Differences in Flavor Characteristics Between Natural and Washed Single-Origin Coffee Beans from Yirgacheffe Kochere Region

When it comes to coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes that in addition to variety, origin, and cultivation methods, another crucial process affects coffee flavor—the green bean processing method. Different processing methods bring out different flavors in coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee also mentioned in the article "How Green Bean Processing Methods Affect Coffee Flavor" that both natural and washed processing methods have a lasting impact on coffee flavor, making the processing method extremely important. Washed coffees generally have a "cleaner" taste, expressing their own flavors more clearly. Beyond rich fruit notes, they showcase more of the bean's inherent character. Washed coffee beans typically have more pronounced acidity. The natural process can enhance coffee's body and fully release its various flavors. Natural-processed coffee beans have strong and distinct flavors.

Both FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe coffees—the Frontsteet Natural Red Cherry and Frontsteet Washed Kochere—exhibit different flavors due to different processing methods. FrontStreet Coffee selected the Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Natural and Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Kochere Washed to observe the differences and changes under various processing methods. Let's follow FrontStreet Coffee to first understand the background of these bean-producing regions.

Kochere Production Area

Kochere is a small production area located 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. It's a prosperous region known for coffee production and one of the three famous micro-regions of Yirgacheffe. The local population is about 100,000 people, with coffee beans as their main source of income. This area has very advanced processing and equipment. The renowned coffee review website Coffee Review gave Kochere washed beans a high rating of 94 points.

The most famous origin in southern Ethiopia is the Yirgacheffe coffee production area, which has the highest altitude. Over 90% of the coffee is grown by local smallholders on their small plots of land where they also grow vegetables and grains. This particular bean comes from the Kochere district in the southernmost part of the Yirgacheffe region, which is the area with the best conditions and highest production volume among the four sub-regions. Small farmers in the Kochere district deliver their harvested red cherries to processing stations, where station workers remove unripe cherries and place them on drying racks for sun-drying. The entire process follows strict G1 production standards.

The main harvest season in Ethiopia is November and December. Most farmers don't use modern farming methods; they manually care for their coffee trees without using harmful pesticides or herbicides. Therefore, almost all Ethiopian coffee is organically grown by default, whether certified or not. The combination of original growing methods and precise processing has made coffee from this region world-famous. Since this production area has relatively advanced green bean washing equipment, it has always maintained high standards in washed processing, praised for its clean sweetness with complex notes of honey and citrus. The main local production model involves small coffee farmers delivering each harvest's red cherries directly to nearby cooperative washing stations for unified processing. Other famous production areas adjacent to Kochere include Wenago, Gelena, Abaya, and Gedeb.

Kochere is one of the 77 Woredas (Ethiopian administrative divisions) in Ethiopia's SNNPR region. In the coffee field, Kochere is part of Gediyo in Yirgacheffe and is also one of Yirgacheffe's most important production areas. Kochere can be further divided into several micro-regions, and coffee produced within these areas is sometimes named more specifically by source town (such as Chelelektu or Teklu Dembel), processing station (such as Teklu Dembel processing station or the Alimu processing station of this batch), or micro-region (such as Banko Gutiti). This aligns with current coffee trends regarding traceability. Of course, batches with stronger traceability have more specific sources, higher annual flavor stability and reproducibility, and consequently higher prices.

This batch of Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Kochere differs from general batches of coffee beans, belonging to the highest specification G1 grade batch. Its origin flavor characteristics are strong, featuring clean, fresh lemon aroma and delicate, elegant jasmine flower notes, along with rich aromas and flavors of cantaloupe, citrus, ginger, and spice tea. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with about 20,000 people. The three adjacent small production areas—Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya—are classified under the Yirgacheffe region because their coffee flavors are virtually identical to those from Yirgacheffe. Whether culturally or geographically, Yirgacheffe is similar to neighboring Sidamo, but Yirgacheffe seems to be especially favored with unique natural conditions. Top-quality Frontsteet Yirgacheffe coffee, with its floral notes, bright citrus fruit acidity, lemon-toned aroma, and silky smooth mouthfeel, always captures the attention of enthusiasts. Amid the growth wave of the specialty coffee industry, coffee production from this region has always been a focus of international buyers.

