Is Yirgacheffe Coffee Bitter? You've Never Heard of Bitter Perfume - How to Drink Yirgacheffe Coffee and Distinguish Quality

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange & More Coffee Bean Information: Please Follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat Public Account: cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Tasting Introduction

Yirgacheffe, a beautiful mountain stream village located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley, has been a wetland since ancient times. With abundant water resources, it's filled with birdsong and floral scents year-round. The misty air creates a spring-like climate throughout all four seasons - summer brings gentle breezes that are cool without being hot, rainy without being humid, while winter remains free from frost damage.

As early as the 17th century, most Ethiopian coffee was harvested from wild coffee trees. It wasn't until the early 19th century, with increased exports, that garden coffee and large-scale farm coffee emerged beyond forest coffee. Initially cultivated by monks, later managed by farmers or cooperatives. Most Yirgacheffe coffee trees are planted in farmers' own backyards or mixed with other crops in fields, creating a distinctive coffee that has become synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee.

Yirgacheffe means: "Let us settle and thrive in this wetland." Due to the outstanding production methods and flavors here, coffee farmers proudly claim their coffee carries Yirgacheffe characteristics. It separated from its original location in Sidamo town to establish its own identity, becoming Africa's most renowned coffee producing region.

Traditionally, Yirgacheffe used the most ancient natural processing method, but due to weather factors and occasional rain affecting the drying process, in 1972, locals introduced washed processing technology from Central and South America to ensure coffee quality. This made Yirgacheffe's unique jasmine flower and citrus aromas even clearer and more refined.

The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine floral notes, lemon or lime acidity, mixed with hints of cardamom and nutmeg spices, along with peach and almond sweetness and tea aromas. Beyond the floral notes, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth - a marvelous sensation with a long-lasting aftertaste.

Coffee Tasting Steps

Step 1: Smell the dry aroma - Bring freshly ground coffee powder close to your nose and mouth, and you'll perceive different dry aromas from various coffee producing regions.

Step 2: Taste the flavor - When coffee enters your mouth, you can experience its flavor characteristics.

Step 3: Perceive the aftertaste - After swallowing coffee, there's always a flavor that returns from your throat. Some aftertastes are long-lasting and clear, while others are brief and vague.

Step 4: Understand acidity - The sweet and acidic substances in coffee are the components that create the complexity of coffee flavor.

Step 5: Perceive the body - In professional coffee tasting, this indicator is also called mouthfeel. A visual explanation would be the difference between water and oil.

Step 6: Identify defects - From smelling the dry aroma to the aftertaste, if the entire process reveals no negative flavors such as unclean taste, astringency, or fermented notes, we consider this coffee to have clean cup characteristics and it can qualify as specialty coffee. Any such defects would disqualify it from specialty status.

Key Knowledge

Coffee roasting is the process that triggers Maillard reactions and caramelization within green beans, creating more wonderful flavors.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research institution dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Each month, we hold three low-discount coffee events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price - this has been our mission for six years!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473