What Grade is Guodingding Yirgacheffe? Is Yirgacheffe Good for Iced Pour-Over Coffee?

Yirgacheffe, originally just a small town in Ethiopia's Sidamo province, has become beloved by many coffee enthusiasts for the refreshing flavor and bright acidity of the coffee beans grown here. It is also one of the most closely watched coffee-producing regions in the global coffee industry.

Compared to traditional coffee with only rich, mellow flavors, the emergence of Yirgacheffe coffee beans has completely changed many people's perception of coffee taste. The bright citrus acidity, fresh floral aroma, honey-like sweet aftertaste, and tea-like lingering sweetness after swallowing have captivated countless people raised in tea-drinking cultures.

So why are Yirgacheffe coffee beans so delicious? FrontStreet Coffee believes there are three reasons: high-altitude cultivation, naturally mixed coffee varieties, and pure, traditional coffee processing methods.

Origin and Development of Yirgacheffe

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Yirgacheffe was originally a small town belonging to Ethiopia's Sidamo province. However, in 1995, when Ethiopia's administrative regions were reorganized, Sidamo was no longer an administrative region, and Yirgacheffe was classified under the Gedeo Zone.

Later, coffee traders discovered that coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe area had very special white floral aromas along with lemon and citrus fragrances that were highly favored by consumers. As a result, many would specially select coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region before export, hoping to sell them at better prices.

It wasn't until 2009 that the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange implemented a certification in several specific regions (Wenago, Yigacheffe, Kochere, Gelena~Abaya), dividing them into those with classic Yirgacheffe flavor (Yigacheffe A) and those without classic Yirgacheffe flavor (Yigacheffe B). This means that the Yirgacheffe coffee you drink in cafes today may not actually come from the "Yirgacheffe" area, yet it still carries the Yirgacheffe name, similar to how "Yonghe Soy Milk" doesn't necessarily come from Yonghe.

Currently, most of the Yirgacheffe coffee we can drink refers to the producing region or area. Within the Yirgacheffe region, there are also many centralized coffee bean processing cooperatives, such as Kochere, Worka, Gotiti, Chelelektu, Misty Valley, and Konga, which are well-known and more commonly heard names.

When trading these beans, green coffee suppliers typically label them as "Yirgacheffe + cooperative name" to indicate that these beans come from this specific village and cooperative in Yirgacheffe. Most Ethiopian coffees are related to place names, but not all varieties are classified by place names. For example, the Sidamo Flower Queen 8.0 on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list is a pleasant name given by domestic green coffee traders to highlight its selling points.

Unique Coffee Varieties

Since Ethiopia is the birthplace of all coffee varieties, to this day, there are still many wild/native coffee varieties in the Ethiopian region that have not yet been discovered or certified. Due to the large and complex number of varieties, most coffee trees planted by Ethiopian farmers are not distinguished by variety—they are all mixed cultivation and mixed harvesting. At the same time, these coffee varieties are named "Heirloom."

Therefore, the coffee fruits of different varieties also vary in size. FrontStreet Coffee has observed and noted that coffee beans from the Ethiopian region always show inconsistent sizes, which is a normal phenomenon and a characteristic of Ethiopian coffee beans.

Traditional Processing Methods

In the Ethiopian region, due to climate and conditions, people often use the most traditional processing methods when extracting coffee beans: washed and natural processing.

The reason Yirgacheffe can possess such a distinctive style is largely due to the washed processing technology introduced from Central and South America by the Ethiopian government in 1972, in addition to innate terroir conditions. Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and be able to access a continuous supply of fresh water, resulting in higher production costs. During processing, fermented beans are placed in the pool and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean. Each step removes impurities and defective beans, so the quality of the green beans is more uniform, and the final trading price is also higher than that of naturally dried coffee.

Washed coffee beans are processed by first removing bad fruits after harvesting, then removing the pulp and placing them in clean water pools for fermentation to break down the mucilage, followed by washing with clean water and then sun-drying. Through cupping by FrontStreet Coffee, it has been found that washed processed coffee beans have very clean and bright acidity and flavor, while also clearly allowing people to appreciate the quality of the coffee beans.

