Yirgacheffe Coffee Origin Varieties Classification | How to Brew Floral Notes from Light Roast Gedeb Coffee Beans

Have you noticed, fellow coffee enthusiasts who frequently enjoy FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, that regardless of where you purchase it, the Yirgacheffe/Ethiopian region coffee beans always vary in size yet appear uniformly consistent overall? Some friends have asked FrontStreet Coffee: Is this a sign of poor green bean quality?

Not at all! The reason Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans appear varied in size is that most coffee beans grown in the Ethiopian region are not finely categorized by variety. Different varieties of coffee fruit/beans naturally vary in size, which explains why Ethiopian region coffee beans come in different sizes.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties Introduction

Currently, the native varieties in the Ethiopian region are collectively referred to as "Heirloom," a term defined as "valuable property passed down through generations," meaning "family treasure." Similarly, in the coffee world, this term is widely used to refer to old varieties of Arabica coffee plants that have existed for a long time. In Chinese translation, it's generally represented by the term "当地原生种" (local native varieties).

As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia still has countless coffee varieties yet to be discovered and confirmed. To date, it's known that there are still 10,000 to 15,000 coffee varieties in Ethiopia that don't have formal names. Local native varieties are typically divided into two categories: JARC varieties and regional local varieties. JARC varieties are those developed and researched by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (with desirable characteristics such as higher disease resistance or higher yield). However, regional local varieties are coffee trees that grow completely in the wild.

Most of what coffee farmers currently grow are regional local varieties. It's difficult for farmers to identify and separate varieties in the wild, but on farms, pickers and producers can better separate each variety based on the plant's expressed characteristics. Among Ethiopia's thousands of different heirloom varieties (whether identified or not), there are many different characteristics, including yield, cupping quality, flavor, and disease resistance.

As an agricultural product, coffee flavor is always closely related to factors such as variety, climate, altitude, soil, and management - it's a natural and authentic expression of both variety and local terroir. Therefore, coffee beans from different producing regions will have their own unique regional flavors. So what exactly are the characteristics of the "Yirgacheffe flavor" that people pass down by word of mouth?

Unique Flavors of Yirgacheffe Coffee Producing Region

The reason why coffee beans produced in Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region are famous is that the coffee beans grown in this region possess bright citrus fruit acidity, flower-like fragrance, almond-like aftertaste, and tea-like sweet aftertaste. This unique flavor profile is largely attributed to the washed processing method.

Washing process: After picking coffee cherries, they are placed in water, using the water's buoyancy to separate out insufficiently ripe fruits. Then, a pulping machine is used to remove the berry's skin/pulp first, after which they are left in fermentation tanks for 18-36 hours until the mucilage layer decomposes. After fermentation is complete, the parchment beans are washed in channels for 30-60 minutes. Through specially designed channels plus water flow flushing, low-density, poor-quality beans can be removed. Then the high-quality coffee beans are drained of water and spread out on African-style drying racks.

Because the pulp is removed before drying, Yirgacheffe's inherent aroma becomes clearer and more transparent, presenting citrus and lemon tones and elegant white floral notes, with an overall bright and delicate flavor. After introducing washed processed coffee beans, Yirgacheffe leaped to become a representative of world premium coffee producing regions.

The so-called "Yirgacheffe flavor" can also be simply understood as having unique citrus and lemon fruit aromas, with the fragrance of jasmine flowers, a fresh and bright texture, and layered acidity that's clean without impurities. According to ECX contract agreements, besides Yirgacheffe town, coffee produced and processed in places like Wenago town to the north, Gelena Abaya to the west, and Kochere town to the south can also be classified as Yirgacheffe flavor coffee producing regions.

Yirgacheffe Premium Coffee Bean Grading

Starting from 2009, Ethiopian coffee introduced the ECX coffee trading grading system, first dividing green beans into two major categories based on processing method. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe needs to be divided into two main categories: natural processed and washed processed.

Next, green beans are graded from two aspects. In terms of defect rate, 300g is extracted from each export batch of green beans, with no more than 3 defective beans being G1 grade, and 4-12 defective beans being G2 grade. In terms of cupping score, G1 and G2 grade coffee beans are evaluated based on the SCAA cupping standards, with scores above 85 being Q1 grade, and 80-84.75 points being Q2 grade. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedeb cooperative, natural red cherry, and Yirgacheffe Konga on the bean list all belong to G1 grade Yirgacheffe coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Brewing Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee believes that brewing a good pot of coffee mainly involves these four aspects: water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and brewing technique. Next, taking FrontStreet Coffee's "FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative Coffee Beans" as an example, FrontStreet Coffee shares insights on brewing Yirgacheffe coffee.

1. Water Temperature

For coffee like FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedeb, whose flavor is mainly dominated by berry and lemon acidity, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-light roast to highlight this characteristic, so its brewing water temperature is controlled at 91-92°C.

2. Grind Size

Grind size refers to the size of coffee particles, as it affects the contact time between coffee and water. The finer the coffee powder, the more substances water can extract in the same amount of time, but too fine a grind can easily lead to over-extraction; conversely, the coarser the coffee grind, the fewer substances water can extract in the same time, but too coarse a grind can easily lead to under-extraction.

Due to high growing altitude, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans have a dense structure and high hardness. Combined with medium-light roasting where substances in coffee beans are not easily soluble in water, it's recommended to use medium-fine grinding (80% passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve).

3. Coffee-to-Water Ratio

According to the hand-drip coffee water-to-powder ratio extraction parameters derived from SCAA Golden Cup extraction theory, the flavor differences are: 【Bold Flavor】1:10-1:11 (i.e., Golden Cup standard 1:12.5-1:13.5); 【Medium Flavor】1:12-1:13 (i.e., Golden Cup standard 1:14.5-1:15.5); 【Light Flavor】1:14-1:16 (i.e., Golden Cup standard 1:16.5-1:18.5). Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio when brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans, which can make FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe perform more evenly.

4. Pouring Technique

To make coffee exhibit an ideal tea-like quality, FrontStreet Coffee believes you can start with three small details: using a flat-bottom dripper, increasing pour amount, and reducing water flow. Below, FrontStreet Coffee demonstrates using FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe washed Gedeb.

Coffee beans: FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian Washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative
Dripper: Ceramic cake cup
Water temperature: 92°C
Coffee amount: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16
Grind size: EK43s setting 10 (80% passing through No. 20 sieve)

Three-stage extraction: First, pour 15g of coffee powder into the dripper and level it. In the first stage, pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds while starting the timer. Use a small water flow to pour from the center point outward in circles, ensuring the entire coffee bed is moistened.

In the second stage, continue using a straight, small water flow to pour 120g of water, aiming to raise the entire coffee bed. You can make larger circles to allow all coffee particles to enter degassing and extraction states. Complete pouring at around 1 minute and 5 seconds, when the timer scale shows 150g.

When the liquid level drops to half, start using a small water flow in small circles to pour the third stage of 90g. Try to control the water flow to not circle too widely, as this can easily scatter the coffee powder bed and cause under-extraction. Additionally, gentle pouring can enhance the release of sweet substances in the later stages of coffee extraction.

Finally, the total pour amount is 240g. Wait until all coffee liquid has finished dripping before removing the dripper, which takes about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. The FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gedeb coffee brewed this way has white floral, citrus, nectarine and other flavors. Upon tasting, there's the fragrance of grapefruit peel and snow pear tea, accompanied by a clear aftertaste - truly like a cup of floral 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