When it comes to African coffee, many people think of Ethiopia, simply because the country is recognized as the birthplace of the Arabica coffee species. The Yirgacheffe region in particular is especially loved by many coffee enthusiasts for the coffees it produces, which are known for their uniquely elegant floral aromas and bright, fresh fruity acidity.

At FrontStreet Coffee, there are several coffees from the Yirgacheffe region, most of which use the traditional natural and washed processing methods, so what difference does it make between Yirgacheffe coffee beans processed naturally and those processed with the washed method?

Administratively, Yirgacheffe is a town under the Gedeo Zone, covering an area of about 1600 square kilometers, and coffee is the most important crop in Yirgacheffe. It has a number of well-known villages under its jurisdiction, such as Aricha and Konga. The coffee farmers in these villages plant coffee trees in their own backyards, and when the harvest season arrives, the farmers hand in their harvested cherries to a nearby processing station or cooperative for processing, and the resulting coffee is named after the location or the processing station.

According to the official definition of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, Yirgacheffe was once part of the Sidamo coffee region, but because of its unique flavor, it was later separated and established as a coffee region in its own right. According to the official definition, several towns around Yirgacheffe with similar altitude and coffee quality were also included in the Yirgacheffe region, such as the well-known towns of Wenago, Kochere and Gedeb.

Yirgacheffe is located in the south-central part of the country, within the East African Rift Valley region, so the terrain here is complex and diverse,with many mountains and volcanoes. Coffee is grown on hillside slopes at altitudes of 1750-2200 m, with fertile land, abundant water resources, and plenty of sunlight, providing uniquely favorable conditions for growing coffee. Ethiopia also places great importance on the coffee industry in the Yirgacheffe area; as early as 2004, the government applied for a patent for the appellation name "Yirgacheffe".

Ethiopia has a coffee-growing history of over a thousand years. It initially used the ancient natural (sun-dried) processing method, and later introduced the washed processing method in 1972. In the time since, however, because the washed process uses a large amount of water and can reduce the rate of coffee defects and make the flavor cleaner, washed processing is used more locally.

FrontStreet Coffee has a washed coffee bean from Kochere in Yirgacheffe. After brewing, you can smell the aroma of jasmine, and on the palate there is a tropical-fruit-like sweet-and-sour taste, with lemon and citrus flavors, and the mouthfeel is overall quite smooth.

However, some coffee farmers prefer natural processing. Through improved natural processing, the flavor is enhanced and defects are reduced, and natural processing has returned to everyone's view. FrontStreet's Red Cherry coffee beans come from the Yirgacheffe region and use natural processing. After brewing, they smell of slight fermented fruit, and on the palate there is fresh citric acidity, with berry and strawberry flavors, and a refreshing mouthfeel.

In fact, the most essential difference between washed processing and natural processing is that washed processing tastes cleaner and more refreshing, while natural processing retains the flavor of the fruit pulp, giving it a relatively rich and complex taste.

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