Ethiopia is not only the birthplace of Arabica, but also a huge natural genetic treasure house. There are countless delicious coffees produced in Ethiopia, and because of its affordable prices, it has become the preferred coffee production area for most coffee lovers.
Among Ethiopian coffees, there are three coffees that are so well-known that they are collectively known as the "Three Giants of Ethiopian Coffee". They are: Gesha, Yirgacheffe, and Oiran.
Even the novices who have just started will be familiar with the identities of these three giants through word of mouth from many "old masters". But if you want to talk about the characteristics of each of the three and the differences between them, it may be difficult to tell because most friends have not yet understood them in depth. So today, Front Street is here to share with you: Yirgacheffe, Geisha, and Oiran, what are the characteristics of each of the "Three Ethiopian Coffee Giants"!
Yirgacheffe
If you want to ask what are the most representative coffees in Ethiopia, then the answer must be Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe is not the name of a certain coffee variety, but the name of a region where coffee is produced. Before the concept of specialty coffee became popular, coffee was always named after the place where it was produced. Therefore, the coffee beans produced in Yirgacheffe can be called: Yirgacheffe coffee.
(Producing area map drawn by Trabocca, a well-known specialty coffee beans merchant)
From the map, we can see that the Yirgacheffe production area is located on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The area is cool and foggy all year round and like spring all year round. With an average altitude of 1,700 to 2,100 meters, it is one of the highest coffee production areas in Ethiopia. Before 1995, the name Yirgacheffe only referred to a small town located in the Sidamo administrative district.
However, Yirgacheffe's excellent terrain environment and unique planting system provide excellent growing conditions for coffee beans, which allows the coffee beans grown in Yirgacheffe to absorb more nutrients during the growth process and produce a more outstanding flavor. Gradually, people discovered that the coffee flavor of the Yirgacheffe production area is different from other Sidamo coffees. Therefore, after the abolition of the province to the federal system, and several adjustments to the EXC (Ethiopian Commodity Exchange) coffee classification table, Yirgacheffe was able to become independent from the Sidamo production area and form its own group. The flavor that distinguishes Yirga from other production areas is also called Yirgacheffe flavor.
"The fragrant jasmine fragrance, the fresh lemon acidity, and the clean green tea aftertaste" are what people call the "Yirgacheffe flavor". If you want to experience this delicious taste, then washed beans from the Yirgacheffe production area are definitely the best choice. Part of the reason why Yirgacheffe coffee is famous is that it was washed earlier than other production areas. The washing process will not cause excessive fermentation of the coffee beans. The flavor of the Yirgacheffe coffee beans itself can be interpreted, and the overall coffee will have a cleaner performance. For example, the Front Street Yirgacheffe fruit tintin that Front Street often shares is a representative chosen by Front Street to emphasize the flavor of the Yirgacheffe production area.
We will stop here for the story of Yirgacheffe, and will share it with you in a new chapter on Front Street. What Front Street wants to share next is Gesha, a coffee that has been popular since 2004.
Gesha
As for Gesha, I believe everyone is familiar with Front Street. "Geisha" is the name of the coffee variety. Ever since Emerald Manor used it to shine at the BOP in 2004, Geisha has become the "new overlord" in the coffee industry. "Rich citrus sourness, elegant white floral aroma, and complex and varied fruit aroma" are the shock that Geisha brings to people when it first releases its fragrance, and this has become what people call the "Gesia flavor". But despite Geisha’s current success, Geisha’s road before becoming famous was not simple.
Although Geisha became famous in Panama in 2004, it was discovered more than 70 years ago. After sample comparison, people traced Gesha to actually originating from Ethiopia. In the 1930s, because leaf rust caused serious damage to the coffee industry, people needed to find disease-resistant coffee varieties and breed improved varieties to resist the erosion of the disaster. As a natural genetic treasure house, Ethiopia is naturally the best place to hunt for treasures, so the British went to Ethiopia to collect coffee varieties in an attempt to find coffee varieties with disease-resistant genes.
At that time, the team came to Gesha District, southwest of Kaffa Forest, to collect coffee varieties and named the beans with local names. The beans then traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and other places for research, and were later cataloged as antifungal varieties by CATIE in Costa Rica. "Geisha T2722" is the number of the Geisha species in this batch of beans that finally reached Panama and became popular.
So we can know that in a broad sense, the Geisha that people refer to refers to the "Geisha T2722" from Panama. The bean of this variety is elongated, oval-shaped, with pointed ends and a plump center. And Gesha, which is listed among the three giants of Ethiopian coffee, does not refer to it! From the above we can know that the Gesha variety is named after the local Gesha area in Ethiopia, where it was collected.
In other words, all coffee beans in that area can be named in this way and can be called "Gesha". So later, when the Gesha wave became popular, many "Gesia" varieties appeared in Ethiopia. They were not T2722, but native species in the Gesha Mountains. They were just named in the same way and were all called Geisha. Among them, the most famous ones are Goli Gesha and Gesha 1931 in Gesha Village Estate.
After 2004, many people who were shocked by Panama Gesha went to the Kaffa Forest, the birthplace of Gesha, in an attempt to find the same Gesha variety locally. Among them is Adam, the current owner of Geisha Manor. Accompanied by Willem Boot, the owner of Mule Manor, Adam went to the place where Geisha was discovered to conduct breeding selection. Due to the lack of genetic comparison technology at the time, we could only find similar beans based on the plants, bean appearance and flavor performance of Panama Geisha. Finally, we found Goli Gesha and Gesha 1931.
Currently, the red label Geisha used in Front Street Geisha Village is the Gori Geisha variety, and its appearance is somewhat different from that of Panama Geisha. The taste of the sun-dried brew is more of the terroir of the Ethiopian production area. It tastes bright and full of juice, and the flavors are citrus, pineapple, and mango.
The bean used in Front Street Geisha Village Gold Label is Geisha 1931! Compared to Front Street Geisha Village Red Label, its appearance and flavor expression will be closer to Panama Geisha: elegant floral aroma of chamomile, sweet and sour berries, citrus, honeydew, and a more obvious tea flavor in the finish.
Oiran
The last of the Big Three is the oiran! If we want to talk about the popularity of Ethiopian beans, then the reputation of Oiran may be even higher than the first two. Because Oiran has launched a "version number" (i.e. 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...), everyone is eagerly anticipating what surprises the new version of Front Street Oiran will bring to everyone every year.
Oiran is neither the name of a coffee bean variety nor the name of a production area in Ethiopia. It is a trade name. At the beginning of 2017, a sun-dried coffee bean from Hambera won the COE championship that year. Later, this bean was introduced by domestic bean merchants, who then gave it the name "Oiran" based on the Chinese context, which means "the leader of hundreds of flowers."
The Oiran coffee bean variety is native to the Hambera production area. However, because the name collides with the Taiwanese translation of Geisha (Geisha) (Geisha is a profession in Japan, and Oiran is the top geisha), many people have misunderstood that "Oiran is Geisha". But in fact, the two are completely different concepts.
The earliest Oiran surprised everyone with its rich strawberry and cream aroma, but the latest version of Front Street Oiran still retains this major feature. In addition to the aroma of strawberry and cream, the new season of Front Street Oiran also exudes high-sweet flavors such as guava, citrus, and melon. Not only that, but also has obvious roses, and the aroma is sweet and fragrant.
What are the differences between the three giants in Ethiopia?
To sum up, we can know that the characteristics and differences of the "Big Three" are very obvious. From the production area they belong to, the meaning of the name, to their respective flavor characteristics, they are all completely different. Finally, here comes the question on the front street: among these three giants, which one do you like best in front of the screen?
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
