What Do These Green Coffee Beans Taste Like in the Cup?

Front Street Yirgacheffe Gotiti beans come from the Gedeb area of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, at 1,700 to 2,100 meters, where most coffee grows as garden plots around farmers' homes. The natural-process lot is roasted light to hold onto floral and fruity notes, showing tropical fruit, cream, honey and citrus in the cup.

Yirgacheffe was once part of Sidamo and became its own region because its flavor stood apart. The Gotiti Cooperative works with the Heirloom varieties common to smallholder coffee farms there, and washed versus natural processing changes how much fruit and sweetness reaches the final roast, which shapes the pour-over recipe.

Yirgacheffe is Ethiopia's most representative specialty coffee region, and the Gotiti Cooperative in the Gedeb region is one of its most notable micro-regions. Starting from Front Street Yirgacheffe Gotiti coffee beans, this article systematically reviews the origins of the Yirgacheffe region, the independent journey of the Gotiti Cooperative, the differences between washed and natural processing methods, and the varietal background of Heirloom. At the same time, Front Street's roaster presents this natural Gotiti with a light roast to highlight its floral and fruity character, and shares cupping and pour-over brewing notes to fully showcase its rich layers of tropical fruit, cream, honey, and citrus.

When it comes to coffee with floral and fruity aromas, the first thing Front Street thinks of is Front Street Yirgacheffe. Although Front Street Geisha also has a floral and fruity fragrance, Front Street has always felt that Yirgacheffe's aroma is more concrete and more vivid. Yirgacheffe belongs to Ethiopia's specialty coffee regions; it was originally classified under Sidamo and was later separated out on its own because of its outstanding flavor.

| About Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe was originally a small town in Ethiopia, located in the Sidamo province administrative region. This town has been a wetland since ancient times—in the old language, "Yirga" means "to settle down," while "Cheffe" refers to "wetland."

Yirgacheffe is one of the highest-altitude coffee regions in the world and is synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. The local altitude ranges between 1,700 and 2,100 meters, and it is cool and foggy year-round, like spring in all four seasons. Its unique terrain and cultivation system provide ideal conditions for growing specialty coffee. Strictly speaking, Yirgacheffe is a sub-region of Sidamo. This town is located to the northwest of Sidamo, nestled by mountains and lakes, and is one of the highest-average-altitude coffee regions in all of Ethiopia. It was precisely because of its unique flavor that it became independent from Sidamo, developed its own style, and became Africa's most famous coffee region.

Most coffee trees in the Yirga area are planted in farmers' own backyards or intercropped with other crops in their fields. Each household's output is limited, making it a typical garden coffee.

What we often call the "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to intense jasmine fragrance, lemon or lime acidity, and the sweet aroma of peach and almond along with tea-like notes. Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee has rich layers, a delicate body, an alluring taste, and a sweet finish. The phrase "coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom" describes it most aptly, as if flowers awaken the pleasant sensation of taste buds and nasal olfactory cells. Beyond the floral notes, the delicate body is like silk massaging the mouth, a wonderful sensation.

| Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone Region

Gedeb is a township located below Kochere town, 60 kilometers from Yirgacheffe town, and is a famous specialty coffee region in Ethiopia. Its altitude ranges from 1,900 to 2,200 meters, much higher than the general Yirga region. The advantage of high altitude makes Gedeb an exceptionally favored region for coffee cultivation, a micro-region that is gradually shining. Although in the ECX auction market this town is classified under the Kochere region, it is at the same administrative level as Kochere town.

In the specialty coffee world, it can be distinguished separately from Kochere as a Yirgacheffe sub-region at the same level as Kochere. This town has villages such as Worka Sakaro, Halo Bariti, Banko Gotiti, and Banko Dahato that produce coffee.

When mentioning Yirgacheffe, one must first introduce how the regions here are divided. Under the ECX regional classification system, Yirgacheffe can mainly be divided into four regions: Wenago, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, and Gelana Abaya. In terms of administrative areas, the Kochere region covers two Woredas, as well as Kochere in the west and Gedeb in the east. In recent years, Gedeb has often been separated out as a micro-region, and the Gotiti Cooperative happens to be located in the Worka Kebele within Gedeb at the southern end of Yirgacheffe.

