Yirgacheffe Kochere-Biloa/Biloya Pour-Over Brewing Tips Sharing_How to Brew Biloya Coffee

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

Yigracheffe - The Natural Process Renaissance

"Yigracheffe" is a small town situated at an elevation of 1,700-2,100 meters and has become synonymous with premium Ethiopian coffee beans. Since ancient times, this area has been wetland. In the local language, "Yigar" means "settle down," and "Cheffe" means "wetland," thus "Yigracheffe" signifies "let us settle and thrive in this wetland."

Strictly speaking, Yigracheffe is a sub-producing area within Sidamo, located in the northwestern part of Sidamo, surrounded by mountains and lakes, making it one of Ethiopia's highest altitude coffee-growing regions. However, the production methods and flavor profiles here stand out, causing Ethiopian coffee farmers to take pride in producing coffee with Yigracheffe characteristics. Consequently, it became independent from Sidamo, developing its own style and becoming Africa's most renowned coffee-producing region.

In reality, Yigracheffe is composed of surrounding coffee communities or cooperatives. These mountain villages are shrouded in mist, spring-like throughout the year. Summers bring gentle breezes - cool but not hot, rainy but not damp, while winters avoid frost damage, nurturing a unique "terroir" of citrus and floral notes. Each household's production is modest, making it typical pastoral coffee...

Baghi (Yigracheffe coffee trader) has successfully selected and developed three natural process coffees from Yigracheffe and Sidamo varieties: Adido, Biloya, and Aricha (also known as Arecha). The secret lies in exquisite natural processing techniques. Without meticulous layer-by-layer screening procedures, even the finest varieties would struggle to guarantee freedom from off-flavors.

Baghi has established strict standards for harvesting red cherries. Before sun-drying the coffee cherries, underripe green cherries or defective ones are manually removed. During the drying process, damaged or moldy cherries are again sorted out. After two weeks, the fruit's sugar and essence fully penetrate the coffee beans, reducing moisture content to 12%. The hardened fruit pulp, mucilage layer, and parchment coffee are then scraped clean together with a hulling machine. The extracted coffee beans undergo grinding and color testing (these equipment and familiar post-processing procedures are identical). After eliminating defective beans, any remaining defective beans that escaped detection are finally removed manually by visual inspection. This layer-by-layer screening creates the clean and refined character of Yigracheffe or Sidamo natural process coffees, with their rich, captivating fruit aroma. The Yigracheffe natural process renaissance pursues clarity, purity, and abundant fruitiness - the essence of sun-kissed flavor.

Beloya - A Yigracheffe Coffee That Resembles Floral Tea

Beloya - a coffee not on the MENU, beautifully brewed with siphon methods. Coffee accompanied by gorgeous fruit aromas, thoughts drift back to that morning with gentle breezes, warm sunshine, sipping coffee while composing a small poem.

There's also a story behind this coffee. Only when the government opened access did coffee merchants enter the region to obtain these beans. Since then, the quantity of this coffee has been limited, making it increasingly difficult to find. Like a hidden noble lady, rare and precious, a glimpse leaves one longing for more, yet meeting remains elusive, causing sleepless nights.

Yigracheffe (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe) is divided into natural process and washed coffee beans. The flavors from 4,000 feet altitude are fresh and bright, with prominent yet balanced floral and fruity notes. Some describe how the fruitiness transforms into subtle strawberry notes upon tasting - the magnificent charm that even coffee beginners find stunning. Yigracheffe coffee is already outstanding for its floral notes, and after natural processing, the beans' inherent fragrance becomes particularly pronounced. "Beloya" will let you experience the feeling of wandering through flower gardens.

"Beloya" coffee, also belonging to Ethiopian high-altitude coffee beans, begins with blueberry berry acidity and tropical fruit sweetness, with hints of cocoa bitterness that transforms into a sweet aftertaste. The sweetness feels as smooth and gentle as premium cream. Without the floating coffee aroma, one might mistake it for drinking floral tea.

Geography

Yigracheffe, whether in culture or geographical environment, is similar to neighboring Sidamo, but Yigracheffe seems to enjoy more favorable conditions. High-quality Yigracheffe coffee features floral notes, bright citrus acidity, lemon-toned aromas, and silky smooth textures that firmly capture enthusiasts' attention. Amid the growth wave of the imported coffee industry, coffee production from this region has always been a focal point for buyers.

Beloya Profile

• Estate/Exporter: Primrose estate
• Region: Yirgacheffe
• Grade: G1
• Processing: Natural
• Variety: Heirloom
• Altitude: 1850m-2000m
• Harvest Season: November-January
• Cupping Notes: Lemongrass, dried red dates, longan, strawberry, juice
• Recommended Roast Level: City

How to Brew Yigracheffe Coffee [Biloya/Beloya] Well?

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Reference: Weigh 15g of [Biloya/Beloya] coffee powder, pour into a grinder for medium grinding. The ground particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use BG grinder setting 5R (standard sieve pass rate 60%), water temperature 90°C, extracted with V60 dripper.

Using hot water from the pour-over kettle, draw circles clockwise with the filter cup center as the focal point. Start timing when brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew the coffee to 30g, then stop pouring water. When the time reaches 1 minute, perform the second pour. For the second pour, similar to before, draw circles clockwise with the filter cup center as the focal point. Avoid pouring water on the area where coffee powder meets the filter paper to prevent channel effects.

Leave a circle of space when pouring to the outermost edge of the coffee powder, then gradually pour in circles toward the center. At 2 minutes 20 seconds, brew the coffee to 220g to complete the brewing process.

Japanese Iced Pour-over [Biloya/Beloya]

FrontStreet Coffee Iced Pour-over [Biloya/Beloya] Reference:

Yigracheffe coffee [Biloya/Beloya], light to medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (standard sieve pass rate 67%).

20g powder, 150g ice cubes, 150g hot water. Water temperature should be 1°C higher than the normal pour-over recommendation of 91°C. Normal grinding uses Fuji 3.5 setting, while iced pour-over uses slightly finer - Fuji 3 setting.

Bloom with 40g water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: first segment 60g water, second segment 40g water. Using a relatively fine but high water column, forcefully stir and impact to fully tumble the coffee powder. However, be careful not to let the liquid level get too high or pour onto the edge filter paper.

The entire extraction time is approximately 2.5 minutes (similar to the normal extraction time for 20g powder).

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473