Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Flavor Profile & Pour-Over Brewing Parameters

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FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Woka Washed Introduction

The earliest coffee originated from Ethiopia in Africa. In the ancient African land, nature nurtured the magical fruit—coffee—that influences the world to this day. When people in many parts of the world were still unaware of what coffee was, the Agaw people of Ethiopia were already cultivating and creating ways to drink coffee. Today, Ethiopia remains the origin of many premium coffee beans, including Yirgacheffe.

According to legend, Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe coffee beans are small in size but possess a gentle and approachable flavor, with pleasant sweetness and acidity. The phrase "coffee enters the mouth, flowers bloom" perfectly describes Yirgacheffe, making it practically synonymous with Ethiopia. But who knows the difference between washed and natural-processed Yirgacheffe?

Different Raw Bean Processing Methods

Washed Processing Method

This method uses washing and fermentation to remove the fruit pulp, skin, and mucilage. First, the coffee beans are washed until clean. After washing, the coffee beans have a moisture content of 50% and must be dried to reduce the moisture content to 12%. Otherwise, the coffee beans exposed to air would continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled. The most timely processing method is sun-drying, which yields Yirgacheffe with exceptional flavor and rich aroma.

The washed method produces good body, high concentration of floral notes, and lively, gentle acidity. Yirgacheffe's distinctive style, with citrus and floral notes blending into the coffee's flavor, is an irresistible taste for coffee enthusiasts.

Woka is located in the Yirgacheffe growing region at an altitude of 1,800-2,000 meters. It operates under a garden coffee system and belongs to the Sidamo region. Due to its unique flavor, it has been separated as its own distinct area. Besides the town of Yirgacheffe, it also includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. Yirgacheffe contains numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still live very difficult lives and do not have sufficient capacity to build family-style processing workshops. Therefore, many processing stations emerge to centrally purchase coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, process them, and then sell to raw bean merchants.

Pour-Over Parameters:

90°C, grinding level BG 5R (Chinese standard 64% pass-through rate with #20 sieve), 16g of coffee grounds, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15;

Technique:

25g of water for bloom, 30 seconds; first segment with small water flow until 127g; second segment with slightly larger water flow until 227g;

Flavor:

More pronounced and delicate acidity, presenting yellow lemon acidity, light cane sugar sweetness, vibrant sweet and sour notes, cream and lemon black tea flavors, with green tea and floral aftertaste; smooth mouthfeel, full-bodied flavor, and relatively persistent aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473