What is Yirgacheffe Coffee Variety? Introduction to the Flavor and Taste Characteristics of Washed Yirgacheffe Americano

In Ethiopia, there is an unparalleled variety of coffee species, locally referred to as "Heirloom" to collectively describe these unclassified mixed varieties. The most commonly heard Yirgacheffe belongs to these local native varieties, known for its delicate floral and fruit flavors, making it the "gateway bean" for many coffee enthusiasts.

What are the characteristics of Heirloom varieties?

In the dictionary, Heirloom refers to "valuable property passed down through generations," meaning that coffee is an irreplaceable "treasure" for Ethiopians. As the birthplace of Arabica coffee, Ethiopia preserves tens of thousands of native Arabica coffee varieties. Heirloom variety coffees are typically identified and confirmed by growers based on years of experience, because the sheer number of varieties makes it nearly impossible to conduct genetic testing and verification on a larger scale. At the same time, the local government hopes to protect these unknown varieties to prevent practitioners from various countries competing to obtain them, so they decided to name these varieties "Heirloom."

Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica, and its thousands of Heirloom varieties make it a unique coffee-producing region. Heirloom native varieties generally have small, relatively round beans with uneven shapes, mostly between 14-15 mesh. After post-processing and roasting, they often exhibit elegant floral and fruit flavors in cupping, which are deeply loved by people.

Coffee, as an agricultural product, naturally owes its flavor expression to innate factors of variety and terroir. FrontStreet Coffee believes that Ethiopian coffee's charming aroma and fruit tonality largely contribute to its得天独厚的种植环境和原生种的优良品质.

Characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee

The famous Yirgacheffe is a small town in the southern region of Ethiopia, originally under the administration of Sidamo state. Later, thanks to the establishment of washing stations, it developed a distinctive "Yirgacheffe flavor," becoming an independent representative producing region and gaining fame throughout the coffee world. The classic FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe is known for its bright, uplifting lemon acidity, white floral notes, and honey sweetness. Unlike traditional bitter coffee, FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe not only lacks the burnt-bitter taste of old-school coffee but instead presents a refreshing flavor spectrum like fruit tea, leaving a lasting impression upon first sip.

The reason why FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe coffee beans can possess such a distinctive style, besides the innate terroir conditions, is largely attributed to the washed processing method.

As we all know, Ethiopia, located on the African continent, has extremely scarce water resources. Traditionally, coffee was naturally dried in a "crude" manner - without sorting or flotation, directly thrown on muddy ground or rooftops to receive the "baptism" of sunlight, generally requiring more than 20 days. This rough processing method not only causes coffee beans to absorb the earthy flavor from the ground but also easily leads to uneven heating and rotting flavors, ultimately affecting coffee quality.

With the establishment of more and more farmer cooperatives, people began to have the desire to build washed processing plants to improve the quality of green coffee beans for export, thereby increasing everyone's income while also serving multiple communities. Unlike sun-drying, washing stations first need to solve the water resource problem, followed by investing in machines to remove the fruit pulp, and then sufficient manpower. Therefore, from a production perspective, places with people, water, and roads are the best locations for establishing washing stations, and Yirgacheffe is precisely such a treasure land.

The town of Yirgacheffe, located in the Gedeo zone, is situated downstream of large lakes, with abundant springs and rivers flowing through, providing ample freshwater resources for washing stations. FrontStreet Coffee also noticed that in the ancient Ethiopian language, the English "Yirgacheffe" consists of two words: Yirga (ይርጋ Yərga) meaning calm, settled down, and Cheffe (ጨፌ Č̣äfe) meaning swamp-like wetlands. Therefore, Yirgacheffe has the meaning of "let us settle down and make a living in this wetland."

We often hear about Kochere, Wonago, Worka, etc., which are all very famous micro-producing regions under the Yirgacheffe coffee producing area. They all have excellent cooperative production teams, and their produced coffees are extremely distinctive. For example, the Wonaka producing area located in the southeastern part of Yirgacheffe has a mature production team "Gotiti Cooperative" with about 300 member farmers. Because the produced Yirgacheffe flavor is bright and uplifting, it was independently established in 2012. Many small farmers were also members of the original Wonaka cooperative, so their coffee production skills go without saying.

