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Regarding the specialty coffee producing areas in Ethiopia, many people would say Yirgacheffe and Sidamo without hesitation. What is the difference between the coffee from these two producing areas? This time we will talk about the differences between them.
Yirgacheffe specialty coffee region
The most famous production area is undoubtedly the Yirgacheffe production area. The citrus flavor and light floral aroma of Front Street Yirgacheffe have become the preferred coffee beans for many friends who are new to single-origin coffee. What is interesting is that there is a coffee species in Yirgacheffe named "Kurume", which refers to the coffee species in the Yirgacheffe area that were formed after a long period of regional climate, soil and other environments. This also fully represents the flavor of the Yirgacheffe production area.
Yirgacheffe is located in the northwest of Sidamo. It was once part of the Sidamo production area, but later became an independent production area due to its outstanding flavor. In fact, if you look at the map, you will know that Yirgacheffe is just a small town in Ethiopia. As for the Ethiopian coffee-producing area, the Yirgacheffe coffee-producing area is not limited to Yirgacheffe Town. The Yirgacheffe coffee-producing area includes Wanago, Yirgacheffe Town, Kocher and Jinlena Ambaya and other legal areas.
The altitude of the Yirgacheffe coffee production area is generally around 2,000 meters, which is a veritable high altitude. The advantages of high altitude make the Yirgacheffe coffee production area a unique production area for coffee cultivation. In addition to its high altitude, the Yirgacheffe coffee production area has abundant precipitation, fertile soil, and a cool and comfortable climate, all of which are environments favored by Arabica coffee beans. It can be said that Yirgacheffe is a treasure land of flavor. As one of the most outstanding representatives of the Yirgacheffe production area, Front Street Yirgacheffe Fruit Tintin Coffee is a must-drink Pour over(V60) item.
1. Front Street Yirgacheffe Fruit Tintin
Production area: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone
Producer: Guodingding Cooperative
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local native species (Heirloom)
Treatment method: Sun treatment
Grade: G1
The Yirgacheffe Tintin Cooperative is located in the Woka production area at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe. It was originally part of the Woka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union YCFCU. Later, as people pursued the traceability of green coffee beans, "single production areas" were excavated one by one by coffee hunters around the world.
In 2012, Guodingding, which has about 300 farmers as members, independently established the "Guodingding Cooperative". Guodingding Village was the first village area to be independent. Many small farmers were also members of the original Woka Cooperative, so the technology for coffee production was not a problem. The main processing methods of Guodingding Cooperative are washing and sun-drying. You can taste the citrus, black tea, and cream, caramel, and almond flavors in the Front Street Yerga Washed Fruit Dings purchased from Front Street. As the temperature changes, the aftertaste of cream, caramel, and almond is obvious, and the taste is clean and sweet.
If you like Ethiopian coffee with tropical fruit flavor, we recommend trying the Front Street Red Cherry:
2. Front Street Red Cherry Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe Altlan processing plant
Altitude: 2300m
Breed: Ethiopian native species
Treatment method: Sun treatment
Flavor: citrus, berry, fermented fruit aroma, honey, cream taste
Reason for recommendation: The taste is round and the aroma can be expressed whether it is brewed cold or hot.
Sidamo specialty coffee production area
The Sidamo production area is 1,400-2,200 meters above sea level and is a famous specialty coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya. The washed Sidamo is light green, with small beans, oval growth, plump fruits, good average quality, fragrant and mellow smell, a drop in the mouth, endless aftertaste, and wild beauty.
Sidamo's coffee has a very diverse flavor. Different soil types, micro-climates and countless native coffee species have created obvious differences and characteristics in the coffee produced in the town. From 2010 to 2012, it continuously received high scores of CR92-94 from the authoritative American coffee evaluation website. This shows how extraordinary the green beans in this production area are. The terrain is diverse with towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys and plains. The geology of the site is nutrient-rich and well-drained volcanic soil. The soil depth is nearly two meters, and the surface soil is dark brown or brown. The biggest advantage of this site is that the soil fertility is maintained through the circulation of organic matter, using the withered leaves of surrounding trees or the residual roots of plants as fertilizer.
As a representative of floral and fruity coffee, if you want to taste the classic Sidamo flavor, it is recommended to buy Front Street Oiran Coffee with its own berry aroma:
3. Front Street Oiran Coffee Bean
Production area: Gujihambera
Treatment plant: Buku able treatment plant
Altitude: 2250-2350m
Breed: Ethiopian native species
Treatment method: Sun treatment
Flavor: citrus, strawberry, passion fruit, fermented aroma, black tea
Reason for recommendation: The classic representative of creamy strawberry flavor, the tiger balm in the coffee world, it tastes good no matter how you brew it.
If the above coffees are not enough to satisfy your taste buds, you might as well choose Front Street ALO Coffee and Front Street Hamathew Coffee, which have become popular in the past two years. Hamasho treatment plant is located in Hamasho village in the north of Bansha Town. In Sidamo language, Hamasho means "snake", which symbolizes strength and spirit locally. This area benefits from the high altitude and fertile soil, coupled with traditional green organic planting, using the withered leaves of surrounding trees or plant roots as fertilizer, so that the coffee produced has a rich tropical fruit tone and an excellent sweetness. If you want to experience the classic flavor of Sidamo, choose Front Street Hamathew coffee beans.
Flavor: strawberry, floral, guava, sweet orange, honey, green grape
FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions
Ethiopian coffee has rich and diverse flavors, with prominent floral and fruity aromas. Front Street recommends choosing freshly roasted coffee beans so that you can drink the full flavor of the coffee. Coffee beans will enter a best tasting period 4-7 days after roasting. After this period, the aroma will be lost at an accelerated rate. The coffee beans sold on Front Street Street are all freshly roasted within 5 days, so you can start brewing them as soon as you buy them.
In order to present the coffee flavor of Ethiopia, Front Street chose two beans from the Yirgacheffe production area: Front Street Guodingding Cooperative and Front Street Sun-Dried Red Cherry. Since Ethiopian beans are grown in a high-altitude environment and the beans are hard, Front Street believes that brewing with higher water temperature and finer grinding degree is needed to bring out the flavor level of yega. When it comes to grinding, some customers will ask if Front Street can help grind powder. Of course, Front Street provides grinding services. Since the aroma of coffee beans will evaporate more quickly after being ground, if you grind the coffee beans in advance, you need to drink them as soon as possible. Storing them for too long will affect the brewing flavor.
Filter bowl: V60 #01
Water temperature: 90-91 degrees Celsius
Powder amount: 15g
Pink to water ratio: 1:15
Grinding degree: the size of fine sugar (sieve powder to 80% in a No. 20 sieve bowl)
Front street brewing technique: Inject 30 grams of water in the first stage and steam for 30 seconds, then inject 95 grams (the electronic scale shows about 125 grams), and the injection is completed in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the powder layer, add the remaining 100 grams (the electronic scale shows about 225 grams), and the injection is completed in about 1 minute and 35 seconds. The trickling filtration is completed in 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Remove the filter cup and complete the extraction.
After grinding the two Front Street Essaya coffees, you can smell the delicate aroma of flowers and fruits. The Front Street washed diced fruit tastes bright and rising acidity of lemon and berries, and the sweetness of sugar cane is prominent. The temperature drops and the taste is like green tea, with a long-lasting aftertaste. The Front Street sun-dried Arsi tastes sweet of berries and fermented fruits, with a round taste of black tea.
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