Kochere's production model mainly involves local small farmers delivering their batches to cooperatives for unified processing. The local Chalalacktu village has about 100,000 people who depend on coffee for their livelihood, with related production activities being their main economic source. Due to the income from coffee production, the local standard of living is significantly better than many Ethiopian villages, with complete health facilities, higher education institutions, and other infrastructure. Advanced processing equipment allows Kochere district's coffee to maintain high standards in washed processing, with clean sweetness featuring complex notes of molasses and citrus.

Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Kochere G1

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Variety: Local Landrace
Altitude: 1650-1800 meters
Processing Method: Washed
Flavor Profile: Rich fruit flavors, fresh jasmine floral notes, berries, lemon acidity, pineapple, apple, smooth and clean mouthfeel, long aftertaste.

Red Cherry Project

The "Red Cherry Project" (ORC) is a project aimed at improving the quality of small-scale farms. In 2007, Trabocca, the largest green bean importer in the Netherlands, launched the "Red Cherry Project" in pursuit of high-quality Ethiopian beans. The project requires that coffee harvesting not only involves picking fully red fruits but also must be done entirely by hand. However, this is just the most basic requirement—the project is far more complex. The main purpose is to encourage bean farmers and bring surprises to roasters. Before the harvest season, Trabocca invites all Ethiopian farms to produce small batches of about 1500-3000 kg (25-50 bags) of beans. Women can only select 100% fully mature red cherries, which makes a significant difference in the brewed coffee flavor. Therefore, careful, keen-eyed and hardworking Ethiopian women are important drivers of the Red Cherry Project.

The Red Cherry Project is also an enhancement approach that encourages farms to invest more effort in the bean selection process. These coffees are relatively higher priced. The Red Cherry Project includes washed, natural, semi-washed, semi-natural, and experimental coffees. Main production areas include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Bonga Forest, Lekempti, Kembata, Illubabor, Harar, Limu, and in 2011, the Golocha origin near Harar was added. These all have unique flavors that fully showcase Ethiopian coffee characteristics. After receiving the coffee, Trabocca conducts further selection. Farms that pass cupping quality tests in both Ethiopian and Dutch offices receive high bonuses. Trabocca, the promoter of the Red Cherry Project, invests all profits earned in recent years back into cooperating farms. Trabocca emphasizes that this is a non-profit project, so the company executes the Red Cherry Project with only 4 people including the owner and secretary. Other administrative matters are supported by the parent company to reduce administrative expenses, with all profits returned to cooperating farms.

First, there are high cupping score requirements. In cupping labs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Trabocca conducts further screening after receiving coffee from origins. Coffee beans are evaluated through two cupping sessions in Ethiopia and the Netherlands to determine if they meet standards. Coffee beans that meet the standards are organized by Trabocca for auction to global coffee buyers. Generally, coffee beans auctioned through this platform can achieve prices more than 4 times the average international coffee spot price, with the highest reaching up to 20 times.

Second, production quantities are required to be small but quality high. To ensure sufficient energy to care for these top-tier Ethiopian beans, Trabocca requires that participating farms produce small batches, typically between 1500kg-3000kg.

Finally, Trabocca's investment and attention to this project are substantial and highly valued. Trabocca has donated new natural drying racks, shade nets, generators, and other equipment locally. They also provide financial loan support, new hardware equipment, and production processing knowledge and technology to help farmers improve their production levels. Additionally, through real-time monitoring and safe transportation, they ensure that "Red Cherry Project" beans receive the best care at every stage.

Specifically, the Red Cherry Project encourages coffee farmers to be more diligent in every process of coffee harvesting and processing by increasing purchase prices for high-quality green beans. This produces coffee beans with better quality and superior taste that can gain better recognition in the terminal market, thereby balancing the relatively high coffee purchase prices.

Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Natural G1

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Processing Station: Arletlan
Altitude: 2300m
Variety: Local Landrace
Processing Method: Natural Processing
Flavor: Berries, lemon, strawberry, fermented wine aroma

Green Bean Comparison

Frontsteet Red Cherry belongs to G1 grade. From the appearance of the green beans, they show a yellow-green color, which is typical of natural coffee. The beans are uniform and plump with few defective beans.

