Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Hero: High Sweetness Juicy Flavor Profile and Characteristics of Washed Coffee Bean Processing

FrontStreet Coffee - Ethiopia Washed Hero Introduction

In washed processing, the peel and pulp are removed from the harvested cherries, and the seeds, still coated in a layer of mucilage, go into water tanks to ferment. The whole fermentation takes roughly 24-30 hours.

Harvested cherries must move into processing immediately, or they begin to ferment on their own and develop off-flavors. There are two main routes -- natural drying and washed processing -- and each yields a different profile. Natural-processed beans have a full natural richness, gentle aromatics, and more body; washed processing gives good richness, high aromatics, and vibrant acidity. Compared with natural processing, washed processing offers significantly better quality control: defective beans that float to the surface are easy to remove, the short fermentation makes off-flavors less likely, and the beans are thoroughly cleaned in the tanks. The result is a clean, flawless flavor profile.

This is the 2019 Ethiopia Taste of Harvest (TOH) washed-category champion, an outstanding bean that combines aroma, balance, and body. In the cup you find many delicate, refined flavors alongside a solid, balanced mouthfeel and bright acidity -- exceptional value, much like Flower Queen.

Ethiopia - Hero - Washed

Grade: G1

Region: Ethiopia Hambella

Variety: Ethiopia Heirloom

Processing Method: Washed Processing

Roast Level: Medium-Light Roast

Flavor Profile: Red Grapefruit/Tropical Fruits/Cherry/Apricot/High Sweetness/Juicy Sensation

Competition record: 2016/17 Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition -- runner-up overall and first place in the washed category. 2019 Ethiopia Taste of Harvest -- washed category champion.

Knowledge Extension

Coffee that has passed its expiration date but was stored properly will not cause any health issues when consumed. Even flavorless coffee can become a pleasant beverage with a little sugar and milk.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee specialty workshop that loves sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also offer three monthly low-discount coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to bring the best coffee to more friends at the lowest possible price. That has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed Yirgacheffe is the clearest way to taste what a washed Ethiopian Hero lot is doing. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe daily drinker is the classic starting point -- white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, at a price that makes it an easy first specialty bean.

For a single-cooperative step up, the Gededing cooperative sits in the Woka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. It began as part of the Woka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe union and became independent in 2012; it still follows traditional washed processing, and the citrus, lemon, and jasmine clarity of its cup has earned it a reputation as one of the last pure corners of Yirgacheffe.

If you want the same region in a fruitier, sweeter style, the sun-dried Yirgacheffe Red Cherry uses only fully ripe red cherries, dried on raised beds over three to five weeks, and brings citrus acidity, a berry-juice body, honey sweetness, and a creamy texture.

To brew washed Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee suggests a V60 at 90-91C with 15 g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, ground to fine caster sugar -- EK43s setting 10, or 80% through the China standard #20 sieve. Pour in three stages: 30 g for a 30-second bloom, then to 125 g over about a minute, then to 225 g by roughly 1:35, finishing the drawdown at about 2:00-2:10.