Gotiti Cooperative

Unlike many specialty coffee beans that are processed and produced on a large scale in an estate model, Ethiopian coffee is mostly grown by small individual farmers, typically on plots of 1 hectare with limited yield, so they are sent to towns or nearby cooperatives for unified processing. Cooperative management not only improves coffee quality but also provides farmers with more stable income. When we purchase coffee beans, we often see many that have been post-processed, graded, roasted, and finally named after cooperatives, such as FrontStreet Coffee Gotiti, FrontStreet Coffee Worka, FrontStreet Coffee Konga, and FrontStreet Coffee Adado.

As a Yirgacheffe that enthusiasts specifically request to drink, the Gotiti Cooperative, although not established for a long time, has already become a "star product" in the industry due to its outstanding coffee production skills and unique flavor characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans

Region: Yirgacheffe producing area
Altitude: 1900-2000m
Processing method: Washed
Variety: Heirloom native varieties
Flavor: Jasmine, citrus, berries, tea-like sensation

What is the variety of Gotiti coffee?

Friends who often drink Ethiopian coffee should have noticed that the variety of Ethiopian beans is always written as local native varieties or Heirloom native varieties. In the dictionary, Heirloom refers to "valuable property passed down through generations," meaning that coffee is an irreplaceable "treasure" for Ethiopians.

It is estimated that Ethiopia today has approximately 10,000 to 15,000 heirloom varieties, most of which have not yet undergone formal genetic identification. Due to the numerous and complex coffee bean varieties in Ethiopia, it is extremely difficult to completely organize and categorize them. Additionally, out of consideration for the protection of various wild varieties, the local government decided to mix and process different coffee bean varieties together, uniformly naming them "Ethiopia Heirloom." This is also why we always see Ethiopian beans that are not as uniform and consistent as those from certain producing regions, but instead vary in "size and shape, fat and thin."

The flavor profile of FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Americano

In recent years, Luckin Coffee has launched SOE coffee made from Yirgacheffe coffee beans, which is single-origin espresso extracted using an espresso machine. Using an espresso machine to extract Yirgacheffe coffee beans, ideally, the espresso will present rich floral and fruit aromas. Adding a certain proportion of water makes it Yirgacheffe SOE Americano, while mixing with milk makes it SOE latte.

However, considering that Yirgacheffe's floral and fruit aromas are light and rich, compared to high-concentration SOE, FrontStreet Coffee prefers to present its charm through pour-over form, as this allows for a more comprehensive experience of the classic Yirgacheffe flavor. If you are a novice just starting with pour-over coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing this "FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Daily Bean." It is selected from Ethiopian local native variety coffee beans and uses medium-light roasting. FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series allows friends who are new to the coffee world to taste the basic flavors of producing regions at affordable prices, while the small packaging design also avoids waste from unfinished consumption.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Pour-over Recommendations

Ethiopian coffee has rich and diverse flavors with prominent floral and fruit aromas. FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing freshly roasted coffee beans to enjoy the complete flavor of the coffee. Coffee beans will enter an optimal tasting period 4-7 days after roasting, after which the aroma will accelerate its loss. The coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are freshly roasted within 5 days, so everyone can start brewing immediately after purchase.

Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses its own roasted FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe coffee beans, paired with a Hario V60 dripper for brewing. The spiral rib design of the V60 allows coffee grounds to better release gas, maximizing the volatilization and dissolution of acidic aromatic substances. Since FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe uses light roasting, the coffee beans have a hard texture and require high-temperature water of 92℃-93℃ to stimulate the floral and fruit flavors in the coffee.

Dripper: V60
Water temperature: 92-93 degrees Celsius
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Fine sugar size (sieve through #20 sieve to 78%)

First, inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then inject 95g (electronic scale shows around 125g), finishing injection in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, inject the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows around 225g), finishing injection in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Complete dripping at 2'10", remove the dripper, and finish extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe coffee flavor: Upon entry, there are jasmine flowers, lemon, citrus, green tea. As the temperature changes, there are afternotes of berries, cream, and sugarcane, with obvious sweet aftertaste and a clean, sweet mouthfeel.

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