Frontsteet Kochere washed processing typically removes the silver skin from the coffee beans during processing, presenting a special luster that appears more green and translucent. However, the dry-processed Frontsteet Red Cherry only removes the coffee husk, leaving the silver skin completely intact.

Silver Skin/Chaff: Inside the parchment, there's an even thinner film wrapping the coffee beans. Due to its lustrous and silvery color, people习惯 call it "silver skin."

Roasted Bean Comparison

After roasting, Frontsteet Natural Red Cherry has less silver skin. The relatively more silver skin in the green bean stage is because it comes off more thoroughly during roasting. Frontsteet Washed Kochere, however, has more silver skin. Washed beans contain more silver skin internally, which remains quite a bit after roasting. Of course, this is directly related to the roast degree—the darker the roast, the cleaner the silver skin comes off.

Roasting Comparison

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N (Roasting capacity 5500g)

Frontsteet Red Cherry

FrontStreet Coffee Roaster Operation: Preheat roaster to 200°C, load beans, damper set to 3, heat at 150. Keep damper unchanged. Return to temperature at 1'35". When drum temperature reaches 140°C, adjust heat to 180, damper to 4. At this point, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration phase. When drum temperature reaches 170°C, adjust heat to 150°C, damper unchanged.

At 9'01", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'25", first crack begins. Reduce heat to 120°C, adjust damper to 5. Develop for 1'40" after first crack, then discharge at 196°C.

Agrton bean color value is 74.7 (left image), Agrton pink value is 91 (right image), Roast Delta value is 3.16.

Frontsteet Kochere

FrontStreet Coffee Roaster Operation: Preheat roaster to 200°C, load beans, damper set to 3, heat at 160. Keep damper unchanged. Return to temperature at 1'32". When drum temperature reaches 151°C, adjust damper to 3.5. When drum temperature reaches 140°C, adjust heat to 180, damper unchanged. At this point, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration phase.

At 8'35", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'53", first crack begins. Keep heat at 180 unchanged, adjust damper to 4. Develop for 1'45" after first crack, then discharge at 195°C.

Agrton pink value is 84.5 (left image), Agrton bean color value is 62.7 (right image), Roast Delta value is 21.8.

Cupping Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee partners conducted separate cupping sessions for Frontsteet Natural Red Cherry and Frontsteet Washed Kochere. The flavor summaries are as follows:

Frontsteet Red Cherry Cupping: Fermented notes, citrus, lemon, licorice, grapes, oolong tea, berries, floral notes, caramel.

Frontsteet Kochere Cupping: Lemon acidity, green tea sensation, citrus, jasmine flowers, orange, nuts, floral notes.

Smart Brewer Comparison

Brewing Parameters: 15g coffee/ BG-5R grinder/ 1:15 ratio/ 90°C water

Brewing Method: Pour water directly to 225g, wait 3'45" seconds, then filter to sharing pot. Remove after seeing the coffee bed. End time: 4 minutes.

Frontsteet Red Cherry: Lemon, licorice, citrus, berries, sweet orange. Overall sweetness is relatively high, with caramel and cream flavors in the aftertaste, and black tea aroma in the finish.

Frontsteet Kochere: Lemon, floral notes, orange, cane sugar. Overall clean and refreshing, with honey flavors in the aftertaste and oolong tea finish.

In terms of brewing flavor, Frontsteet Red Cherry has a relatively richer body and higher sweetness than Kochere. Frontsteet Kochere, on the other hand, is clean and refreshing with more lively acidity and slightly lower sweetness, though rich in fruit flavors.

Conclusion

Frontsteet Red Cherry shows a yellow-green color in its green beans, typical of natural coffee. The beans are uniform and plump with few defective beans. Frontsteet Kochere washed processing typically removes the silver skin from coffee beans during processing, presenting a special luster that appears more green and translucent. However, the dry-processed Red Cherry only removes the coffee husk, leaving the silver skin completely intact.

Yirgacheffe's coffee grading system is not determined by bean size but by the proportion of defective beans in the total green beans. Typically, washed G2 and natural G3 Yirgacheffe are common. G1 is the highest grade—only Yirgacheffe with the lowest defect rate and most excellent quality, after manual selection, can be rated as Grade 1.

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