What is the Water-to-Coffee Ratio for Nicaraguan Finca Mamamina Natural Pacamara Pour-Over Coffee?

Ethiopia: The Birthplace of Coffee Culture

Many coffee enthusiasts have heard that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, with a rich local coffee culture. Ethiopians' love for coffee is world-renowned, with various small coffee shops scattered throughout streets and alleys, seemingly reminding you that this is where coffee originated.

The Legend of the Shepherd and Coffee

Legend has it that on the highlands of Ethiopia in Africa, a shepherd named Kaldi discovered his goats becoming unusually excited after eating certain wild red fruits. Curious, he picked some to taste at home. After consumption, he felt refreshed and energized, so he shared them with villagers. As word spread, coffee beans reached the Arabian Peninsula, where cultivation and trade gradually developed, beginning coffee's centuries-long global journey.

In the Ethiopian language, coffee is called "bunn" or "buna." The origin of coffee is Kaffa, so coffee is sometimes referred to as "Kaffa bunn," or coffee from Kaffa. Therefore, the term "coffee bean" is commonly considered to be the English adaptation of "Kaffa bunn." The English word "coffee" originates from the Ethiopian place name "Kaffa" (kaffa). Here, coffee is more like a cultural belief of the local people. Ethiopians have preserved the original purity of coffee, using primitive iron pestles to grind charcoal-roasted coffee beans into powder, placing it in coffee pots, and letting the boiled coffee slowly release its unique aroma, paired with traditional bread.

Yirgacheffe: The Synonym of Ethiopian Specialty Coffee

Coffee cultivation in Ethiopia is mainly concentrated in western and southern regions, with smallholder families accounting for 90% of total cultivation. Nearly 1.2 million smallholder families depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood. Administratively, all 5 major states in Ethiopia grow coffee, with Harar coffee, Yirgacheffe coffee, and Sidamo coffee being the most famous. Yirgacheffe is a very small town that produces thousands of tons of specialty coffee annually, demonstrating its significant status in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's coffee production system is divided into four types: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and large plantations. Among these, garden coffee is the most common, with each household's planting area no less than 4 hectares. Due to the small production volume of smallholder coffee cultivation, there are various coffee cooperatives and processing plants of different sizes locally, mainly responsible for processing green coffee beans in the region. Farmers deliver their harvested coffee beans to nearby processing plants established near water sources for unified processing, and subsequently sell them under the name of the processing plant.

The Gedeb Cooperative was originally part of the Woka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU). However, as people increasingly pursued traceability of green coffee beans, individual "single-origin" regions were gradually discovered by coffee hunters worldwide. Therefore, in 2012, a production team with about 300 farmer members independently established the "Gedeb Cooperative." Among customers who come to FrontStreet Coffee for coffee, if they want to drink fruity washed coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas will prioritize recommending the Gedeb Cooperative coffee from the bean shelf. The washed Gedeb Cooperative coffee not only lacks the strong bitterness of traditional black coffee but also features fresh and bright citrus and lemon acidity, along with the fragrance of jasmine flowers, making many coffee enthusiasts fall in love at first sip.

Traditionally, farmers would directly place coffee cherries on terraces or spread them on the ground for direct sunlight drying until the moisture content of the coffee fruit reached about 12%, after which they could be sent for hulling and packaging. Coffee beans processed this way are prone to developing earthy flavors, over-fermentation, and rotten fruit flavors. To improve these defective flavors caused by sun drying, Ethiopia introduced the washing processing technology from Central and South America. During the washing process, multiple steps can remove defective beans, resulting in cleaner acidity in flavor and elevating the aroma of Yirgacheffe.

Gedeb Cooperative Coffee Hand-brew Flavor Description

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Yirgacheffe is primarily characterized by fruity acidity, making it suitable for light roasting to highlight its bright fruit acidity. After fresh roasting, FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping and tasting as soon as possible. The dry aroma of washed Gedeb Cooperative coffee exudes fresh passion fruit, citrus, and berry fragrance. The wet aroma reveals citrus and berry notes, with citrus acidity and berry sweetness upon entry, along with almond and tea-like notes, and a honey-sweet finish. It has a light body with bright, clean, and refreshing acidity.

After roasting, coffee beans have a 4-7 day degassing period before entering their optimal flavor window. As storage time increases, coffee aroma volatilizes more rapidly, and flavor quality significantly diminishes. To ensure everyone experiences coffee at its best, FrontStreet Coffee guarantees shipment of beans roasted within 5 days, ensuring customers receive coffee beans at peak aroma.

Since Yirgacheffe is grown at high altitudes and roasted lightly, the internal structure of the coffee beans hasn't been significantly altered. To extract more rich aromas, FrontStreet Coffee uses higher water temperature and finer grind for extraction, paired with a V60 dripper. The V60 dripper features flow ribs connecting the top and bottom with a large central hole, which accelerates water flow. The spiral rib design extends the water flow path, increasing contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water stream converges along the grooves toward the filter's center point, concentrating pressure on the coffee grounds and extracting coffee with richer layering.

Yirgacheffe Brewing Parameters:

• Dripper: V60
• Water Temperature: 92-93°C
• Coffee Amount: 15g
• Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Fine sugar size (78% retention in #20 sieve)

First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then add 95g more (scale shows about 125g total), completing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, add the remaining 100g (scale shows about 225g total), completing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Complete extraction at 2'10", remove the dripper.

Washed Gedeb Cooperative flavor: Entry reveals jasmine flowers, lemon, citrus, and green tea. As temperature changes, notes of berries, cream, and sugarcane emerge in the aftertaste, with a noticeable sweet finish and a clean, sweet palate.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the personal WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473