Origin of Washed Kochere Yirgacheffe Coffee and How Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Grades Are Classified

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Yirgacheffe: The Jewel of Ethiopian Coffee

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town of about 20,000 people. Three neighbouring micro-regions - Wenago, Kochere and Gelena Abaya - are classified under the Yirgacheffe name too, because their coffee tastes almost identical to Yirgacheffe's. Culturally and geographically Yirgacheffe closely resembles nearby Sidamo, but it appears to have been given unique advantages of its own. Top-quality Yirgacheffe shows floral notes, bright citrus acidity, lemon-toned aromas and a silky mouthfeel.

Kochere: Excellence in Coffee Processing

Kochere lies in southwestern Ethiopia, about 25 km southeast of the town of Yirgacheffe. Production here mainly follows the local model in which smallholders deliver their cherries to a cooperative for unified processing. Chalalacktu village has roughly 100,000 people who depend on coffee for their livelihood, and related activity is their main source of income. Thanks to coffee earnings, living standards here are noticeably better than in many Ethiopian villages, with complete health facilities, higher education institutions and other infrastructure. Advanced processing equipment has kept Kochere's coffee performing at a high level in the washed category, delivering clean sweetness with complex molasses and citrus notes.

Flavor Profile

Jasmine floral notes, lemon, bergamot, honey, black tea

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City

Contact: 020-38364473

Ingredients: Roasted to order, house-roasted

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste: Acidic coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Ethiopia

Coffee Type: Yirgacheffe coffee

Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopia's Coffee Regions

Ethiopia has eight main coffee-producing regions: Nekempte (Lekempti) Gimbi, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Among them, the better-known specialty regions are Nekempte (Lekempti), Limu, Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.

Yirgacheffe Grading System

Yirgacheffe is not graded by bean size but by the proportion of defective beans in a given lot. The common grades you will see are washed G2 and natural G3. G1 is the highest grade: only Yirgacheffe with the lowest defect rate and the finest quality, further selected by hand, can be rated Grade 1.

Coffee Specifications

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Yirgacheffe

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local indigenous varieties

Kochere Region Details

Kochere lies 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, a small producing area that has prospered through coffee, and one of Yirgacheffe's three famous micro-regions. The local population is about 100,000, with coffee beans as their main source of income. Processing equipment in this region is very advanced. The well-known review site Coffee Review gave Kochere washed beans a high rating of 94 points.

Brewing Instructions

Hand-poured Yirgacheffe: 15 g of coffee, ground to a medium-fine consistency (using a Fuji grinder at setting 3.5), a V60 dripper and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30 g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105 g, then wait until the water level drops halfway before continuing. Slowly pour until you reach 225 g in total, avoiding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Regional Context

Ethiopia has eight main coffee-producing regions: Nekempte (Lekempti) Gimbi, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Among them, the better-known specialty regions are Nekempte (Lekempti), Limu, Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe sits within the Sidama administrative region of Ethiopia, which shows that Yirgacheffe is a smaller area inside Sidama.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This Kochere lot sits at the clean, floral end of washed Yirgacheffe, and if that is the character you are chasing, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the everyday lot to build on. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body, and its friendly price has made it the first specialty bean for a great many drinkers.

Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia's Sidama region at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with the coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters, which puts it among the highest coffee-growing areas in the world. The area was historically wetland, and its highly recognisable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity turned the name into shorthand for Ethiopian specialty coffee. In 2010 the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from Sidama as its own origin.

If you want the same region with fruit rather than flowers in front, FrontStreet Coffee's Sun-Dried Red Cherry is a whole-cherry natural from Yirgacheffe. Only fully ripe, sound cherries are picked, sorted once at the mill and then spread on raised beds. In the first days they are turned every two to three hours to prevent uneven fermentation from trapped heat, and after three to five weeks of drying the fruit is stripped by machine. The cup keeps the typical Yirgacheffe profile while gaining tropical fruit: citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice quality, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness.

For either lot, the pour-over recipe follows the same logic as above: a V60 with 15 g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio and water at 90-91°C, ground to fine-sugar size, which on an EK43s is setting 10, or about 80% passing a No. 20 sieve. Bloom with 30 g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 95 g over about one minute, then, once the bed falls to two-thirds, add the remaining 100 g over about 1 minute 35 seconds, finishing the drawdown in 2:00-2:10.