Ethiopia is a genetic treasure trove of coffee, with a vast array of native varieties and unique flavors. From Yirgacheffe to Sidamo, from washed to natural, every bean is full of surprises. This article takes you deep into Ethiopia's coffee variety classification, flavor characteristics, processing method differences, the Red Cherry Project, and its unique grading system, and shares Front Street Coffee's cupping and brewing experience to help you fully understand this major African coffee country.

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Ethiopia, also translated as "Yisuo Biya," has extremely complex coffee variety genetics. Combined with diverse processing methods such as natural and washed, it presents unpredictable flavors and is deeply loved by many coffee connoisseurs. The Ethiopian coffee beans listed by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) account for 30% to 40% of the total listings, which shows the popularity of the country's beans. Among them, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions are the starting point for many people to get to know Ethiopian coffee. When coffee beginners come to Front Street and don't know which pour-over to choose, the baristas at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommend beans from these two regions as an introductory "appetizer." You can also place orders online through the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

When people mention Ethiopian coffee beans, they always think of their unique flavor. About 15% of the population in this East African country depends on the coffee industry for their livelihood. The local coffee culture is strong, and Ethiopians themselves love drinking coffee, consuming about half of the country's production.

According to Front Street, Ethiopia has approximately 10,000 to 15,000 heirloom varieties. Due to local technological conditions and economic constraints, it is difficult to carry out corresponding coffee variety identification. In addition, the government, out of protection for wild coffee, is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties. Therefore, Ethiopian coffee bean varieties are collectively referred to as "Ethiopian heirloom varieties." At present, local heirloom varieties are generally divided into two categories: JARC varieties and regional landraces. JARC varieties are developed and studied by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center, while regional landraces are coffee trees that grow completely naturally in the wild.

For example, the varieties planted by the coffee cooperative on one mountain and those planted on another mountain are definitely different. Even smallholder farmers in the same region do not grow the same coffee varieties. Some estimate that Ethiopia has at least 2,000 coffee varieties, and there are even claims of more than 4,500.

Compared with SL28, the main variety of neighboring Kenya to the south, or the plump appearance of Typica in Central and South America and Asia, Ethiopian beans look a bit "malnourished." But beans should not be judged by appearance. Ethiopia's citrus aroma can be called the best in the world. Whether it is instant coffee or freshly ground coffee, when extracted, you can smell a pungent orange or lemon fragrance. The rich floral, fruity, and sweet-tart aromas on the palate are the characteristics of Ethiopian coffee.

Front Street has cupped many coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions. One of them was the Ethiopian TOH washed group champion bean from the Guji region of Sidamo. First, grind it and smell the dry aroma. This Ethiopian TOH washed group champion bean has a very rich floral dry aroma. Then pour water until the bowl is full and confirm the wet aroma. Its wet aroma is a fresh citrus scent, somewhat similar to the Gutingting coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region.

After 4 minutes, break the crust and skim off the grounds to evaluate the flavor. Front Street's cupping result was: the overall flavor of this Ethiopian TOH washed group champion bean is jasmine, lemon, berry, pomelo, honey, and green tea. The overall flavor brewed by Front Street was: citrus acidity and jasmine aroma in the front section, pomelo tea in the middle section, and a honey finish. This bean uses a washed processing method, highlighting the brightness of the acidity of coffee beans from the Uraga region. The overall impression leans toward the floral aroma and citrus acidity characteristics of the Yirgacheffe region.

However, Ethiopian heirloom varieties are uneven in size, and one of their biggest disadvantages is that they are prone to uneven roasting, especially natural beans. Even the best Grade 3 Harar natural beans often show uneven bean color. This is the biggest defect of Ethiopian beans, but fortunately it does not affect their good flavor.

For coffee lovers, there is no need to care about what the beans look like; tasting good is what matters most. The stability of Ethiopian washed beans is much better than that of natural beans, and the flavor of the latter fluctuates greatly from year to year. Generally, Front Street conducts a large number of cuppings when listing beans to ensure that the quality of the Ethiopian coffee beans listed reaches the best possible level. Good natural beans have a far deeper and richer flavor than washed beans; but if you buy improperly processed natural beans, it will definitely leave you speechless. This is the sentiment of many coffee lovers.

