2019 Ethiopia Champion Coffee Bean Natural Process - 2019 TOH Aricha Champion Natural Process Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee's 2019 Ethiopia Natural Process Champion Introduction

T.O.H (Taste of Harvest) is a harvest-season cupping competition run by the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA) and held every year across 12 coffee-producing countries in Africa. In spirit it works much like the C.O.E (Cup of Excellence).

The T.O.H format is straightforward. In the preliminary round, lots scoring below 80 points are eliminated, and the best green beans from each region move up to the national-level competition. There, domestic and international judges cup and score to the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). The highest scorer takes the national championship.

This FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe bean, from the Adorsi processing station, earned the top score of 91.38 points, beating a deep field to win the 2019 T.O.H Ethiopia Natural Process National Championship.

Adorsi processing station sits in the Aricha area of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, at an altitude of 1900-2000 meters, on red volcanic soil with an average annual temperature of 23°C. The variety is the ancient Ethiopian native Heirloom, hand-picked and carefully sorted to 17-18 screen size. Excellent microclimate, ancient varieties, meticulous picking — together they laid the foundation for this bean's outstanding cupping performance.

As a crucial step in green bean processing, Adorsi chose anaerobic fermentation, which allows precise, multi-dimensional control. Carbon dioxide is injected into airtight stainless steel tanks to drive out oxygen, so fermentation and decomposition take place in an oxygen-free environment. pH, gas composition, humidity, and temperature — even the types and quantities of bacteria involved — can all be kept in check, preserving more sweetness in the fruit and developing cleaner, more balanced flavors.

Product Information

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee 2019 Ethiopia Natural Process Champion

Origin: Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, Adorsi Region

Altitude: 1900-2000 meters

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Processing Station: Aricha

Processing Method: Anaerobic Fermentation Natural

Roast Level: Light

Flavor Description: It opens with strawberry, berry fruit, guava, brandy, and liquor-filled chocolate, and the flavors cling to the palate. As the cup cools, the acidity turns bright; with further cooling the liquor-filled chocolate shifts toward dark chocolate, leaving a pronounced sweet aftertaste. As a champion bean, it is well worth tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this champion's Yirgacheffe character appeals to you, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe is the classic place to start. Known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like body, it is also easy on the wallet, which is why so many people make it their first specialty coffee. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in the Sidamo zone of southern Ethiopia; the district runs about 1700-2100 meters, and the coffee trees are planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. The area was once a wetland, and its unmistakable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity turned "Yirgacheffe" into shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee — so famous, in fact, that in 2010 the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated it from the Sidamo district as its own name.

Worka, in the southeastern corner of Yirgacheffe, is home to small cooperatives with long experience and mature processing. FrontStreet's washed Gutiti cooperative coffee began life as part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (YCFCU), and was later pulled out as a single origin by coffee hunters chasing traceability. It follows the most traditional washed method, and the result is free of the old bitter edge — clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine perfume. Prefer something fruitier? FrontStreet's Red Cherry is a full-red-cherry natural: only fully ripe, sound cherries are picked, sorted once at the mill, then spread on raised beds to sun-dry. For the first few days the beds are turned every 2-3 hours to prevent uneven heat and over-fermentation, and after three to five weeks of drying the pulp is machine-scraped and the beans are moved to storage. Because the fruit dries on the bean, it keeps the classic Yirgacheffe profile while adding tropical fruit — citrus acidity, a berry-juice quality, honey sweetness, and a creamy body.

FrontStreet brews Yirgacheffe in a V60 with water at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee, and a 1:15 ratio. Grind to about fine-sugar size (setting 10 on an EK43s, or roughly 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Pour in three stages: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then pour 95g to reach about 125g on the scale over roughly a minute; when the water level drops to two-thirds of the bed, pour the remaining 100g to reach about 225g, finishing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Total drawdown lands between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 10 seconds — then lift the dripper and you're done.