What are the characteristics of Yirgacheffe coffee? Is Yirgacheffe a variety or an origin?

Exploring Yirgacheffe: The Distinctive Flavor Profile

"Yirgacheffe" is a region that most people immediately associate with when talking about Ethiopia. Because the coffee beans from this region have such distinctive flavor characteristics, Yirgacheffe was separated from Sidamo! Furthermore, descriptions like "Yirgacheffe flavor" have emerged. This makes many newcomers to coffee curious: What exactly is the Yirgacheffe flavor? So today FrontStreet Coffee will share what this Yirgacheffe flavor actually tastes like!

What Defines Yirgacheffe Flavor?

When discussing Yirgacheffe flavor, we must mention the cultivation methods and geographical environment that nurture this unique taste. First, let's talk about cultivation. Most farmers in Yirgacheffe use a garden cultivation model to grow coffee trees. This model refers to coffee trees being mixed with other economic crops in farmers' courtyards, allowing for more meticulous care from the farmers. Then there's the altitude of cultivation! Basically, the average coffee cultivation altitude in Yirgacheffe ranges from 1,700 to 2,200 meters, with an annual rainfall of 1,300mm. Such climatic conditions cause coffee trees to grow slowly, giving coffee cherries more time to absorb nutrients and develop unique coffee flavors.

However, its uniqueness wasn't apparent from the beginning. This was largely due to the crude processing methods at that time, which limited the coffee beans' potential! Before Yirgacheffe became an independent region, it used the same coffee processing methods as other Ethiopian regions—the relatively crude "natural processing." The reason it was considered crude was that Ethiopia was generally underdeveloped at that time, unable to provide a refined processing environment for coffee. Natural processing involves sun-drying freshly picked coffee cherries until they reach a certain moisture content, after which they can be hulled to extract the green coffee beans, completing the process! But the problem lies in the drying stage. Today's drying stage involves spreading coffee beans on raised beds, keeping them away from the ground to reduce dust contamination during sun fermentation.

However, Ethiopian coffee farmers at that time would simply spread coffee cherries directly on the ground. This ground could be in farmers' own yards, on the muddy ground of balconies, or even directly on dirt paths where people walked. This often caused coffee beans to be contaminated with dust during drying, reducing quality and creating a very wild, earthy taste. The original flavor of the coffee was masked by these negative flavors. In 1972, to improve domestic coffee bean quality, the Ethiopian government introduced washed processing from Central and South America and established a washing station. And this washing station was established in Yirgacheffe. Washed processing can best preserve the original flavor of coffee because there are minimal opportunities for contamination during processing. This meant that after the washing station was established in Yirgacheffe, local coffee beans could shed the negative factors that had previously covered their flavors, better showcasing their flavor profile: elegant jasmine aroma, bright lemon acidity, and fresh green tea notes. This is the excellent flavor released by FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee under clean washed processing.

Due to the outstanding effects of washed processing, local farmers in Yirgacheffe adopted washed processing for all coffee beans. This led to Yirgacheffe primarily producing washed coffee beans for a long time. Subsequently, because this unique flavor was too dazzling among the Sidamo regions, Yirgacheffe became independent from it. Upon independence, four regions surrounding the Yirgacheffe town were also incorporated into the "Yirgacheffe region": Wenago region to the north, Kochere region to the south, and Gelena and Abaya regions to the west. However, FrontStreet Coffee needs to remind everyone that Yirgacheffe is only independent as a coffee region; administratively, it still belongs to Sidamo.

Brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe

How should FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans be brewed? To better showcase the floral and fruity notes of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, most Yirgacheffe beans used for single-origin coffee are now roasted to a medium-light level.

The characteristic of medium-light roasted coffee beans is their relatively hard texture and higher extraction difficulty, so we need to use a finer grind to increase surface area and improve extraction efficiency. Meanwhile, because light-roasted beans have higher density and are more likely to cause water flow blockage, we need to use a V60 dripper with faster water flow, combined with higher temperature water, to complete a quick brew. This allows for full flavor extraction while avoiding over-extraction due to blockage! The parameters used by FrontStreet Coffee are as follows:

• Sample coffee beans: FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Kochere (Washed)
• Coffee amount: 15g
• Brewing water temperature: 92°C (those using a coarser grind should use 93°C)
• Grind setting: EK43 setting 10, with 85% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve
• Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 (i.e., 15g of coffee requires 225ml of hot water)
• Dripper used: V60
• Brewing method: Three-stage pour

We first use twice the amount of water as coffee for a 30-second bloom to release carbon dioxide from the coffee; after the bloom, use a steady, large circular motion to pour the second stage of hot water (120ml); when the water level is about to bottom out, use a steady, small circular motion to pour the final stage of hot water (75ml); finally, just wait for the coffee to finish dripping, and we can enjoy the coffee after shaking it evenly!

The brew took 2 minutes and 9 seconds, and the extracted coffee flavor profile is: jasmine, lemon, green tea! The flavors are prominent but not harsh, with a long aftertaste, overall very clean and delicate. And this is the "Yirgacheffe flavor" often mentioned by coffee enthusiasts.

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FrontStreet Coffee
No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

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