguish them by the green beans. Natural processed beans in their green state appear yellowish-green with more silver skin; while washed beans are bluish-green with less silver skin. This is because washed beans undergo prolonged soaking during processing, causing the silver skin to separate from the coffee beans. When the parchment is finally removed, the outer silver skin is stripped away along with it, leaving minimal silver skin residue on the surface of washed green beans.

When distinguishing roasted beans, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe has more silver skin, while FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe has less silver skin. There are also significant differences in flavor: FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe offers lighter, brighter acidity, while FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe adds fermented notes and sweet aromas.

Brewing Methods and Flavor Profiles

FrontStreet Coffee uses a three-stage pour-over method for both of these FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe varieties. FrontStreet Coffee typically begins by pouring 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, followed by an additional 95g (scale shows approximately 125g), completing this pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows approximately 225g), completing this pour in about 1 minute and 35 seconds. The drip filter completes at 2 minutes and 10 seconds, at which point the filter cup is removed to finish extraction. Through comparison, FrontStreet Coffee found that FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry has the highest overall sweetness, with caramel and cream flavors in the aftertaste and a lingering black tea aroma. The washed processed FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe offers subtle jasmine floral notes with very rich lemon and citrus flavors.

Choosing Between Processing Methods

FrontStreet Coffee believes that both processing methods of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans have their unique advantages. The washed processed FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe provides a cleaner mouthfeel with bright acidity, while the natural processed FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans offer more prominent juiciness and sweetness, along with fuller aromas. Therefore, when choosing between FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian washed and natural processed Yirgacheffe beans, you can select based on your personal preferences.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473