Yirgacheffe Hanchebe Natural G1 - Ethiopian Raised-Bed Processed Coffee

Yirgacheffe Hanchebe G1

Origin: Hanchebe Processing Station

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Processing: Natural, dried on African raised beds

Roast Level: Light

Altitude: 1,800 meters

Soil: Red-brown soil

Flavor: Lemon, grape, pomegranate, tomato. Clean and bright flavor profile.

This batch of natural processed Yirgacheffe G1 Hanchebe has been rated G1 (Grade 1) by ECX, the highest quality grade. From the appearance of the raw beans, their consistency and freshness, through to the dry aroma and the flavor itself, it demonstrates exceptional quality with an exceptionally rich aromatic expression.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Parameters:

Dose: 15g

Grind: Medium-fine (BG 5T: 58% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Water Temperature: 90 degrees C

Ratio: 1:15

Bloom with 28g of water for 30 seconds. Using a small stream, pour in concentric circles from the center to 122g, then wait until the water level drops to just before exposing the coffee bed. Use a slightly larger stream to pour in circles to 230g, and remove the filter cone when the water level drops to just before exposing the bed, timing from the start of the bloom. Total extraction time: 1'56".

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Hanchebe is a Yirgacheffe lot, and the best way to explore the region through FrontStreet is with two complementary coffees. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe, a daily drinker, is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and its approachable price has made it the first specialty coffee bean for a great many drinkers. Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia, inside the Sidamo zone, at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with the coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee-growing areas in the world. Because the name became so famous, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange finally separated it from Sidamo in 2010, which is how the Yirgacheffe coffee known around the world today came to be its own origin.

FrontStreet Gedeb Cooperative comes from a village-level washing station in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. It was once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU (Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union), and as buyers began chasing traceability it was singled out as a single-origin lot. It follows the most traditional washed processing, and the result has no trace of the bitterness associated with ordinary coffee: fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance, an easy coffee to fall in love with at first sip.

FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry is processed as a natural using only fully ripe, sound cherries. Fruit is sorted on arrival and then dried directly on raised beds, turned every two to three hours during the first days to prevent uneven heating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of drying, the outer pulp is machine-scraped off depending on weather and temperature, and the beans are moved to storage. Because the fruit dries with the pulp still attached, the coffee keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining the tropical fruit of a natural process: citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice body, honey-like sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

A good starting point for brewing Yirgacheffe is a V60 at 90-91 degrees C, 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind around EK43s setting 10, or fine-sugar size (about 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Begin with a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then pour 95g more (about 125g on the scale) over roughly one minute; when the water level drops to about two-thirds of the bed, add the remaining 100g (about 225g on the scale), finishing the pour at around 1 minute 35 seconds. Drawdown completes at 2:00-2:10, at which point you remove the dripper and the brew is done.