How Should Yirgacheffe-Style Washed Coffee Be Brewed?
The Hero Washed beans from Hambella in Guji, Ethiopia, took second place nationally and first in the washed group at the 2016/17 Ethiopia TOH competition. They show red grapefruit, tropical fruit, cherry, and apricot, with high sweetness and a juicy mouthfeel. A V60 pour-over with staged pouring reproduces that bright, sweet profile at home.
Hambella lies in Guji within the Oromia Region, facing Yirgacheffe's Kochore across a highland belt about 3,200 meters high and 30 kilometers wide. Its altitude ranks among Ethiopia's highest sub-regions, though Harrar remains the highest main producing region. The TOH competition, run by the African Fine Coffees Association, cups lots against SCAA standards.
The Hero Washed coffee beans from Hambella in the Guji region of Ethiopia won second place nationally and first in the washed group at the 2016/17 Ethiopia TOH competition, and are known for their notes of red grapefruit, tropical fruits, cherry, apricot, and high sweetness with a juicy mouthfeel. This article will guide you through the origin background, competition journey, and flavor characteristics of these champion beans, and share a practical set of V60 pour-over parameters and staged pouring techniques to help coffee enthusiasts recreate their bright and sweet flavor performance at home. At the same time, Front Street Coffee also takes this opportunity to exchange more coffee knowledge with everyone, making it easier for more people to enjoy good coffee.
Front Street - Ethiopia Sidamo Hero Washed Coffee Introduction
Hambella is located in Guji, the largest coffee-producing region in Ethiopia, and administratively belongs to the Oromia Region. To its west, it faces Kochore in Yirgacheffe across a series of mountains, with a highland area about 3,200 meters above sea level and 30 kilometers wide lying between them. To the southeast, south, and north, Hambella borders Guji sub-regions such as Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha, and its overall altitude ranks among the highest of Ethiopia's many coffee sub-regions (though as for the highest main producing region, that still belongs to Harrar).
Today Front Street wants to recommend this one: a TOH champion coffee bean from Ethiopia, with an absolutely powerful name - Ethiopia·Hero Sorsa·Washed.
TOH, or "Taste of Harvest," is a harvest-season green bean competition initiated by the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) and held annually among twelve coffee-producing countries in Africa. It is similar in nature to the COE competition in the Americas. The difference is that, in addition to national-level competitions, TOH also has regional-level and all-Africa-level competitions.
The TOH competition process is roughly as follows: in the preliminary round, lots scoring below 80 points in cupping are eliminated first, gradually selecting the highest-quality green beans from each region to enter the national-level competition. Then domestic and international judges together conduct cupping and scoring based on the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and the one with the highest score becomes the national champion of the year.
Ethiopia·Hero Sorsa·Washed
Origin: Guji, Hambella Wamena area, Dimtu city, Haro soresa estate
Variety: Heirloom, Ethiopian native species
Altitude: 2000-2150m
Variety: Heirloom
Processing method: Washed
Roast level: Light
Flavor: Red grapefruit/tropical fruits/cherry/apricot/high sweetness/juicy mouthfeel
2016/17 Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition runner-up (first place in washed group)
2016/2017 harvest season Ethiopia Coffee Competition runner-up
Pour-over parameters: 15g coffee grounds, V60 dripper, water temperature 91℃, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size BG 6S (58% passing through Chinese standard No. 20 sieve).
Method: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, then pour in a small, steady stream evenly until 120g for the first stage. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225g and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. Do not use the final drips. Start timing at the beginning of the bloom, with the total extraction time around 2 minutes.
Knowledge expansion: In Ethiopia, most coffee grows in a wild or semi-wild state in fields, backyards, or under forest cover. What farmers harvest is actually a large mix of many different natural variants, so Ethiopian coffee beans are usually labeled as "native species, heirloom (Heirloom)."
In short: Front Street is a coffee specialty shop and is happy to share coffee-related knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and every month there are 3 low-discount coffee events. The reason is that Front Street wants more friends to drink the best coffee at the lowest price, and this has also been Front Street's purpose for 6 years!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
