YirgacheffeAs a coffee that is well-known in Africa and even in the entire coffee circle, it can be said to be one of the synonyms of specialty coffee. First, we will teach you how to distinguish true and false Yirgacheffe. We can judge from the following three points:
1. The flavor of Yirgacheffe
so-calledYirgacheffe flavorIt has a unique lemon, white floral and honey-like sweet aroma, soft acidity and citrus flavor, a fresh and bright taste, and a refreshing aftertaste like green tea, which is in sharp contrast to the traditional bitter coffee.
2. Types of Yirgacheffe
As a classic Ethiopian coffee, the variety of Yirgacheffe is native to Ethiopia. This is a "collection" of various coffee trees, so we can see that the particle size of Yirgacheffe is uneven, but this does not affect its superior flavor. If the variety is not native to Ethiopia, thencoffeeMost likely it's not Yirgacheffe.
3. Origin information of Yirgacheffe
YirgacheffeYirgacheffe is a small town located in southern Ethiopia. Its name means "settling in a wetland". The planting altitude here is about 1700-2100 meters. The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature. The coffee fruits take longer to mature and absorb more nutrients and flavor substances, so the coffee produced has a unique and elegant flavor. At the same time, it can also refer to more sophisticated coffee processing plants, such as the Front Street Yirgacheffe Fruit Tintin Cooperative and the Front Street Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Konga Cooperative.
Almost every household in Yirgacheffe grows coffee beans. There are relatively few large-scale plantations here. Generally, farmers plant coffee beans in their own fields or yards mixed with other crops to ensure stable income throughout the year. It is a veritable pastoral coffee. Since the coffee output of each family is not large, the harvested coffee fruits will be packaged and sent to the cooperative in the town for unified processing, and will be later sold under the name of the cooperative.
The Yirgacheffe coffee production area established the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union YCFCU in June 2002, with a total of 28 member cooperatives. A cooperative is about the size of a village. After harvesting coffee cherries, farmers can send the green beans to the nearest cooperative for processing.
Washing treatment method
Yirgacheffe used to use traditional sun-dried green coffee beans. In order to improve the quality of coffee and thereby boost the profits of the local coffee industry, the Ethiopian government introduced water-washing processing technology from Central and South America, giving Yirgacheffe coffee a qualitative leap.
In the washing process, the coffee cherries are first put into the water. The incompletely ripe and bad fruits will float, and the first step is to pick out the defective beans. Then use a machine to remove the coffee pulp and peel, ferment it for 12-36 hours, and use the pectin layer to produce microbial decomposition and detachment during the fermentation process. Then put it in a clean sink and scrub it clean with tools, and then spread it out in the sun to dry. This can make the coffee beans fresher in flavor and brighter in acidity, and most importantly, it greatly reduces the proportion of defects compared to traditional sun-drying.
Generally speaking, washed processing can better present the basic flavor of the production area. Sun-dried coffee beans will add rich fermentation aroma and tropical fruit sweetness to the basic flavor. Therefore, it is recommended to drink Front Street washed Yirgacheffe for the first time.
Front Street. Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe production area
Altitude: 1900-2000m
Treatment method: washed
Variety: Heirloom native species
Flavor: Jasmine, Citrus, Berry
"Red Cherry Project"
Of course,YirgacheffeThere are also boutique grade sun-dried coffee beans. Improved solarization technology allowsYirgacheffeThe flavor has a stronger berry aroma. The selected coffee red fruits are placed on the drying bed to be dried in the sun. They need to be manually turned regularly to ensure that the coffee beans are not over-fermented due to high temperatures. When the moisture content of the coffee beans reaches 11-12%, they can be shelled and bagged. The red cherry coffee on Front Street uses sun-dried Yirgacheffe, so you can compare the flavor differences between the two processing methods.
Front Street. Sundried Red Cherry Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe production area Altland Manor G1
Altitude: 1700-2200m
Treatment method: Sun exposure
Variety: Heirloom native species
Flavor: Berry Jasmine Lemon
Classification of green beans
Yirgacheffe is first divided into two categories according to the treatment method, washing and sun drying. It is then graded according to the Cupping Standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). The smaller the number, the higher the grade. For example, the coffee beans from Guodingding Cooperative on Front Street are washed Yirgacheffe G1 grade, with a clear and clean flavor, a bright aroma, and just the right amount of sweet and sour floral and fruity aroma.
Front Street Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone
Producer: Guodingding Cooperative
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local native species (Heirloom)
Treatment method: washing treatment
Grade: G1
Flavor: citrus berry lemon sucrose green tea
Brew flavor
If you want to brew the bright sour flavor of Yirgacheffe, Front Street believes that it is important to use freshly roasted coffee beans. If the coffee is left for too long and the flavor is lost, it will be difficult to show the original rich aroma even with multiple matching parameters. Therefore, the coffee sold on Front Street is freshly roasted within 5 days. In addition to the time required for logistics, it is within the best tasting period when received and can be enjoyed directly.
For coffee beans with floral and fruity tones at high altitudes like Yirgacheffe, Front Street uses a water temperature of 92-93 degrees Celsius and a grinding degree of fine sugar.
Filter cup: V60
Water temperature: 92-93 degrees Celsius
Powder amount: 15g
Pink to water ratio: 1:15
Grinding degree: the size of fine sugar (sifted in a No. 20 sieve bowl to 78%)
Three-stage extraction: use 30g of water to steam for 30 seconds in the first stage, inject 95g of hot water into the second stage, and start injecting 100g of the third stage when the powder layer drops to half, until all the coffee is dripped. Pay attention to the center point to start pouring water, and the small flow of water will circulate softly and vigorously throughout the process to avoid uneven extraction.
After grinding, the fruit coop has an elegant jasmine aroma. You can feel the clear bright acidity of lemon in the mouth, the sweetness of sugar cane is prominent, and the temperature drops, showing the taste of green tea, and the aftertaste is long-lasting.
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