The Gotiti Cooperative was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). In 2012 it became independent as the Gotiti Cooperative and currently has more than 300 smallholder members. In the past, those able to export directly from Ethiopia included:

(1) The private processing plant system exporting through ECX bidding

(2) The cooperative system

(3) Single estates/farms. But starting in 2018, the ECX system was reformed and no longer concealed the source of coffee lots, and private processing plants could also export directly to buyers. This not only increased transparency and traceability, but also allowed buyers and sellers to establish closer cooperative relationships. For cooperatives, there may be no impact, or it may further increase competition with private processing plants, but overall this change is undoubtedly another step forward for the specialty coffee industry.

| Gotiti Cooperative

The Gotiti Cooperative is located in the Worka Kebele at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe and was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). Later, as people pursued traceability in green coffee beans, independent "single regions" were discovered one by one by coffee hunters around the world. So in 2012, Gotiti, with about 300 farmer members, independently established the "Gotiti Cooperative."

Gotiti village was the earliest village area to become independent, and many smallholder farmers were originally members of the Worka Cooperative, so their coffee-producing skills are beyond question. The Gotiti Cooperative is called the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, and the green bean processing methods it uses are also very traditional (washed and natural processing).

| Washed Processing

Ethiopia's washing technology was introduced from Central and South America in 1972. The washed process is complex and cumbersome and requires large amounts of clean water, so it costs more than the natural method and is less commonly used in water-scarce parts of Africa.

Washed steps: After the coffee cherries are picked, they are placed in water, and the buoyancy of the water is used to remove underripe fruit. Then the skin/pulp of the berries is removed with a pulper, and they are left to rest in fermentation tanks for 18-36 hours until the mucilage layer breaks down. After fermentation is complete, the parchment beans are scrubbed in channels for 30-60 minutes. Through specially designed channels and the scouring force of water, low-density, poor-quality beans can be removed. The high-quality coffee beans are then drained of water and spread on African raised beds to dry.

Because the pulp is removed before drying, Front Street Yirgacheffe's own inherent aromas are clearer and more transparent, presenting citrus and lemon notes and elegant white floral aromas, with an overall bright and delicate flavor. After Yirgacheffe introduced washed coffee beans, it quickly became a representative of the world's specialty coffee regions.

| Heirloom

Most Ethiopian varieties are named with this term. This is actually because there are simply too many varieties in Ethiopia; it is like a natural gene bank of Arabica. On the one hand, the varieties are so numerous that identification and classification are difficult; on the other hand, out of conservation considerations, the Ethiopian government is unwilling and unable to disclose information about these varieties.

In Ethiopia, most coffee grows in a wild or semi-wild state in fields, backyards, or under forest cover. When the coffee cherries ripen, coffee farmers collect these cherries together for processing. In reality, this is a grand mixture of many different natural mutations. Because these cherries all grow under the same terroir, they form a certain similar flavor, which is the basic framework of a coffee region's flavor. Ethiopia has nearly 2,000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So if we look only at appearance, Ethiopia's coffee varieties are a "grand garden," with everything inside: long, short, thin, fat. This is also why we often see that Ethiopian coffee beans are uneven in size.

| Curve Analysis

For beans like Front Street Yirgacheffe, Front Street's roaster often uses a light roast to present its floral and fruity character. For this Front Street natural Gotiti, we still use a low flame to extend the bean's dehydration time.

Roasting machine Yangjia 800N (roasting capacity 300 grams)

Charge when the drum temperature reaches 175°C, set airflow to 3, and heat to 120; the turning point is at 1'32". When the drum temperature is 140°C, keep the heat unchanged and open the airflow to 4. At this point the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and the dehydration stage begins. At 166°C reduce heat to 100, and at 176°C reduce heat to 80, keeping airflow unchanged.

At 8'28", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 9'38". Adjust airflow to 5 (be very careful when adjusting heat; do not reduce it so much that there is no cracking sound). After first crack, develop for 1'30'' and drop at 193.5°C.

Agtron bean color value 74.6 (upper image), Agtron ground color value 79.8 (lower image), Roast Delta value 5.2.

| Cupping Chart

[Front Street Natural Gotiti] Flavor: tropical fruit, cream, honey, berries, citrus.

| Front Street Brewing Share

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti

FrontStreet Coffee: Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative coffee beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing method: Natural

Grade: G1

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 91°C

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: medium-fine grind (80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve)

Brewing method: staged extraction

Bloom with 34 grams of water for 36 seconds, then pour in a slow circular stream to 120 grams for the first stage. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 229 grams and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom.) Total extraction time is 2'00".

[Front Street Natural Gotiti] Flavor: The overall mouthfeel is solid, with fermented aroma and tropical fruit standing out. As the temperature changes, berry and cream flavors emerge, and the citrus sweet-and-sour sensation lingers between the teeth and lips for a long time.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.