Natural processed coffee beans are processed by first removing bad fruits after harvesting, then directly taking them for sun-drying until they reach the appropriate moisture content before being bagged and packaged. Through cupping by FrontStreet Coffee, it has been found that natural processed coffee beans have very rich sweet and sour sensations, along with soft fermentation aromas.

In the Yirgacheffe region, due to abundant water resources, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe producing area are predominantly washed processed. The most representative example is undoubtedly the "Light-Medium Roast - Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans" sold by FrontStreet Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative Coffee Beans

Origin: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone producing region
Producer: Gotiti Cooperative
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local indigenous varieties (Heirloom)
Processing Method: Washed processing

Since Yirgacheffe coffee beans are grown in high-altitude areas with relatively hard density, light-medium roasting has not brought significant changes to the structure of the coffee beans themselves. Therefore, for high-altitude coffee beans with floral and fruity characteristics like Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee uses water temperature of 90-91°C and a grind size similar to fine sugar (80% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve).

Three-stage extraction: First stage uses 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Second stage injects 95g of hot water. When the coffee bed drops to half, begin injecting the third stage of 100g until all coffee has finished dripping. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small water flow with gentle circular movements throughout to avoid uneven extraction.

Flavor profile of Gotiti pour-over coffee: After grinding, it has elegant jasmine and citrus-like acidity. The extracted coffee presents clear lemon-like bright acidity upon entry, with prominent sugarcane sweetness. As the temperature decreases, it exhibits green tea mouthfeel with a persistent aftertaste.

Iced Pour-Over Coffee Parameters

Regarding what parameters to use for iced pour-over, FrontStreet Coffee previously mentioned a formula in an article: Iced Pour-Over = Coffee Powder (fine grind) + 10x hot water + 5x ice cubes. Here, combined with the light-medium roasted coffee beans with fruit acidity characteristics, we also use 91-93°C water temperature, small water flow circular pouring, and three-stage technique to keep the extraction time between 1 minute 50 seconds to 2 minutes, allowing for easy brewing of a pot of flavorful iced coffee.

The juice-like sensation in coffee typically comes from the rich fruit aroma detected during smelling combined with the sweet, sour, and juicy sensations felt in the mouth while drinking, reminiscent of the experience of eating certain fruits. When applied to today's iced pour-over theme, this means we need to extract both the acidic aromatic compounds from the front stage and pursue the sweet components from the middle and later stages to achieve the sweet and sour juice-like mouthfeel. Such requirements cannot be met solely by the stirring of water flow, so FrontStreet Coffee also adds an action: stirring.

Iced Pour-Over Recipe:
Coffee Beans: Ethiopia - Washed Gotiti Cooperative
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:11 (160g hot water)
Ice: 75 grams
Grind Size: EK43s setting 9.5 (C40 approximately 22)
Dripper: Hario V60
Three-stage: 30g, 90g (+ stirring), 45g

Before pouring, first place the ice cubes in the serving pitcher, then pour in all the coffee grounds. The first bloom stage remains unchanged—maintain small water flow, starting from the center and spiraling outward to inject 30g.

After 30 seconds, begin using larger water flow in circular motions to inject 90g of hot water while raising the water level. When the timer scale shows 120g, stop pouring. Use a small spoon along the inner wall of the dripper to stir 5 times in one direction, then wait for the coffee liquid to slowly drip down.

When the water in the dripper is about to run out, use the same small water flow technique as the first stage, making small circles to pour the remaining 45g of hot water. Once all coffee liquid has finished dripping, you can remove the dripper to end extraction. The time will typically fall within the range of 1 minute 55 seconds to 2 minutes 5 seconds.

This brewing method produces a washed Gotiti that first presents a mouth-watering sweet and sour sensation reminiscent of yellow peach, sweet orange, and grapefruit, with overall notes leaning toward yellow stone fruits. Due to the added stirring action, the coffee not only has rich fruit acidity but also carries a refreshing sweetness. Under the cooling effect of ice cubes, it's like drinking a refreshing fruit tea.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473