Comparison of Flavors, Taste, and Characteristics of Natural-Processed Yirgacheffe and Aricha Coffees with Washed Process

When it comes to Ethiopian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee can think of many varieties with floral, berry, and citrus notes, such as Zhumang, Guanyin, Aricha, Kochere, Waka, Guodingding, and Red Cherry... The variety is truly abundant. If choosing one coffee with the most prominent honey-fruit character, FrontStreet Coffee would recommend the sun-processed Aricha coffee.

Aricha is a Small Village

We all know that the famous Yirgacheffe region is named after a small town in Ethiopia. The elevation here is around 1700-2200 meters, with relatively low temperatures, allowing coffee to grow more slowly and accumulate more nutrients and flavor compounds. Due to the unique flavor and high quality of the coffee beans produced, Ethiopian coffee farmers take pride in their coffee having Yirgacheffe characteristics.

Not far east of Yirgacheffe lies a village called Aricha kebele, approximately 8 kilometers from the center of Yirgacheffe town. Kebele is Ethiopia's smallest administrative unit, comprising about 500 households (equivalent to 3500-4000 people). Most coffee here comes from wild varieties in local forests. Therefore, this region has numerous coffee varieties, with a single batch often containing up to 20-30 different varieties. Since these are harvested from native forests above 1850 meters in elevation, they cannot be named by estate names, so they are named after the collection area, Aricha. Due to the sheer number of Ethiopian coffee varieties that are difficult to identify and categorize individually, the local government has collectively named them "Heirloom native varieties" for conservation purposes.

What is T.O.H?

The full name of the TOH competition is Taste of Harvest, a harvest season cupping competition initiated by the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA). Similar to the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition, participating countries include eight nations: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It is held annually during the African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition. TOH selects the highest quality green beans from each region, which are cupped and scored by domestic and international judges based on Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) standards.

The Aricha coffee beans produced by Adorsi Processing Station won the 2019 TOH competition's natural process category with a score of 91 points. Adorsi Processing Station is located in the Aricha region of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, at an elevation of 1950-2100 meters, with red volcanic soil and an average annual temperature of 23 degrees Celsius. The coffee varieties are ancient Ethiopian heirloom native varieties, hand-picked and carefully selected to 17-18 screen size green beans. The excellent local microclimate, ancient varieties, and careful harvesting all contribute to this bean's outstanding cupping performance.

After cupping the 2019 harvest Aricha coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee found its rich flavors reminiscent of a "fruit bomb." The entry offers soft citrus notes with berry and peach aromas, a smooth mouthfeel with milky notes, while also containing lemon and grape acidity. The aftertaste offers rich variations, with floral notes being the ultimate expression of this bean!

Flavor Differences Between Natural and Washed Processing

Natural processing is one of Ethiopia's oldest methods of green bean processing. Coffee cherries are immediately dried in the sun after harvesting, common in regions with abundant sunlight or water scarcity. Nearly 70% of Ethiopian coffee undergoes natural processing. FrontStreet Coffee believes that compared to washed processing coffee, natural processed coffee has lower acidity, higher sweetness, clearer mouthfeel, but slightly less cleanliness. In terms of flavor, it produces more berry-like notes and is more complex.

Yirgacheffe natural processing involves selecting suitable coffee cherries and placing the entire cherries with intact pulp and skin on raised beds for sun drying, preventing contact with soil from the source and avoiding off-flavors during drying that could affect coffee quality. After more than two weeks of drying, the dark brown coffee cherries are professionally stored to await full flavor maturation. Natural processed Aricha coffee has more intense flavors, richer layers, with wine-like fermentation notes and higher sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee believes the greatest characteristic of Ethiopian coffee lies in its fruit acidity and floral notes. Since it's known as a "fruit bomb," the roast level naturally shouldn't be too dark. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-light roast to showcase the coffee's fruity characteristics. Through cupping, the dry fragrance of natural Aricha exudes intense fruit aromas with rich dried fruit notes of strawberry, mango, and apricot jam. The wet aroma is like sweet syrup, resembling thick apricot nectar wrapped in rustic honey or chocolate. The entry is not intense, with medium body, similar to fruit tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Reference

For lightly roasted Ethiopian coffee beans, which are relatively hard, high-temperature water at 92-93°C is needed to extract the floral and fruit notes. FrontStreet Coffee recommends a medium-fine grind (Chinese standard 78% pass-through rate on #20 sieve). Too coarse won't extract body compounds, resulting in thin coffee. Too fine can lead to over-extraction at high water temperatures, producing bitter coffee.

In terms of brewing ratio, FrontStreet Coffee finds that 1:15 to 1:16 both work well. If you want a richer body, use 1:15. If you want to more clearly perceive the floral sweetness, use 1:16 to allow the flavors to disperse more.

Filter: V60
Water Temperature: 92-93°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (78% retention in #20 sieve)
Three-Pour Method: Use twice the coffee dose of water to moisten the coffee bed, forming a dome for 30s pre-infusion, then use a small water flow to pour in circles from inside out to 125g, wait until the coffee bed drops to half the filter's height, continue with the same fine water flow for the third pour to 225g, and remove the filter once all coffee liquid has filtered through, taking about 2 minutes.

When brewing this Aricha coffee, you can smell the rich aroma of ripe fruits. The entry has noticeable fermentation notes and green grapes. As the temperature slightly drops, lemon acidity and creamy smoothness emerge, finishing with the juiciness of ripe grapes.

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