Honey Fruit Natural Yirgacheffe Celinga Coffee Cupping Flavor Description_Celinga Foge Processing Plant Introduction

Yirgacheffe Coffee - Celinga Foge Processing Station

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Celinga Foge Processing Station

Honey Fruit Natural Process

Region: Yirgacheffe

Processing Station: Celinga Foge

Altitude: 1780-1860m

Variety: Heirloom

Harvest: November-January

Roast Level: Light

Flavor Notes: Tropical fruits, strawberry jam, fermented wine-like quality

Beyond its legendary status as the birthplace of Arabica, Ethiopia is the world's fifth-largest coffee producer and Africa's largest. The diverse flavors and unique regional character of Yirgacheffe, in the Sidamo region, are especially fascinating - the name alone conjures world-class coffee.

Coffee grown in the lush, singular environment of Yirgacheffe's forests develops delicate florals, clear sweetness, and bright acidity. Some varieties, though, have adapted to the arid climate of Ethiopia's northeastern Harar region, where the coffee takes on rich chocolate flavors.

The choice of green-bean processing is just as important for telling Ethiopian coffees apart. Each has its own distinct Ethiopian character, and each differs from other washed or natural lots.

In the past, coffee grown by small farmers and cooperatives in Ethiopia had to be sold through the ECX (Ethiopian Commodity Exchange), which grades coffee by quality (grades 1-5), weakening the traceability of most lots. In March 2017, Ethiopia's Prime Minister approved a reform allowing cooperatively run processing stations to export coffee directly. That made it possible to separate premium lots, raise prices for high-quality coffee from small workshops, increase farmers' income, and in turn improve recognition of Ethiopia's best coffees.

This coffee comes from the Foge processing station in the Celinga area of Yirgacheffe. The station serves about 300 surrounding farmers, and washed processing is its main method.

As harvest approaches, farmers test the cherries with small sugar meters. Once they hit the standard, picking is done quickly to keep the cherries from over-fermenting. Because of the special honey fruit natural process, Celinga shows richer flavors. It carries citrus aromas with more of a tart lemon than a mild sweet lemon note, and it holds distinct fruit flavors that are deeper and richer, closer to blackberry.

How to Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee [Celinga] Well?

FrontStreet Coffee Hand-pour Reference: Weigh 15g of [Celinga] coffee and grind it medium. The particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use BG grinder setting 5R (60% standard screen pass rate), water at 90°C, and a V60 dripper.

Pour the hot water in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter. Start timing when brewing begins. At 15 seconds, have the coffee brewed to 30g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, pour for the second time. The second pour is the same as before - clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter, keeping the stream off the point where the grounds meet the filter paper to avoid channeling.

When you reach the outermost ring of grounds, leave one ring and keep circling back toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the coffee should be brewed to 220g, completing the process.

Japanese-style Ice Pour-over [Celinga]

FrontStreet Coffee Ice Pour-over [Celinga] Reference:

Yirgacheffe Coffee [Celinga], light-medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (67% standard screen pass rate).

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

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: a first segment with 60g of water, and a second segment with 40g. Use a relatively fine but high water column, applying force to stir and agitate so the grounds tumble fully. Be careful not to let the liquid level get too high, and avoid hitting the filter paper at the edges.

The entire extraction takes about 2.5 minutes - similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Celinga is a natural Yirgacheffe, and if that style appeals to you, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry from Yirgacheffe is a close relative: all fully ripe cherries, sun-dried for three to five weeks, giving a fermented wine aroma, citrus, berry-juice body, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness. Brew it in a V60 with 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio and 90-91°C water, ground to fine-sugar size (about 80% passing the #20 screen). For a warmer-weather option, try FrontStreet Guodingding Cooperative as a Japanese-style ice pour-over - jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity stay clean even over ice.