Therefore, Ethiopian coffee beans have a quality problem: some coffee beans are of higher quality, while others are of lower quality, and mixing them together leads to a decline in the price of the coffee beans. A Dutch green bean merchant also discovered this problem with local heirloom coffee, so it cooperated with local Ethiopian cooperatives and launched an activity to improve coffee quality and prices, called the Red Cherry Project.

The Red Cherry Project is actually a commercial plan to promote coffee quality, solving the problem from the source. By raising the purchase price of high-quality green coffee beans, it encourages coffee farmers to more carefully complete every process such as coffee cherry picking and processing. During the picking stage, it uses fully manual picking and selects highly mature coffee cherries. Coffee beans selected through the Red Cherry Project are of higher quality. Front Street's Natural Red Cherry is produced through this project, so the brewed coffee flavor is somewhat better than the original flavor.

Ethiopia's coffee bean grading is also very different from that of other countries. In Ethiopia's grading process, there is almost no strict classification by coffee size. Instead, there are requirements for the moisture content of coffee beans: first, the moisture content of coffee beans must not exceed 11.5%, and at least 85% must not be smaller than 14 mesh; second, washed coffee beans must have a 10% appearance size score when physical characteristics are measured, while there is no size requirement for the non-washed group. Ethiopia's green coffee bean grading process is as follows:

1. First, classify by coffee bean processing method: washed processing and non-washed processing. 2. Divide washed coffee beans and non-washed coffee beans into 9 grades from G1 to G9 according to physical characteristics, cup characteristics, and basic cup quality. Specifically: physical characteristic score accounts for 40% (washed group: defects 20% + appearance size 10% + color 5% + odor 5%; non-washed group: defects 30% + odor 10%), and cupping quality score accounts for 60% (cleanliness 15% + acidity 15% + body 15% + flavor 15%).

Among them, G1 has the highest comprehensive score for green coffee beans. G1's comprehensive score is 91 to 100, G2's comprehensive score is 81 to 90, and G3's comprehensive score is 71 to 80. Therefore, this also shows that compared with Yirgacheffe G2, Yirgacheffe G1 has better green coffee bean quality and flavor. The coffee classification does not stop at this step. The coffee beans of grades G1 to G3 must be cupped again according to SCAA standards to evaluate their flavor attributes in more detail. G1 and G2 with no less than 85 points are rated as Q1; G1, G2, and G3 between 80 and 85 are rated as Q2; those below 80 are downgraded to G3. This is Ethiopia's classification of coffee beans.

Many customers who come to Front Street to buy beans are not very clear about the difference in coffee flavor between washed beans and natural beans. In fact, washed beans better reflect the regional flavor of a coffee bean, while natural beans add more aroma and sweetness on the basis of washed processing. Front Street has cupped and brewed both the washed Gutingting and the natural Red Cherry from the Yirgacheffe region.

Front Street cupped this washed bean from the Yirgacheffe region. After grinding 11.3 grams of coffee beans into powder, the dry aroma exuded fresh passion fruit acidity, citrus, and berry tartness. The wet aroma was citrus and berry. On the palate, there was citrus acidity, berry sweetness, almond, and tea-like notes, with a honey sweetness in the finish. The body was low, the acidity was bright, and it was clean and refreshing. The brewing parameters used were:

Dripper: V60 #01 Water temperature: 90-91°C Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: EK43s-10 / caster sugar size (sift powder to 80% with a No. 20 sieve)

For the first pour, Front Street generally pours 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pours 95 grams (about 125 grams on the electronic scale), finishing in about 1 minute; when the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (about 225 grams on the electronic scale), finishing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Dripping is completed at 2 minutes 10 seconds. Remove the dripper and finish extraction.

The brewed Gutingting coffee has citrus and black tea on the palate. As the temperature changes, cream, caramel, and almond appear, and the finish has obvious sweetness and a clean, sweet taste. Red Cherry follows the same process, and its berry flavor is more obvious, with a somewhat oolong tea finish.

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