Introduction to Yirgacheffe Konga Flavor Profile and Pour-over Coffee Techniques

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FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Konga and Pour-Over Technique Sharing

Today FrontStreet Coffee wants to recommend a coffee from Yirgacheffe processed using the natural method - Konga. It is one of the few specialty coffees from Yirgacheffe that uses natural processing. Although it's a rare processing method, both quality and flavor are excellent. The rich fruit aroma, high sweetness, and long-lasting aftertaste have amazed FrontStreet Coffee!

Yirgacheffe is one of Ethiopia's specialty coffee producing regions. Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Sidamo, but because its flavor is too unique and outstanding, it was separated from Sidamo. Most Yirgacheffe uses washed processing, but a small amount of premium beans are intentionally processed using natural methods to enhance the charming fruit aroma and body. Coffee trees are mostly planted in farmers' backyards or mixed with other crops in fields. Each household's yield is not large, making it typical pastoral coffee.

Yirgacheffe originally used the most ancient natural processing method, but in 1972, Ethiopia introduced Central and American washed processing techniques to improve quality. This made Yirgacheffe's jasmine flower and citrus aromas clearer and more refined, elevating it to become one of the world's premium specialty beans. The exquisite washed processing technique played a significant role. After the 1970s, this region primarily used washed processing, becoming Ethiopia's most popular washed bean producing area.

Naturally processed Yirgacheffe has strict standards for harvesting red cherries (the fruit produced by coffee trees). Before exposing the coffee cherries to the sun, workers manually remove unripe green cherries or defective ones. During the drying process, damaged or moldy cherries are removed again. After two weeks, the fruit's sugar and essence fully penetrate the coffee beans, and moisture content drops to 12%. The hardened fruit pulp, pectin layer, and pods are then scraped clean with a machine. The extracted coffee beans undergo density and color testing. After eliminating defective beans, workers finally manually remove any missed defective beans with naked eyes. This layered screening process creates the clean and refined quality of Yirgacheffe natural beans, with rich and charming fruit aroma.

Next comes the brewing sharing. This time FrontStreet Coffee has also added explanations of pouring techniques to help everyone better learn how to pour water and brew good coffee!

Yirgacheffe Natural - Konga

Altitude: 1780-1870 meters

Processing Station: Konga

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Heirloom

Pour-over Parameters: 15g coffee, V60 dripper, water temperature 91°C, powder-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size BG 6S (Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 58%).

Technique: Use 30g water for bloom for 30 seconds, pour evenly with small water flow to 120g in segments. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 220g and stop. Wait for the coffee to finish dripping, then remove the dripper. Start timing from the bloom, extraction time should be around 2 minutes.

The water flow for pour-over coffee needs to have penetrating power, with a state of thick at the top and thin at the bottom - meaning the width of water coming from the kettle spout should be wide, while the shape at the end should be sharp. To achieve stable penetrating power, the water column should be as close to 90 degrees to the spout as possible. This angle concentrates all the water's weight at the bottom of the kettle when tilted, stably pushing the water out of the kettle with this weight.

Although penetrating power can also be achieved through the impact force of large water flow, the amount of water brought by large water columns often exceeds what the coffee powder can absorb, causing undesirable substances to be easily released. If the water column's penetrating power is poor, water will repeatedly supply water to the same layer, only accelerating the over-extraction speed of the first layer's particle surface, making the coffee liquid full of bitter taste.

A water column with good penetrating power can avoid the problem of repeated water absorption. After entering the interior, water will spread rapidly from inside to outside, greatly reducing the situation of repeated water absorption while significantly improving the uniformity of coffee powder's water absorption! Therefore, if the water column is poured in a parabolic shape, it's just dumping water into the dripper thoughtlessly, not the correct brewing method, and the water flow will also scatter chaotically, causing unnecessary water supply.

Knowledge Extension: The key points of a pour-over kettle's construction lie in the design shape of the kettle body and the curvature and size of the spout. Simple pour-over kettles are designed less carefully, and the water flow during pouring is prone to fluctuating between large and small, affecting the uniformity of pouring.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, there are 3 low-discount coffee events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for 6 years!

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