All You Have To Know About Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Recognized for its sweet and aromatic taste and for the medium to light body. Ethiopian yirgacheffi are spicy and fragrant. They are often reviewed and ranked among the highest quality Arabica coffees in the world. Their reputation for premiums often means they are priced high, but still offer better value than comparable ones (like Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain).


Coffee Yirgacheffe is a hand-worked (washed) coffee grown at altitudes between 1,700 and 2,200 meters above sea level. It is considered the best high-growth coffee in southern Ethiopia, a region of exotic coffee known for its fine coffees. These altitudes qualify Yirgacheffes as Strictly Hard Beans (SHB), where coffee grows slowly because of the altitude, giving the tree more time to provide nutrients to the coffee. develop the best flavors.

A good Ethiopian coffee Yirgacheffe has a lively acidity, as well as intense and clean flavors and a complexity of floral notes in the aroma, sometimes with a hint of toasted coconut.

The city of Yirgacheffe (Irgachefe) is located in the Ethiopian region of Sidama (or "Sidamo"), at an altitude of about 1,900 meters, and is the administrative center of the coffee production district. Yirgacheffe coffee growers are often members of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), made up of 23 different cooperatives or more than 40,000 farmers. YCFCU members are exempt from Ethiopian coffee (ECX) exchange, which allows them to receive a premium for their premium coffees, including fair trade and organic certifications.

Some Yirgacheffe farmers may also be members of the Oromia Coffee Cooperative Union (OCFCU), which typically includes small farmers in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The consolidation of processing, selection and sales functions increases market efficiency and better controls the reputation of Ethiopian coffee. It offers farmers greater stability by distributing payments throughout the year, to the benefit of farmers who have annual growth and harvest seasons.

You know when you drink Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - it's not like other coffees. For those who never venture beyond the roasts of Central America, the taste may seem as exotic as its origins. Imagine a sage, a wise old man sitting on a cliff proclaiming: "The entrance of the geekdom of coffee starts with a cup of Yirgacheffe".

The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is constantly among the best coffees in the world and certainly among the best in Ethiopia.

Origin of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee
Yirgacheffe (also written Yirgachefe, Yergacheffe or Yerga Chefe) is a microregion located in the much larger region of Sidama (or Sidomo) in southern Ethiopia. It is widely regarded as the cradle of coffee.

What to look for in a high quality Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
It is difficult to generalize the taste of Ethiopian coffee. Each region has its own flavors, which can vary from one farm to another, from one season to another. In addition, the treatment method (wet or dry) and the roast level can significantly alter some salient points, even from the same grain. But the high growth of Ethiopia produces a hard bean, resulting in intense aromas and aromas.

High quality yirgacheffs have a clear taste and vibrant acidity, as well as complex floral and citrus notes (usually washed or wet beans). Dried beans may have slightly nutty or chocolate qualities, but tend to be tarnished by the robust fruitiness of yirgacheffe depending on the level of roasting. They do not have a clean taste like the grape varieties washed.

Because wet beans are important
Most people appreciate a quality Yirgacheffe for its floral, fruity and tea-like finish. These qualities are attributable to wet processing.

So, what is the wet treatment? As soon as the grains are harvested and still wet, the cherry is washed to remove the skin and pulp from the fruit. Then, the beans are immersed in fermentation tanks of water for 24 to 72 hours and then dried. The wet treatment produces a higher acidity than the dry working methods, which gives Yirgacheffe this "clean" taste.

There is nothing wrong with Yirgacheffe worked naturally (dry). It's a question of taste. We prefer the washed Yirgacheffe because it has more clarity. The unwashed Yirgacheffe tends to have less acidity and a wider body that does not have the "clean" taste of washed Yirgacheffe.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Brewing
Whichever fermentation method you use, use freshly roasted Yirgacheffe and freshly ground ground to taste the spicy flavors and aromas of Yirgacheffe. Its floral and lemony profile makes the Yirgacheffe ideal for cold infusions or cold coffee. And if you prepare with boiling water, be careful not to overeat the beans, otherwise you risk losing some of the more delicate fruit flavors. Yirgacheffe produces an excellent chemex with a metal filter to allow the passage of more oils. It is also very well done as a French press.

Roasting will remove some flavors and bring out others, but coffee lovers agree that Ethiopian coffee is not concrete.

The grain of a coffee tree is a fruit, and the process of washing and drying Ethiopian coffee beans keeps this fruity flavor in the foreground and center.

It is still possible to find coffee beans growing in the wild in the Yirgacheffe and Harrar regions. The coffee beans in this region around the town of Irgachefe are medium-bodied and have a brilliant citrus flavor.

Types of Ethiopian coffee
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee is usually grown in small plots by family farmers. Many of these garden plots have less than five acres. The beans are usually processed by washing the paper shell and drying them in the sun.

This coffee is quite laborious; Many farmers in the region specialize in organic farming methods and are supported by free trade organizations.

Harrar Ethiopian coffee is grown in the north-east of the Yirgacheffe region and at a slightly lower height. This coffee is almost always sun-dried before being shipped and offers a natural coffee aroma.

Harrar has a less lemony flavor than Yirgacheffe coffee, although some drinkers find a hint of blueberry.

Ethiopian Harrar coffee beans are grown on small farms in the east of the country. They are dry processed and labeled as blueberries (large), blueberries (smaller) or Mocha (aris). Ethiopian Harrar coffee can have a strong dry edge, vinous acidity, rich aroma and a thick body. In the best Harrar coffees, you can observe an intense aroma of blueberries or blackberries. Harrar Ethiopian coffee is often used in espresso coffee blends to capture the precious aromatic cream.

Washed coffees from Ethiopia include Ghimbi and Yirgacheffe. Ghimbi coffee beans are grown in the western parts of the country and are more balanced, heavier and have a more durable body than the Harrar.

Ethiopian coffee bean Yirgacheffee is the best coffee grown in southern Ethiopia. It is sweeter, similar to the fruit and aromatic. Ethiopian Yirgacheffee coffee can also be labeled as Sidamo, the district in which it is produced.