Distinctive Personality: Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Worka Variety Characteristics, Flavor Profile, and Estate Specialty Coffee Bean Introduction

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe: The Jewel of Ethiopian Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia situated at an altitude of 1,700-2,100 meters, serving as a synonym for Ethiopia's specialty coffee. This area has been wetland since ancient times. In the local language, "Yirga" means "settle down," and "Cheffe" refers to "wetland." Therefore, Yirgacheffe signifies "let us settle and make a living in this wetland."

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe (Premium Growing Region): 1,800-2,000 meters altitude | Garden coffee system

Yirgacheffe is subordinate to the Sidamo growing region, but due to its unique flavor profile, it has been separately classified.

In addition to the town of Yirgacheffe itself, it also includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya.

Within Yirgacheffe, there are numerous villages, micro-regions, cooperatives, and processing stations. In most parts of Ethiopia, coffee farmers still live very difficult lives and lack sufficient capacity to build family-style processing workshops. Consequently, many processing stations emerge to centrally purchase coffee cherries from surrounding small farmers, process them, and then sell to green bean traders.

Coffee trees are mostly planted in farmers' own backyards or intercropped with other crops in farmland. Each household's production is limited, making it typical garden coffee. Award-winning Yirgacheffe beans almost exclusively come from the aforementioned coffee villages and communities. The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine floral aroma, lemon or lime citrus acidity, and peach, almond sweetness, or tea-like notes. The phrase "flowers bloom when coffee enters the mouth" most appropriately describes this experience, akin to the refreshing sensation of flowers stimulating taste buds and nasal olfactory cells. Beyond the floral aroma, the delicate body feels like silk massaging in the mouth—a wonderful tactile experience. Currently, many coffee scientists are beginning to study the microclimate and soil conditions around Yirgacheffe to formulate cultivation equations for specialty coffee.

Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region within Ethiopia's Sidamo province, located in the northwestern part of Sidamo, nestled by mountains and lakes, making it one of Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee growing regions. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with about 20,000 people. The three adjacent small regions—Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya—are also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional classification because their coffee flavors are virtually identical to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. However, the production methods and flavors here are so outstanding that Ethiopian coffee farmers compete proudly to have their coffee exhibit Yirgacheffe characteristics, leading to its independence from the Sidamo region. It has developed its own style and become Africa's most renowned growing region.

Worka Cooperative

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Ethiopian coffee can achieve the highest Grade 1 level, making it exceptionally rare.

This bean comes from a single farm in Ethiopia, processed by the Worka Cooperative. Alemayehu Alako's farm is a member of the Worka Cooperative.

The Worka Cooperative was established in 2005 and joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) the same year, known for producing high-quality natural processed Yirgacheffe coffee. The Worka Cooperative has approximately 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was founded in 2002 and includes 26 other cooperative members, serving over 45,000 coffee farmers.

Worka is located in the southeasternmost part of Yirgacheffe's Gedeb region. In earlier years, this area exported locally produced green coffee beans under the Worka name or had them processed by the Worka Cooperative. However, in the past two to three years, independent single-origin sources have been discovered one by one by coffee hunters worldwide, such as Banko Gotiti, Banko Dadhato, Halo Bariti, etc. Gotiti village was one of the first village areas to be independently separated several years ago. Many individual small-scale farmers were originally members of the Worka Cooperative, so their coffee production skills are naturally excellent.

The Worka Cooperative is located in the southern part of the Gedeb district, established in 2005, and joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) the same year, known for producing high-quality natural processed Yirgacheffe coffee. The Worka Cooperative has approximately 300 coffee farmers. YCFCU was founded in 2002 and includes 26 other cooperative members, serving over 45,000 coffee farmers.

Processing Methods

The refinement method for FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe growing region is primarily the washed processing method. The coffee undergoes fermentation in washing tanks for approximately 72 hours to remove the parchment, and some of the acids produced during the mucilage fermentation process enter the beans. Simultaneously, because there's no pulp or mucilage attached to the parchment during drying, it lacks the characteristic fruity aroma of natural processed beans, with flavors leaning toward clean and bright, and acidity being more pronounced. It is dried directly outside the processing facility. The green beans, after manual selection, pass quality inspection by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and are exported through competitive bidding.

The annual production is approximately 225,000 bags (each weighing 60kg). It was primarily sold to Northern Europe (mainly Germany) and Japan in the past, but has recently gained attention from North America as well.

