Description of Flavor, Taste, and Aroma Characteristics of Ethiopian Coffee Beans from Yirgacheffe Region

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In the world of coffee, Ethiopia and Yirgacheffe are undoubtedly names known to all. When it comes to Ethiopia, this could be an endless topic! Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee, home to beautiful legends of shepherds. Among all coffee-producing countries, Ethiopia boasts the most prestigious reputation. The coffee from here carries exuberant floral and fruity aromas that captivate numerous specialty coffee enthusiasts. FrontStreet Coffee has acquired over a dozen different Ethiopian coffee beans, demonstrating just how beloved Ethiopian coffee is and how memorable its flavors are! Today, FrontStreet Coffee introduces the two most famous major coffee regions in Ethiopia: Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.

The earliest native coffee varieties were indeed discovered in Ethiopia, which is why Africa is called the homeland of coffee. Combined with the high altitude of the East African region and volcanic soil, this results in the production of high-quality coffee. Located in northeastern Africa, Ethiopia naturally falls within the "coffee belt" and is one of the world's most renowned coffee-growing countries.

Among coffee-producing nations, Ethiopia holds nearly legendary status. Firstly, the most commercially valuable Arabica coffee originated in Ethiopia. Ethiopia's coffee genetic diversity rivals the world's - the genetic material in Ethiopian coffee alone is 99% more diverse than all other places combined, making it a true coffee gene bank and the only country in the world today that doesn't need improved varieties.

Yirgacheffe Premium Coffee Region

Yirgacheffe is one of Ethiopia's premium coffee regions and also one of the most famous. Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia situated at an altitude of 1,700-2,100 meters, making it one of the world's highest-altitude coffee-growing regions and synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. Lake Turkana, Lake Abaya, and Lake Chamo bring abundant moisture to this area. Represented by the Misty Valley, the rift valley is perennially shrouded in mist, spring-like year-round, with gentle breezes, cool and humid conditions where thousands of coffee trees thrive and reproduce, nurturing Yirgacheffe's unique terroir characterized by intertwined floral and fruit aromas that are ever-changing and mysterious. The so-called Yirgacheffe coffee flavor refers to rich citrus and lemon fruit acidity, intense jasmine floral aromas, light and elegant mouthfeel with tea-like sensations - drinking it feels like refreshing, clean lemon tea. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee is washed.

Sidamo Coffee Region

While Yirgacheffe is a very premium coffee region, Sidamo is equally a premium coffee region. The Sidamo coffee region is situated at altitudes of 1,400-2,200 meters, bordering Kenya. Washed Sidamo coffee beans are characterized by their light green color, medium-sized beans, elongated oval shape, full-bodied fruit, and consistently good quality. They possess aromatic and mellow flavors with a wild beauty that leaves an endless aftertaste. The characteristic of Sidamo coffee beans lies in their extremely diverse flavors - different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties create distinct differences and characteristics in coffee produced by various towns. From 2010-2012, it consistently achieved high scores of 92-94 on CR, the authoritative American coffee evaluation website. This demonstrates the extraordinary quality of green beans from this region. The area features towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, with diverse topography. The local geology consists of fertile, well-drained volcanic soil with a depth of nearly two meters, with surface soil appearing dark brown or brown. The area's greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through organic matter cycling, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or plant residues as fertilizer.

Sidamo coffee has rich fruit acidity and intense aromas. FrontStreet Coffee believes that in terms of aroma, it surpasses Yirgacheffe, making it perfect for those who enjoy strong flavors but don't want overly heavy tastes - it perfectly achieves balance and neutrality between aroma and mouthfeel. The most representative Sidamo coffee is the natural processed "Horse" coffee from the Hambela sub-region of the Guji zone. The Horse coffee beans come from Sidamo - in 2017, DW company sent the natural processed coffee beans from Buku Abel to participate in the TOH competition. Its intense strawberry and cream flavor captured the hearts of international judges, winning the championship in the natural category of the TOH Ethiopia region that year.

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned that coffee is an agricultural product, so its flavor is closely related to annual climate conditions. To differentiate each year's Horse coffee, DW company named them: Horse 3.0, Horse 4.0, Horse 5.0, and this year's Horse 6.0 will soon meet everyone.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

Observant friends might notice that Ethiopian coffee beans are always of varying sizes. What's the reason for this? Have you noticed that on FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian coffee beans (such as Horse 5.0) packaging, the variety is listed as: [Heirloom]. Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way. Why? FrontStreet Coffee just explained: Ethiopia is a coffee gene bank with too many coffee varieties, making identification and classification difficult; on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, for protection reasons, is unwilling or unable to disclose information about these varieties. Therefore, unclear coffee varieties are simply labeled as Heirloom. It is precisely because of the complex variety mix that they are mixed-planted and mixed-harvested, which FrontStreet Coffee believes is why Ethiopian coffee beans vary in size.

Ethiopian Coffee Processing Methods

Many people might think that Ethiopian coffees are all washed, but actually, the earliest methods used in Ethiopia were mostly natural processing. FrontStreet Coffee believes that Ethiopia favors using washed processing because it highlights the floral aromas and lemon acidity, bringing people a fresh and clean feeling. Since 1972, when the Ethiopian government introduced washed processing from Central and South America to improve coffee quality, Ethiopian coffee has become even more fresh and refined, winning more people's hearts.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that washed coffee has more pronounced acidity, better cleanliness, medium body, and the most consistent green bean quality, while natural processed coffee, compared to washed coffee, has lower acidity, higher sweetness, clearer body, but slightly less cleanliness. In terms of flavor, it produces more berry-like notes and is more complex.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the experience of coffee's rich flavors. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that the freshness of coffee beans greatly impacts flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer receives the freshest coffee when their order arrives. The coffee's degassing period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is also fine. But FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: pre-ground coffee doesn't need further degassing, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the package also helps mellow the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the taste won't be as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

When brewing Ethiopian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee uses the Hario V60 dripper. The V60 conical dripper has a large opening, and its unique spiral ribs allow air to be more easily discharged, thereby improving extraction quality. The body might not be as full, but its high concentration brings out distinct sweetness and acidity with pronounced aromas - this is its major characteristic.

Dripper: Hario V60, Water Temperature: 90°C, Coffee Amount: 15g, Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15, Grind Size: Medium-fine (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Using segmented extraction, bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds, meaning 30g of water for 30 seconds. The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, thereby making the subsequent extraction more stable. Pour in a small circular stream until reaching 125g, then continue pouring until 225g, then stop. Remove the dripper once all water has dripped through. Time from the start of pouring: 2'00". Next, take the entire cup of coffee and shake it well before pouring into cups for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee flavor: Jasmine, lemon, bergamot, honey, black tea

FrontStreet Coffee's Horse coffee flavor: Full-bodied berry juice, black tea notes, grapefruit peel, short sweet aftertaste

One of FrontStreet Coffee's daily brews, the washed Yirgacheffe, represents Ethiopian coffee. At FrontStreet Coffee, this Yirgacheffe is very popular and can be purchased through FrontStreet Coffee's Tmall flagship store. At FrontStreet Coffee, there are over a dozen different Ethiopian single-origin coffee beans, each with distinctive flavors, demonstrating just how popular Ethiopian coffee is! Meanwhile, FrontStreet Coffee also offers over 50 different single-origin coffees from various regions for everyone to choose from!

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