The African continent is vast in area, with an average elevation of 750 m, and is known as the "Plateau Continent." Africa has numerous mountains, volcanoes, lakes and rivers. Because it straddles the equator, it is mainly tropical, with an annual average temperature above 20°C. Africa, rich in natural resources, has a developed agricultural industry, and quite a few countries are famous for producing coffee, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. Among them, Ethiopia is also recognized as the birthplace of coffee and is also Africa's largest Arabica coffee producer.

Ethiopian coffee enjoys very high recognition in the global coffee market. The country has countless native coffee varieties, and coffee can grow in Ethiopia because the country provides an ideal geographical environment and climate for coffee cultivation.

Ethiopia is located in northeastern Africa. Its territory is dominated by mountains and plateaus, most of which belongs to the Ethiopian Highlands. The central and western parts are the main body of the plateau, accounting for 2/3 of the country. In addition, the East African Rift Valley runs through the entire territory. The average elevation of the mountains is nearly 3000 m, while the national average elevation of Ethiopia is 2450 m.

Influenced by its high altitude, the country has an annual average temperature of 16°C and large temperature differences between day and night. The year is broadly divided into a dry season and a rainy season, with an annual average rainfall of 1237 mm. Ethiopia has nearly more than 50 volcanoes, abundant water resources and high-altitude mountainous areas, making it a very ideal region for coffee cultivation.

At present, Ethiopia is divided into 12 states and 2 autonomous administrative regions, and is divided into 10 coffee regions, among which there are quite a few globally renowned coffee regions, such as Sidamo, Jima, Harrar, Guji and Yirgacheffe. Among them, Guji and Yirgacheffe originally both belonged to the Sidamo coffee region, but became independent coffee regions because of their unique flavors.

In terms of administrative divisions, Yirgacheffe is a small town under Sidama Region (Sidama Region was originally part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region and became an independent region through a referendum in 2019). The terrain of this area is rugged and complex, bordered by Lake Abaya to the west. Since ancient times it has been a wetland with abundant water resources, a humid and mild climate, and ample rainfall. Coffee is grown at altitudes of 1750-2200 m. The fertile soil and ample sunlight make this area very suitable for coffee cultivation. FrontStreet Coffee has a washed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee bean, which as an introductory selection representative carries jasmine floral notes, lemon-like acidity, and fruity flavors such as orange and berry, with a refreshing and silky mouthfeel.

But the Yirgacheffe coffee producing area does not only include the small town of Yirgacheffe; it also includes sub-regions such as Wenago, Kochere, and Gedeb. Among them, Wenago is located about 26 km north of Yirgacheffe town, while Kochere is a small producing area about 25 km to the south, and Gedeb is likewise a township, 60 km from Yirgacheffe town.

However, because the country's industry is weak and its economy is mainly agricultural, coffee cultivation is mostly on a smallholder scale, such as garden coffee (farmstead coffee). Coffee is planted together with other crops near the coffee farmers' homes, tended daily by the farmers and picked by the farmers themselves during harvest season, after which it is bought by middlemen or delivered by the farmers themselves to nearby processing stations. Therefore, the coffee here is mostly sold under the name of the sub-region or the processing plant, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee beans and Yirgacheffe Gutingguting cooperative coffee beans.

In the earliest days, the Yirgacheffe region mainly used a rather crude natural process, spreading the coffee cherries directly on the ground to dry in the sun, perhaps on the dirt floor of a farmer's own yard or balcony. Because the cherries were easily contaminated by dust during the process, the final quality was generally mediocre.

By 1972, in order to improve coffee quality, the Ethiopian government introduced the washed method commonly used in Central America and opened washed processing plants in the Yirgacheffe area. The washed Yirgacheffe coffee has a very distinctive flavor, with unique notes such as white floral aromas, citric acidity and a fresh green tea character. Compared with Sidamo coffee beans, it is similar but clearly different, so Yirgacheffe became an independent region.

At present, the region also focuses mainly on producing washed coffee beans. However, with the continuous development of specialty coffee, the Yirgacheffe region has also begun to try other processing methods, such as refined natural and anaerobic slow natural, which likewise perform well.