The Origin Story of Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Autumn Cherry Coffee Beans

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

Yirgacheffe Coffee - Autumn Cherry

Hand-poured. Blended with the aroma of Earl Grey tea, the tongue meets the sweet-and-sour texture of cherry and lemon, while the finish carries the gentle sweetness of chamomile. In this cup of Autumn Cherry, a 20-year-old girl catches the passionate joy of berries, while a 40-year-old gentleman can also feel the tranquility of life in the aftertaste.

Sun-Dried Kebel Aricha Processing Station

The Kebel Aricha processing station is rated G1, the highest grade by ECX. From the appearance of the green beans, their consistency and clarity to the dry aroma and flavor, it is quite excellent. If you like bright acidity and rich berry flavors, you absolutely cannot miss it.

Aricha: An Amazing Coffee

Aricha is an amazing coffee, so rich in flavor that it earns the title "the ultimate fruit bomb." It has a gentle citrus fragrance with aromas of berries and peaches, a smooth mouthfeel and a milky aroma, while also containing lemon and grapefruit acidity. The aftertaste is richly varied, and the floral aroma is Aricha's ultimate expression.

Yirgacheffe Coffee G1 Aricha Coffee Bean Rating:

G1 grade means that for every 300 grams of green beans there are only 0-3 defective beans. G2 has 4-12 defective beans, and so on. G1 is therefore the highest grade, while G5 is the lowest grade for Ethiopian exports.

Coffee Merchant's Innovation

Coffee merchant Abdullash Bagersh missed the traditional flavor of sun-dried beans, so he improved the sun-drying process, enhanced the flavor and reduced the proportion of defects. He introduced three extremely famous Yirgacheffe sun-dried beans: "Idido Misty Valley," "Beloya" and "Aricha."

Yirgacheffe Aricha

Originally named Idido, it is a well-known coffee bean processing station near the town of Yirgacheffe.

How to Brew Yirgacheffe Coffee [Autumn Cherry] Well?

FrontStreet Coffee's hand-pour reference: weigh 15g of [Autumn Cherry] coffee powder and pour it into a grinder for a medium grind. The ground particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. Use a BG grinder setting of 5R (standard sieve pass rate 60%), 90°C water and a V60 filter cup for extraction.

The hot water in the hand-pour kettle draws circles clockwise, centered on the middle of the filter cup. Start timing when brewing begins. In 15 seconds, brew to 30g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, pour for the second time. The second pour is the same as before, drawing circles clockwise centered on the filter cup. The water stream should not hit the point where coffee powder meets filter paper, to avoid a channeling effect.

When brewing to the outermost circle of coffee powder, leave one circle, then brew circle by circle toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, brew to 220g, and the coffee is complete.

Japanese Ice Pour-Over [Autumn Cherry]

FrontStreet Coffee's ice pour-over [Autumn Cherry] reference:

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

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

Bloom water amount 40g, bloom time 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring, first segment 60g of water, second segment 40g of water. Use a relatively fine but high pouring column and stir forcefully so the coffee powder tumbles fully, but pay attention that the liquid level does not rise too high and avoid hitting the filter paper at the edge.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The natural, sun-dried Yirgacheffe style at the heart of this article is exactly what FrontStreet Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry delivers. Made from fully ripe, all-red cherries that are sun-dried on raised beds for three to five weeks - turned every two to three hours during the first days so the fruit does not over-ferment - it keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while adding the tropical fruit sweetness of the natural process. Expect a citrus acidity, a berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness and a creamy smoothness.

For a washed counterpart from the same origin, FrontStreet Gedingding Cooperative Coffee comes from the Gedingding village in the Worka area, at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. Traditional washed processing lets its inherent aromatics come through more clearly, giving a jasmine floral and citrus-lemon character that is bright and delicate from start to finish.