Yirgacheffe is a representative producing region in Ethiopia, and its G1 and G2 grades are often mentioned, but what exactly is the difference between the two? This article begins with the evolution of Ethiopia's coffee grading system, first introducing the old system based on defect rates, then explaining the new rules after ECX introduced cupping scores in 2009, and explaining why naturally processed beans can also receive G1 and G2 grades. It then uses washed Yirgacheffe as an example to compare the actual differences between Front Street Coffee Gutingding (G1) and Front Street Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Daily Beans (G2) in green bean appearance, defect proportion, and brewed flavor, helping readers understand the quality meaning behind the grades.

The way coffee beans are graded varies by producing country, and there is no globally unified standard. Some countries use bean size as the basis, such as Kenya; some divide by growing altitude, such as Blue Mountain; and others grade according to the proportion of defective beans, with Ethiopia being a typical example.

Ethiopia is regarded as a genetic treasure trove of Arabica, with an enormous number of native varieties, making identification extremely difficult. In order to protect these varieties that are not yet fully understood and prevent industry players from various countries from competing to obtain them, the local government uniformly calls them "Heirloom," meaning native species. Green beans labeled as Heirloom usually have smaller beans and a rounder appearance, but their size and shape are not uniform. Front Street Red Cherry Coffee Beans belong to this type of Heirloom, and after natural processing they present berry, citrus, floral, and fermented notes.

In Ethiopia, coffee trees mostly exist in a wild or semi-wild state. When the harvest season arrives, ripening fruits can be seen successively in fields, courtyards, and forests. In the same coffee forest, it is normal for dozens of varieties with different forms to grow mixed together. Coffee farmers do not deliberately distinguish varieties, but harvest them together and send them to nearby processing stations for unified processing. It is precisely this seemingly extensive method that makes Ethiopian coffee beans often uneven in size and diverse in form.

Because of this, it is difficult to grade by green bean size at export like in Kenya, so the Ethiopian government decided to use defect rate as the basis for classification.

Ethiopia's old grading system was based simply on the number of defective beans. Before 2009, that is, before the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) was established, coffee export grades were set by the CLU department (Cupping and Liquoring Unit) under the Ministry of Agriculture, with a total of five grades. At that time, only washed beans were eligible to be rated G1 and G2, and only these two grades counted as specialty coffee. Before 2009, Ethiopian exported washed beans were basically G2, and G1 washed beans were extremely rare and difficult to buy on the market.

Traditional natural processing was relatively rough. Coffee farmers could do it in their own small courtyards, directly spreading the fruit on rooftops or the ground to dry, which easily produced unpleasant flavors and could even mix in stones, branches, and other debris, causing great quality fluctuation. In the 1970s, Ethiopia introduced washed processing from Latin America. Compared with natural processing, washed processing has an additional "flotation" step, which can remove unripe beans and impurities floating on the water surface, making quality more stable. At that time, it was regarded as a more advanced processing method. Then, only washed beans could be rated G1 or G2, while natural beans were usually below G3.

Grade 1, or G1, means that per 300 grams of washed beans, the number of defective beans is 0 to 3;

Grade 2, or G2, means that per 300 grams of washed beans, the number of defective beans is 4 to 12.

ECX's new grading method: combining defect rate and comprehensive cupping score

In October 2009, with the endorsement and witness of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) officially launched a new grading system. On the basis of the original defect rate, it added consideration of cupping scores. Natural coffee beans were no longer limited to G3, G4, and G5. As long as they passed evaluation by ECX cuppers, high-quality natural beans could also obtain Grade 1 and Grade 2, breaking the half-century convention that natural beans had no chance at the first and second grades. Today, Ethiopian beans labeled G1 and G2 are commonly seen on the market, while G3 is gradually decreasing.

ECX divides coffee into two types according to processing method: natural processing and washed processing:

How big is the difference between G1 and G2 washed Yirgacheffe?

Taking Yirgacheffe as an example, by observing and comparing Front Street Coffee Gutingding Coffee Beans (G1) and Front Street Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Daily Beans (G2), the gap between the two grades can be seen intuitively.

In terms of green beans, G1 is overall more uniform in bean size and more consistent in color, with noticeably fewer defective beans; G2 green beans are slightly more uneven in size and have more defective beans. In terms of defect rate, G1 is better than G2, because fewer defects mean higher quality and naturally a higher price. This is like buying apples: uniformly sized and mixed-size apples may taste similar, but at first glance people always feel the neatly sized ones are prettier and tastier, and their price is also higher.

Considering that Front Street Yirgacheffe uses a light roast, and lightly roasted beans are harder in texture, a higher water temperature is needed for brewing. Front Street uses a V60 dripper, with a water temperature of 91 degrees, grind setting of 80%, and a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15.

The flavor performance of G2 Front Street Washed Yirgacheffe is: white floral, lemon, citrus, and tea-like notes.

Since both batches are washed Yirgacheffe, and both green beans and roasted beans have been sorted, the difference in coffee flavor profile is not very large, and both present bright acidity and floral aromas. But after direct comparison, the mouthfeel of G1 is obviously cleaner than G2, and the aroma is also more refined and richer.

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