When it comes to African coffee, many people immediately think of coffee's birthplace—Ethiopia. Citrus, citric acidity, jasmine, ripe strawberry, tropical fruit, berries, and honey are all flavor descriptors frequently used for Ethiopian coffee beans. Among them, Yirgacheffe is the most famous, and Yirgacheffe flavor is one of the synonyms for specialty coffee.

The popularity of Yirgacheffe is largely due to the specialty coffee wave since the turn of the millennium. Its floral aroma and fruity acidity, along with its citrus notes, established a "rebellious" flavor archetype. Under the dominance of dark-roasted espresso, consumers had never defined coffee flavor as including acidity, let alone citrus or fruity notes. Today, alongside Mandheling, it has become an entry-level variety for coffee tasting, a representative of floral and fruity coffees, and has even paved the way for rising stars like Kenyan coffee and Panamanian Geisha.

For any beginner, whether or not they are interested, if they want to understand Ethiopian coffee, or African coffee in general, they must not miss Yirgacheffe. It is refreshing in flavor,smooth on the palate,and easy to drink, while also being affordable and reasonably priced—truly a household staple.

If you are trying it for the first time, it is recommended to purchase Front Street Coffee's Yirgacheffe series washed Gudingding. Front Street Coffee's Gudingding is a washed specialty Yirgacheffe,belonging to Ethiopia's highest green bean grade G1, which means that for every 300g of green beans, no more than 3 defective beans are allowed, resulting in extremely high cleanliness.

Many people find Yirgacheffe too sour, but there are actually two reasons: one is that the roast level is too light, and the other is a brewing issue.

In order to highlight its delicate fragrant aroma and bright acidity, Front Street Coffee's Gudingding uses a medium-light roast, which can express a soft acidity with a natural sweetness. In thedry aroma, it releases fresh passion fruit, citrus, and berry acidity. The wet aroma is citrus and berries. On the palate, there is citrus acidity, berry sweetness, almond, and tea-like notes, with a honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste.

Brewing parameters for Front Street Coffee's washed Gudingding

Dripper: V60
Water temperature: 92-93°C
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: fine granulated sugar (78% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

Pouring method: three-pour

If using 15 grams of coffee grounds with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, the total water volume is 225ml. The three pours are divided into: 30ml, 95ml, and 100ml. The weight shown on the scale would be: 30g, 125g, and 225g.

First, place the folded filter paper into the dripper and fit it snugly, then wet it with water so it adheres better to the dripper. Prepare hot water and a thermometer for measuring temperature, and at the same time pour 15 grams of ground coffee into the dripper, then tare the scale.

For the first pour, add 30g of water to bloom for 30 seconds. Start timing as you begin pouring. Use a slow stream at the center point and spiral outward, making sure to wet the entire coffee bed.

After 30 seconds, begin the second pour with a slightly stronger but steady stream of 95g of water. The goal is to raise the entire coffee bed. The stream should be poured vertically and evenly. At this point the scale should read 125g, and the pour should be completed in about 55 seconds.

When the liquid level drops to about halfway, begin the third pour using a slow stream in a small spiral, adding 100 grams. Try to control the stream so it does not spiral too widely, as this can easily disturb the coffee bed and cause under-extraction. The total water added is 225 grams, and the drip should finish in about 2 minutes. After removing the dripper, swirl the coffee in the server to mix evenly, and it is ready to taste.

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