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Flavor Description, Taste Profile, Varieties, Origin, and Pour-Over Brewing Guide for Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Honey-Processed Coffee Beans

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/28, The honey processing method for sun-dried Yirgacheffe coffee beans is susceptible to contamination and mold damage, requiring constant monitoring and regular turning to accelerate drying and prevent undesirable fermentation flavors. Its advantage lies in best preserving the original sweet flavors of ripe coffee cherries, resulting in a coffee that presents

FrontStreet Coffee's honey-processed Yirgacheffe represents a new venture, especially for those accustomed to traditional washed and natural processed FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe varieties, offering a remarkably fresh experience. This FrontStreet Coffee honey-processed Yirgacheffe comes from the Hafursa Cooperative. After testing, this FrontStreet Coffee honey-processed Yirgacheffe demonstrates exceptionally layered flavor characteristics, with sweet citrus-like acidity that is full-bodied, smooth, and clean. The mouthfeel is silky, with caramel-like sweetness in the aftertaste, while also presenting almond-like aromatics, making it truly outstanding.

The Origin of Hafursa Cooperative

Hafursa was originally the name of a village in Ethiopia, representing the smallest administrative unit among the four hierarchical levels in the local area. In fact, it borders directly to the west of Yirgacheffe town's bustling district - one can immediately enter Hafursa village by taking the west road out of town. Hafursa Cooperative was established as early as 1975, making it a pioneer of Ethiopia's first wave of cooperative movements.

The coffee cherry sources for Hafursa Cooperative's processing plant mainly come from the slopes of Hafursa village located to the west of the processing facility, with altitudes ranging from 1,850 meters to approximately 2,100 meters at their highest. A portion also comes from the southern slopes adjacent to Konga village, where altitudes range from 1,870 meters to 2,000 meters at their peak. Both coffee-growing areas offer excellent elevation and aspect, which has become the fundamental condition enabling the cooperative to produce exceptional green coffee beans.

Quality and Certification

In 2013, Hafursa Cooperative joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), simultaneously obtaining "Organic" and "Fair Trade" certifications. Hafursa Cooperative collaborates with local small farmers in Yirgacheffe, employing shade-growing techniques intercropped with bananas and other crops. They utilize completely manual cultivation with organic fertilizers, using natural methods for pest and disease control to ensure ecological protection, resulting in purer coffee flavor profiles.

In 2013, Hafursa achieved an impressive 95-point rating from Coffee Review. Its flavor characteristics include multi-layered complexity and smooth mouthfeel, honey-like sweetness, citrus aromatics, smooth acidity with a full aftertaste, along with subtle almond and caramel notes.

What is Honey Processing?

This FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Hafursa Red Cherry employs honey processing. Honey processing is a method where coffee beans are dried with their mucilage intact. After removing the outer fruit pulp, coffee beans retain a layer of sticky, gelatinous substance. In traditional washed processing, this would be removed with water, but due to water resource limitations in some high-altitude regions, this method of drying with the pulp intact was developed.

Honey processing is further categorized into black honey, red honey, orange honey, yellow honey, and white honey based on the thickness of removed pectin, drying duration (or drying thickness), and turning frequency during drying. This processing method preserves the cleanliness of washed processing, though perhaps not as bright, while increasing sweetness and caramel characteristics.