When it comes to specialty coffee beans, many friends immediately think of Yirgacheffe. This is not only because Yirgacheffe has an extremely high reputation in the coffee world, but also because the coffee produced in Yirgacheffe has outstanding flavor performance, is highly recognizable, and leaves an unforgettable impression.But brewing a good cup of Yirgacheffe coffee is not an easy task! Friends with experience know that beans from this region easily clog the filter paper during brewing, and at the same time, it is also difficult to bring out the "Yirgacheffe flavor."No worries! Today Front Street Coffee will share how to brew a good cup of Yirgacheffe coffee, and what exactly is meant by "Yirgacheffe flavor"!What is "Yirgacheffe flavor"?
Obviously, "Yirgacheffe flavor" refers to the unique coffee flavor nurtured by the Yirgacheffe region! The Yirgacheffe region is located in Ethiopia, with an average altitude of about 2,000 meters,and is one of the highest-altitude regions in Ethiopia.The higher altitude prolongs the ripening time of the coffee cherries, allowing the coffee enough time to accumulate sugar and transform it into even more outstanding flavor compounds. Combined with the unique terrain and planting system, it can be said to provide excellent growing conditions for coffee.The Yirgacheffe region was originally a sub-region of the Sidamo region, but because the coffee grown there had too unique a flavor, it was singled out and became its own category, and then became one of Ethiopia's most renowned coffee regions.
When talking about Yirgacheffe, we cannot fail to mention the washed coffee from this region, because the "Yirgacheffe flavor" we pass on by word of mouth actually mainly comes from the "pen" of washed processing!In the early days, Ethiopia's processing was mainly natural, but because of insufficient early experience and poor management, the coffee was very prone to quality changes during processing, with a relatively high defect rate, and the quality of the coffeeas a wholewas on the low side.
In order to improve coffee quality, the Ethiopian government introduced washed processing technology and equipment in 1972 and established the first washed processing station in Yirgacheffe town. Thanks to this measure, defects in Yirgacheffe coffee were greatly reduced and quality was greatly improved. Moreover, because washed processing does not allow the coffee beans to ferment excessively, the coffee's own flavor characteristics can be better displayed: fresh and bright citric acidity, elegant and soft white floral notes, and a clean green tea finish. This is the Yirgacheffe flavor that coffee folks pass on by word of mouth.(But it should be noted that not all coffee produced in Yirgacheffe will carry the Yirgacheffe flavor)
Because the effect of washed processing was so outstanding, many coffee lovers became obsessed with the coffee from this region after their first taste. Thanks to this, the Yirgacheffe region locally made washing the main coffee processing method, and for a long time, the vast majority of coffee produced in Yirgacheffe was washed(there was also natural, but less). This gradually tied Yirgacheffe coffee to washed processing, and when we mention Yirgacheffe coffee, we immediately think of the flavor performance of washed Yirgacheffe.How to brew a good cup of Yirgacheffe coffee? How to bring out the Yirgacheffe flavor?
As Front Street Coffee said, brewing a good cup of Yirgacheffe coffee is not a simple matter. Many friends often end up with Yirgacheffe coffee that has no flavor, a thin body, obvious bitterness, uneven extraction, and other negative results. The reason is that Yirgacheffe beans generally have relatively high density. Friends who use hand grinders, Front Street Coffee believes, should deeply understand this
(because it is very hard to grind).
The high density is both because the beans were grown in high-altitude areas and accumulated rich substances, and because most Yirgacheffe beans use a relatively light roast. High-density beans are difficult to lift the coffee bed with hot water, so inexperienced beginners often pour hot water past the coffee bed, forming bypass water and affecting extraction; at the same time, because high-density beans easily clog the filter paper, sometimes over-extraction easily occurs due to excessively long extraction time.
If we want to brew this type of coffee well, we need to use a higher water temperature and a finer grind for brewing, thereby improving extraction efficiency and making the coffee flavor fuller; at the same time, note that the pouring height of the hot water cannot be too high, which can reduce the agitation of the coffee grounds by the hot water and prevent the filter paper from clogging; finally, divide the hot water into multiple stages andwith a small streampour it in, which can effectively prevent the hot water from submerging the coffee bed and forming bypass water.
Next, Front Street Coffee will use brewing to demonstrate in practice how to brew a good cup of Yirgacheffe! For this brewing share, the bean Front Street Coffee used is Front Street Yirgacheffe · Washed Gudingding from Front Street's online Taobao bean list. It carries a very standard "Yirgacheffe flavor"! The extraction parameters are as follows:Grind level: Ek43 setting 10, 75% passing a No. 20 sieve, fine granulated sugar particle sizeCoffee-to-water ratio: 1:16Brewing water temperature: 92°CBrewing method: four-stageFirst, we pour in 30ml(twice the coffee dose in water)of hot water for blooming, and bloom for 30 seconds.After blooming ends, we pour in the second stage of hot water, 90ml in total, in a large circular motion, using a small stream and pouring slowly. Note that when pouring, we should try not to let the water level submerge the coffee bed too much, to prevent the appearance of bypass water.After the second stage of hot water has drained through the dripper, we pour in the third stage of hot water. The third stage is half of the remaining water, 60ml in total, also using a small stream, then pouring in a small circular motion.And when the water level is about to reach the bottom, we can pour in the fourth stage of hot water, 60ml in total. While pouring, we can check the time. If the time is less than two minutes, we can use a small stream in a small circular motion; if the time has passed two minutes, then use a small stream poured at a fixed point. After the hot water is poured, we only need to wait for the coffee liquid to finish dripping, then remove the dripper and end extraction.Total time was 2 minutes 28 seconds. Without even tasting it, Front Street Coffee could already sense the elegant white floral aroma from the wet aroma. And after the coffee entered the mouth, one could clearly taste fresh lemon, jasmine floral notes, as well as flavors such as apricot and citrus. The finish carried honey sweetness and the fresh fragrance of green tea. The overall body was low, the acidity bright, clean and refreshing—very nice!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
(because it is very hard to grind).
