Characteristics of Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee and Flavor Profile Description

FrontStreet Coffee - Washed Yirgacheffe Characteristics

Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia sitting at an altitude of 1,700-2,100 meters, making it one of the highest coffee growing regions in the world and a byword for Ethiopian specialty coffee. Lake Turkana, Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo bring abundant moisture to the area. In the Rift Valley, represented by Misty Valley, fog blankets the landscape all year round, creating a spring-like climate with gentle breezes and cool humidity, where thousands of coffee trees thrive. This unique terroir is what shapes FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, with its elusive, shifting interplay of floral and fruity aromas.

The History of Yirgacheffe

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe trees were first cultivated by European monks - a little like Belgian monks growing barley to brew beer - and later managed by farmers or cooperatives. The trees grow naturally, scattered through forests, fields and backyards. During harvest, the Ethiopian Coffee Trading Corporation visits the towns to buy the beans the farmers have gathered, which are eventually auctioned and exported under the "Yirgacheffe" name.

The Fully Washed Method

The fully washed method uses water and fermentation to remove the pulp, fruit flesh and mucilage. Farms using it must build washing tanks and have access to a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in the tank and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans together with the force of flowing water to wash them until they are smooth and clean.

After washing, the beans are still wrapped in their parchment with a moisture content of 50%. They must be dried down to 12%, or they will carry on fermenting and turn moldy and spoiled.

The best method is sun-drying. It takes 1-3 weeks, but it produces exceptionally fine flavor and is highly prized.

FrontStreet Coffee - Washed Yirgacheffe Brewing Guide

Brewing Parameters

Medium-fine grind (BG 5R: 58% pass-through rate on the China standard #20 sieve), water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, brewed in segments.

V60 Method

Bloom with 31g of water for 25 seconds. Use a small center stream to pour to 125g for the first segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, slightly increase the flow and pour to 225g, then stop. When the level drops again and is about to expose the bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the bloom.) Extraction time is 1'52".

FrontStreet's Washed Yirgacheffe Flavor Profile

Floral at the front, with flavors of cherry tomato, lemon, cocoa, caramel and black tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste this classic washed profile for yourself, FrontStreet's Washed Yirgacheffe daily-drinker is the obvious first step. Known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, plus a clean tea-like body, it is affordable enough to be the everyday bean that introduces many people to specialty coffee.

If you want the same region with more precision, FrontStreet Gedingding Cooperative comes from the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. It follows the most traditional washed processing, and the result is fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance and none of the classic bitterness.

For a fruitier comparison, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry picks only fully ripe red cherries and dries them on raised beds. It keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit from the natural process, with citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice body, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness.