How does the coffee association of america grade washed Yirgacheffe?
Yirgacheffe is one of Ethiopia's signature specialty regions, and the washed G1 from the Aricha processing plant sits at the top of that output. The lot comes from roughly 650-700 smallholder farmers near Kebel Aricha, grown at 1,900-2,100 meters with heirloom varieties, and cups with sweet orange, cherry and honey sweetness.
Washed Yirgacheffe is graded under the coffee association of america standards as Gr-1 and Gr-2, where the lower numeral means the higher grade. Project Origin, started by 2015 World Barista Champion Sasa Sestic, buys directly from farmers in eight countries and pays 20% above the coffee and fair trade reference price.
Yirgacheffe is one of the most iconic specialty coffee regions in Ethiopia, and the washed G1 produced by the Aricha processing plant is among the very best. This article systematically sorts out the full story of this coffee, from the region's background, the Project Origin program, and green bean grading standards to the entire washed processing flow. It also includes Front Street Yirgacheffe's pour-over parameter recommendations, helping coffee lovers understand more completely every step of a washed Yirgacheffe from seed to cup, and experience the classic flavor woven from sweet orange, cherry, and honey.
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Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Aricha G1 Washed
Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Yirgacheffe Gediyo
Altitude: 1,900-2,100 meters
Variety: Heirloom
Producer: Kebel Aricha
Flavor: Sweet orange, cherry, honey sweetness
This batch of Front Street Yirgacheffe was produced at the Kebel Aricha processing plant, with about 650-700 small coffee farmers nearby. Farmers bring ripe coffee cherries here for processing in exchange for cash.
About Project Origin
Sasa Sestic, winner of the 2015 World Barista Championship, started a green bean sourcing project called Project Origin three years ago with his business team ONA Coffee. This project works directly with coffee farmers in poor countries and regions, improving their production conditions and paying them a purchase price 20% higher than the fair trade price.
The original intention of this project also included strengthening the connection between roasters and coffee farmers, and guiding coffee farmers to grow high-quality coffee beans. So far, Sasa has established relationships with coffee growers from eight countries, including Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.
Flavor description: sweet citrus tonality, green berry, peach, longan and red date aroma, honey sweetness, cocoa notes with a hint of spice, full body and a lasting finish
Yirgacheffe is divided into two major categories according to different green bean processing methods:
Category A is the washed processing method, with grading standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), divided into Gr-1 and Gr-2. The smaller the Arabic numeral, the higher the grade. Front Street G1 Yirgacheffe has a distinctive style, and the flavor of citrus and floral notes blended into the coffee liquid is a deliciousness no one can resist.
Category B is the sun-dried processing method for green coffee beans, with grades divided into Gr-1, Gr-3, Gr-4, and Gr-5. Likewise, the highest grade, Front Street G1 sun-dried Yirgacheffe, is rich in fruity aroma. Opening a bag of freshly roasted Front Street G1 sun-dried Yirgacheffe can overturn everyone's original understanding of coffee. Only those who have tasted the highest-grade Front Street sun-dried Yirgacheffe will believe that coffee is a fruit..
Factory name: Coffee Workshop Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Factory address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City Factory contact: 020-38364473 Ingredients list: self-roasted Shelf life: 90 Net content: 227g Packaging method: bulk coffee beans Roast level: roasted coffee beans Contains sugar: no sugar Origin: Ethiopia Roast level: light roast
Processing method: washed
The happy coffee farmers first pick the coffee cherries from the trees, then pour them into a pool filled with water. Because coffee cherries have different densities due to different degrees of ripeness, overripe and underripe coffee cherries along with some twigs and leaves will float on the surface, while sufficiently ripe coffee cherries will sink to the bottom. Naturally, in this way, a portion of coffee cherries that pass the first stage is selected.
The selected ripe coffee cherries then enter the pulping machine to remove the skin and pulp;
Pour-over Front Street Yirgacheffe. 15g coffee, medium-fine grind (3.5 on a small Fuji ghost tooth grinder), V60 dripper, 91-93°C water temperature, first pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds, pour to 105g of water and stop, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before pouring again, pour slowly until 225g of water, discard the final part, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00
Next, the green coffee beans with residual pulp and pectin enter the fermentation stage (fermenting through interaction with microorganisms in the water or in the air); after fermentation is complete, the fruit with the parchment layer enters the washing channel to be rinsed clean; after rinsing clean comes the drying stage. During the drying stage, the moisture content of the green coffee beans is kept at around 12% as much as possible, and then they are put into burlap sacks and left to rest for about 2-3 months of green bean resting, in order to make the green bean quality more stable. Finally, the parchment layer is removed and they can be sold!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
