Is Yirgacheffe an Arabica Bean? What are the Characteristics of Arabica Coffee Beans?

(Left: Arabica, Right: Robusta)

Many coffee enthusiasts often ask FrontStreet Coffee how to distinguish between the two main varieties: Arabica and Robusta. In FrontStreet Coffee's view, we don't necessarily need to identify their differences, as most specialty coffee beans on the market today belong to the Arabica variety, while Robusta is primarily found in espresso blends. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee's classic espresso blend incorporates 10% washed Robusta to create rich, crema in espresso shots. Meanwhile, Arabica presents diverse flavor profiles depending on factors such as growing terroir, variety, and processing methods.

Below, we'll use FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe as the focus of this article to explain how these flavors are developed.

What is Yirgacheffe?

Ethiopian coffee beans are beloved by coffee enthusiasts for their complex and varied flavors, resulting from extremely diverse ancient native variety genetics combined with multiple processing methods such as natural and washed. Many people habitually refer to Ethiopian coffee beans as Yirgacheffe. Indeed, the fresh, clean flavor profile of Yirgacheffe has been the gateway coffee for many enthusiasts entering the world of specialty coffee.

At the same time, precisely because of its fame, many people mistakenly believe Yirgacheffe is a coffee variety name. In fact, it's a place name. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce this classic producing region to everyone.

What Varieties are Found in Yirgacheffe?

Most Ethiopian varieties are named as Ethiopian Heirloom, primarily because Ethiopia has so many varieties that it's like a natural gene bank for Arabica. On one hand, the numerous varieties make identification and classification difficult. On the other hand, the Ethiopian government,出于保护考虑, is unwilling or unable to disclose information about these varieties.

In Ethiopia, coffee mostly grows in wild or semi-wild states in fields, backyards, or under forests. When coffee cherries ripen, farmers gather them together for processing. This actually creates a large mix of many different natural variants. Because these cherries grow under the same terroir, they develop similar flavors, forming the basic framework of regional coffee characteristics. Ethiopia has nearly 2,000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So purely in terms of appearance, Ethiopian coffee varieties present a "grand garden" with everything imaginable - long, short, thin, plump. This is also why we often see Ethiopian coffee beans of uneven sizes.

Single-origin coffees like FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb, Guji, Red Cherry, Kaffa Forest, and Kochere are all classic representatives of Ethiopian heirloom varieties.

Yirgacheffe is a Town

Yirgacheffe is located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley, with complex terrain and elevations ranging from 1,800-2,000 meters. To the west lies Lake Abaya, which has been a wetland since ancient times with abundant water resources, providing excellent resources for Yirgacheffe's washing stations. Yirgacheffe is part of the Sidamo region but was separated due to its unique flavor profile. Besides Yirgacheffe town, the surrounding area includes sub-regions such as Wenago and Kochere.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that the so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to rich citrus and lemon acidity, intense jasmine floral aroma, light and elegant mouthfeel with tea-like characteristics, drinking as refreshingly clean as lemon tea. Traditional Yirgacheffe coffee beans used natural processing methods. However, because early natural processing involved drying beans directly on the ground, they inevitably absorbed earthy flavors, dust, and other impurities. Additionally, due to lack of proper screening, the quality of natural processed beans was generally average. In 1972, Ethiopia introduced washed processing technology from Central and South America to improve coffee quality, making Yirgacheffe's jasmine aroma and citrus-lemon freshness clearer and brighter, elevating it to become one of the representatives of world-class specialty coffee.

Ethiopia's washed processing technology was introduced from Central and South America in 1972. The washed process is complex and tedious, requiring large amounts of fresh water, making it more expensive than natural processing and less commonly used in water-scarce African regions.

Washing Process Steps:

After harvesting, coffee cherries are placed in water, using buoyancy to separate underripe fruits. Then a depulper removes the skin/pulp from the cherries, which are then placed in fermentation tanks for 18-36 hours until the mucilage layer decomposes. After fermentation completes, the parchment beans are washed in channels for 30-60 minutes. Through specially designed channels with water flow, low-density, poor-quality beans are removed. The quality coffee beans are then drained of water and spread on African-style raised beds for drying.

Because the pulp is removed before drying, Yirgacheffe's inherent aroma becomes clearer and more transparent, presenting citrus and lemon notes with elegant white floral aromas. The overall flavor is bright and delicate. After introducing washed processed coffee beans, Yirgacheffe became a representative of world-class specialty coffee producing regions. FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb Cooperative coffee is one of the outstanding examples.

The Gedeb Cooperative was originally part of the larger Wenago Cooperative. Later, "Bole" coffee hunters from around the world discovered this "thousand-mile horse" and helped them establish their own washing station, allowing them to become independent from Wenago and launch coffee beans under the Gedeb name. FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb washed coffee is of excellent quality. FrontStreet Coffee often detects Yirgacheffe's floral aromas, clean and fresh orange notes, and green tea-like aftertaste in FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

Filter: V60 #01

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Coffee Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine pour-over grind (80% pass-through through standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Method: First pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Then pour 95g more (scale shows approximately 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows approximately 225g), completing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. The drip should complete in about 2 minutes. Remove the filter to complete extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Gedeb Brewing Flavor: Initial notes of citrus and black tea, followed by cream, caramel, and almond as the temperature changes. The aftertaste is distinctly sweet with a clean, refreshing mouthfeel.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473