Ethiopia Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Gedingin Village Autumn Sakura Freshly Roasted Premium Pour-Over Coffee Beans

The Heart of Contemporary Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe comes from Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and it sits at the very heart of modern coffee culture. Whether you already love specialty coffee or are only beginning to explore it, Yirgacheffe is a region worth understanding and tasting in depth.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Roasting

Yirgacheffe beans are prized for their many heirloom varieties, which means a single lot can hold beans of quite different sizes, each with its own moisture content and composition. Coaxing out the region's signature fragrance, sweetness and beautiful fruit acidity is a second-by-second test of the roaster's skill.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Flavor Profile

Time-honored Arabica genetics, a high-altitude growing environment, and generations of cultivation, harvesting and processing experience come together in a cup that is smooth and richly layered.

Yirgacheffe Pour-Over

Yirgacheffe beans from different areas, harvests and processing methods each offer a different pour-over experience. For anyone who brews pour-over regularly, that variation soon becomes second nature.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Price

Compare it with the once-fashionable Panama Geisha, famous for growing Ethiopian-style floral and citrus notes in the Americas. Given how expensive Panama Geisha has become despite its Ethiopian origins, calling FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe a champion of value is no exaggeration.

"Let Us Settle and Thrive on This Wetland"

The Yirgacheffe region lies in Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee. As a natural wetland, the name Yirgacheffe originally meant "let us settle and thrive on this wetland."

Once part of the Sidama region, the coffee grown near the town of Yirgacheffe developed such distinctive floral and citrus character that it was eventually recognized as an independent famous producing region in Ethiopia. Today, fewer and fewer people search for Yirgacheffe coffee using the term "Yirgacheffe Sidama."

Ethiopia's official language is Amharic, and the English name "Yirgacheffe" widely used in the West is a transliteration, so it is no surprise if you also see it written as "Yirgacheff."

Yirgacheffe is not only the most popular single origin in the specialty coffee world; even Starbucks once coveted the name. In 2004, Starbucks tried to register "Yirgacheffe" as its own trademark, which angered Ethiopian authorities and coffee lovers around the world. It was not until 2007, when the Ethiopian government filed an international lawsuit, that the Yirgacheffe name was freed.

Ethiopia sits on the eastern side of the African continent. The Gedeo Zone, to which Yirgacheffe belongs, lies in Ethiopia's southwestern Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.

Origin Information

FrontStreet Coffee's natural-processed Yirgacheffe is produced at the Aricha processing station. Around 700 smallholder farmers in the surrounding area deliver their ripe cherries here in exchange for cash. The station selects the usable cherries and lays them out on raised beds, pulp and skin completely intact, for natural drying. Because the fruit never touches the ground, earthy off-flavors are avoided and the cup stays exceptionally clean and fruit-forward.

The dark brown cherries are then stored under professional conditions so their flavor can develop fully. Before shipment, the beans are removed from the cherries, preserving all of the sweetness.

Product Information

• Country: Ethiopia
• Region: Yirgacheffe
• Altitude: 1900-2000 meters
• Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
• Processing: Natural
• Roast Level: Light roast
• Flavor Profile: Almond, citrus, lychee. Prominent citrus aroma mixed with floral and apricot sweetness, with a fermented tea finish in the aftertaste. Strong juice-like mouthfeel with prominent apricot sweet-tart notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the natural-processed character described above, FrontStreet Coffee's sun-dried Yirgacheffe Red Cherry is a natural next step. Only fully ripe red cherries are picked, dried on raised beds for three to five weeks, and turned every two to three hours during the first few days so the fruit never over-ferments.

Because the cherries dry with the fruit still attached, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe profile while gaining the tropical lift of a natural: citrus-like acidity, a juicy berry mid-palate, honeyed sweetness and a creamy, smooth finish.

Brew it as a pour-over with a V60 at 90-91C, using 15 g of coffee to 225 g of water for a 1:15 ratio. Grind to about the size of fine granulated sugar, roughly setting 10 on an EK43s or 80% passing a No. 20 sieve. Bloom with 30 g of water for 30 seconds, pour to about 125 g by one minute, finish at roughly 225 g by 1 minute 35 seconds, and let it drain by 2:00 to 2:10.