Coffee processed with the washed method is less likely to have wild flavors, possessing pure and refreshing characteristics, making it suitable for light roast levels. This FrontStreet Coffee washed Ethiopian coffee can achieve the highest Grade 1 level, indicating very few defects.

Green Bean Analysis

Heirlooms (local native varieties) are a unique Ethiopian designation. Their varieties are all-encompassing, including Typica, Mocha, Bourbon, and others. The Kaffa Forest is the cradle of Arabica coffee. The total number of varieties (original or derived) from all coffee-producing countries worldwide amounts to only several hundred, while this treasure trove contains tens of thousands, most of which remain unclassified. Heirlooms (native varieties) are a unique Ethiopian term, as if telling the world that their varieties are all-encompassing, summarized in just one word. The green beans are bluish-green in color with relatively uniform size.

African coffee beans adopt this grading method based on defect ratios. Indonesian beans are mainly divided into 6 levels, namely G1-G6. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2, while the highest grades for natural processed beans are G1 and G3.

What does this represent? As follows:

Washed: Grade-1; Grade-2 (G1 > G2)

Natural: Grade-1 and Grade-3-Grade-5 (G1 > G3 > G4 > G5)

Important Points:

a) Whether washed or natural, both have Grade-1, with the condition of "zero" defects and Premium Cup. Regardless of processing method, Grade-1 is the rating for the best of the best in specialty coffee or Cup of Excellence coffee.

b) The lowest grade for natural processed Yirgacheffe and Sidamo is Grade-4.

c) Beans of the same grade, such as Limu Grade-2, can vary in quality depending on the exporter's sorting level and investment.

d) Given the current "zero defect" requirement, Grade-1 beans (whether washed or natural) are extremely rare because processing costs are very high, and very few suppliers undertake this.

Roasting Analysis

The bean density is quite hard. Roasting should use higher heat to climb, with the yellowing point around 5 minutes and 30 seconds, then reduce heat and open the airflow to enter the Maillard reaction. At 160°C, reduce heat again to prolong the Maillard reaction time. First crack occurs around 186.3°C. This washed bean requires heat reduction before first crack to prevent excessive temperature rise and bitterness. Drop the beans at 194.2°C after 1 minute and 40 seconds.

Roasting machine: Yang Jia 600g semi-direct flame

Preheat the roaster to 200°C, set airflow to 3, turn on heat after 30 seconds, adjust heat to 160. Return temperature point at 1:32, yellowing at 5:30 seconds, grassy aroma disappears, entering dehydration phase. Reduce heat to 120, open airflow to 4. At 170°C, reduce heat again to 50.

After eight minutes of dehydration, the bean surface shows wrinkles and black spots, the toasted bread aroma turns to coffee aroma, serving as the prelude to first crack. At this point, reduce heat to 40 and listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9:00, adjust heat to 40, open airflow to full (5). Development time after first crack is 1 minute and 40 seconds, dropping at 194.2°C.

Flavor: This FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe bean undergoes refined washing, making the acidity more pronounced and delicate, presenting yellow lemon acidity, caramel sweetness, cream and lemon black tea flavors, with a floral aftertaste.

Brewing Analysis

Three-Pour Extraction Method

This method creates richer layers, clearly distinguishing the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. The approach involves increasing water volume after each bloom, typically pouring when the coffee liquid is about to drop to the powder layer surface, using small, medium, and large water flows for three-stage extraction:

Recommended brewing methods: Siphon, Pour-over

Grind size: 3.5 (Japanese Fuji R440)

V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 90°C, grind size 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s

Stages: Pour to 120g, pause, then slowly pour to 225g

That is: 30-120-225

Other Drip Brewing Recommendations:

French Press: Recommended grind size 3.5-4, water temperature 86-88°C

AeroPress: Recommended grind size 2.5, water temperature 86-88°C

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Yirgacheffe Native Variety Worka G1 Single Origin Specialty Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee's [Cold Drip Recipe]: 30g FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Worka + 30g FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Black Honey, powder-to-water ratio 1:10, BG grind 3D (close to cupping grind size)

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Black Honey has orange blossom aroma, with prominent caramel and cream characteristics. Combined with FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Worka, the caramel notes become even more prominent, while also bringing some lemon acidity [clever], making it very refreshing to drink—perfect for enjoying a cup during hot summer days.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473