Front Street Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee beans have a very fresh flavor, especially under light roasting, showing bright citrus-like acidity, subtle floral notes, honey-like sweetness, and a green tea-like finish. If used for SOE (single-origin espresso), Front Street Yirgacheffe is usually roasted to a medium or darker level, and the extracted black coffee shows soft citrus fruit acidity, creamy chocolate richness, and cookie-like aroma, always leaving a deep impression.

Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee refers to beans produced in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. Yirgacheffe is the name of a local town, with an altitude of about 1,700–2,100 meters, and today "Yirgacheffe" has long become synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee. Front Street has learned that the town of Yirgacheffe originally belonged to the Sidamo region. Later, thanks to the establishment of washing stations, it developed a distinctive "Yirgacheffe flavor," and since then it has become an independent representative producing region and began to rise to fame throughout the coffee world.

Front Street found in its research that the reason Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans can have such a distinctive style is not only the innate terroir conditions, but also to a large extent the washed processing. Ethiopia's altitude is generally high with abundant sunshine, very suitable for drying coffee cherries directly in the sun. At first, Yirgacheffe was also mainly a place for producing natural coffee. Traditional natural processing was simply spreading the cherries on the ground to dry, with no sorting and no flotation, so the quality of the coffee beans was mostly uneven. It was not until the 1970s that the town of Yirgacheffe established the first washing station in Sidamo, and more washed processes gradually began to appear locally.

As more and more farmer cooperatives were established, in order to improve the quality of green coffee beans for export, thereby increasing everyone's income while also serving multiple communities, people began to be willing to build washed processing plants. Unlike natural processing, a washing station first needs to solve the problem of water resources, then invest in a depulping machine, and then have enough labor. Therefore, from a production perspective, a place with people, water, and roads is the best location for building a washing station, and Yirgacheffe is exactly such a treasured place.

Washing in coffee actually means first putting the selected coffee cherries into a depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp; placing the green coffee beans with remaining pulp and mucilage into water to ferment for about 24 hours; after fermentation, washing the parchment coffee beans in a flowing water channel to remove the pulp and mucilage; after washing, drying the coffee beans in the sun or with a dryer to reduce the moisture content to about 12%. Finally, the parchment of the green coffee beans is removed.

As one of the most traditional green bean processing methods, washing not only makes coffee production quality more stable, but also gives Geisha a cleaner cup and a fresher flavor profile. After roasting, Front Street perceived Front Street Yirgacheffe's elegant white floral notes, rising citrus and lemon acidity, with a slight tea-like charm.

FrontStreet Coffee currently sells 5 coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe producing region, among which Front Street washed Yirgacheffe coffee beans from the Gedeb Gedeb cooperative and Front Street fully red fruit (red cherry) Yirgacheffe coffee beans from Arletland are the most popular.

For the Front Street Yirgacheffe we sell, Front Street roasters, considering the need to highlight its fresh floral and fruity notes, all use a medium-light roast level, with the classic Yirgacheffe flavor profile, suitable for pour-over, cold brew, French press, and many other brewing methods. In addition to roasting details, Front Street believes freshness is also very important, so we ship within 5 days after roasting is completed. Only freshly roasted coffee beans can have rich aroma and flavor. If you want to drink the rich layers of Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using drip pour-over coffee.

When FrontStreet Coffee baristas prepare Front Street Yirgacheffe, they use the pour-over extraction method, with parameters: 15g coffee powder, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium-fine grind (caster sugar size / 80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), 90–91°C water temperature.

Brewing method: Use 30g water for a 30-second bloom, pour in a small stream in circles until 125g for a stage, and when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225g and stop pouring. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom) The extraction time is 2'00".

Front Street Yirgacheffe Gedeb Gedeb cooperative washed coffee beans pour-over flavor performance: bright citrus-like acidity, berry sweetness and acidity, honey sweetness, green tea finish.

Front Street Yirgacheffe Red Cherry natural coffee beans pour-over flavor performance: bright citrus-like acidity, strawberry sweetness and acidity, honey sweetness, slight fruity fermentation.

It is not hard to find that many coffee shops' Yirgacheffe SOE Americanos have acidity. The main reason is that a not-too-dark roast level is used, because we need to ensure that after SOE extraction is completed and water/milk is added for dilution, you can not only taste the bright citrus acidity unique to Front Street Yirgacheffe, but also keep the coffee from being too sour while still having a certain mellow mouthfeel.

Based on FrontStreet Coffee baristas' brewing experience, choosing a coffee bean suitable for SOE extraction not only makes it easy to produce delicious espresso, but also makes Americanos or lattes made by adding water or milk twice as effective. On Front Street's bean list, two single-origin coffee beans have SOE versions: one is the strawberry-scented Front Street Huakui, and the other is the classic Yirgacheffe-flavored Front Street Konga. We only need to check the SOE espresso roast option when placing an order.

Experienced friends all know that making an Americano is diluting espresso + water, so the espresso is the most crucial protagonist.

The coffee machine at Front Street stores is the commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," paired with a 20g double basket. It usually uses a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, meaning 40g of espresso liquid is needed, with time controlled at 25–33 seconds. This ensures the coffee is evenly extracted. When operating at home, everyone can make slight adjustments according to the equipment instructions.

FrontStreet Coffee's SOE extraction parameters are as follows:

Coffee powder: 20g

Coffee liquid: 40g

Powder-to-liquid ratio: 1:2

Extraction time:  25–33 seconds  

Grind setting: Galileo 2.0

Steps for making Front Street Yirgacheffe SOE: Front Street first wipes the water or foreign matter off the basket, turns on the grinder, grinds a double dose of coffee powder, places it on an electronic scale to adjust until it reaches 20 grams. Then use a tool to distribute the grounds evenly, tamp the coffee puck firmly, and ensure more stable coffee extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, wet the group head while taking away the coffee grounds stuck on it, gently lock the portafilter onto the group head, and start the extraction. When the electronic scale shows 40 grams of coffee liquid extracted, at about 30 seconds, press the button (switch), and a cup of Front Street Yirgacheffe SOE is extracted.

If you taste the SOE espresso directly, you can feel obvious citrus acidity, honey sweetness, and an oolong tea-like finish. The acidity is bright and assertive, but the mouthfeel is slightly thin, so compared with drinking it alone, it is more suitable for making a refreshing and energizing SOE iced Americano.

Steps for Front Street Yirgacheffe SOE iced Americano: Front Street will first prepare a nice-looking glass, about 350ml in capacity, and add 90g ice cubes and water at room temperature to 8/10 full (about 150–170ml). Then extract a double espresso according to the above steps and pour it into the glass. A good-looking and delicious SOE iced Americano is ready. Remember to stir well before tasting～

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