What Makes Natural Yirgacheffe Taste Different?

Natural Yirgacheffe keeps the coffee cherry intact and dries it whole, the oldest processing method, with dehydration often taking about a month. The result is a soft fermented wine aroma, honey-like sweetness, a full body, and a long finish. The washed version instead shows brighter citric-like acidity, citrus aroma, and tea-like notes in the finish.

Silver skin also affects the cup. Natural beans carry more outer silver skin, which falls off during roasting, so less remains at grinding; washed beans carry more inner silver skin that survives roasting and shows up in the grounds. Roast level shifts this further, since darker roasts shed more of it. Both styles keep fruity acidity close to lemon and citrus.

Yirgacheffe is the entry-level first choice for many coffee lovers, and the natural process brings it a completely different flavor direction. Starting from Front Street Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe, this article sorts out the drying process and flavor characteristics of the natural method, and compares it with the washed version, helping readers understand the fermented wine aroma, honey sweetness, and full body of natural beans. The article also discusses the influence of silver skin on astringency, the correct understanding of coffee acidity, and the significance of body and sweet aftertaste in tasting, and finally gives suggestions for learning tasting starting from single-origin coffee.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) — Front Street Natural Yirgacheffe and its flavor characteristics

The natural processing method of Front Street Yirgacheffe

After the coffee cherries are harvested, the skin is not removed first; instead, they go directly into the natural drying process (this is the oldest existing processing method). The entire dehydration cycle often takes about a month, and during the process it must be ensured that the coffee does not lose flavor or become contaminated. Beans obtained through the natural process have a complete natural mellow aroma on the palate, soft aroma, and relatively higher sugar content.

Front Street Natural Yirgacheffe usually presents a light fermented wine aroma, and the caramel-like bitterness is somewhat more prominent, but the overall taste tends toward richness, with honey-like sweetness, a full body, and a relatively long finish. The full texture plus a unique and soft floral aroma delivers a clear impact to the taste buds, and after swallowing there is still a lingering aftertaste. By contrast, Front Street Washed Yirgacheffe has brighter acidity, close to citric acid, a fresher taste, more prominent citrus aroma, and some tea-like notes in the finish. Both have fruity acidity, and in style they are relatively close to fruits such as lemon and citrus.

Natural beans have relatively more outer silver skin, which also falls off more thoroughly during roasting, so less silver skin remains when grinding; washed beans have more inner silver skin, and quite a lot still remains after roasting, so more silver skin appears when grinding. Of course, this is directly related to roast level — the darker the roast, the more cleanly the silver skin is removed.

If there is too much silver skin, it will bring astringency; but if the green beans are overly processed to remove the silver skin, it will lead to a decline in flavor.

In addition, the center line of washed beans inevitably contains silver skin, but the issue is that this part does not necessarily produce obvious astringency, so there is no need to pick out all the silver skin completely.

Many people do not quite accept the acidity of Front Street Yirgacheffe, and shudder as soon as they hear the word "acid." They actually misunderstand coffee's acidity, always feeling that only mellow flavors count as good. That is not the case. Coffee's acidity is not the sourness of vinegar, but the acidity of fruit. The English word for coffee bean is Coffee cherry, which shows that it is essentially a fruit. Acidity means that the flavor of this bean is more lively and refreshing. Of course, it should also be explained that not all coffee is better the more acidic it is. Taste is subjective, and it is good only if you like it yourself. Here we are only giving a brief introduction to coffee's acidity.

Opposite to acidity is mellowness. In professional coffee tasting, this indicator is also called mouthfeel; a vivid way to explain it is the difference between water and oil. In many cases, beans from the Americas have a fuller mouthfeel than African beans, feeling full in the mouth and even a bit viscous.

Sweet aftertaste

After coffee is swallowed, a aroma will rise back up from the throat. Some aftertastes are lasting and clear, while others are brief and vague. Generally speaking, coffee beans with a strong sweet aftertaste are of better quality. To put it more plainly, the more saliva is produced after drinking, the stronger the sweet aftertaste.

Finally

Learning to taste coffee is a process that requires a certain investment of time and cost. But if you treat it as a kind of lifestyle taste and pleasure, you might as well start with single-origin coffee. There is no need to reach a professional level; as long as you can taste the differences and say something roughly about them, you can also gain pleasure from it.

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