Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe G1 Kochere Dumerso Processing Station Ethiopian Specialty Coffee

Sun-dried Yirgacheffe G1 from the Kochere Dumerso processing station, and how the ECX system shapes Ethiopian coffee.

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Kochere Zone

Altitude: 1,850 - 2,100 meters

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Variety: Ethiopian heirloom

Processing Station: Dumeso Processing Station

Processing Method: Natural processing

Coffee: Natural Yirgacheffe G1 Kochere Dumeso Processing Station

Flavor Notes

Floral notes, strawberry, raspberry chocolate cake, and a rich, solid flavor profile with multi-layered dark berries and purple grape, accompanied by light and elegant floral aromas and fresh fruit fragrance, with sweet fruit acidity.

Acidity: Distinctive fruit acidity upon entry

Sweetness: Sweetness reminiscent of mixed fruit juice

Mouthfeel: Distinct layers, rich, clean and delicate texture with notable thickness and intensity

Finish: Smooth and easy to drink, excellent aftertaste with a long-lasting finish

Characteristics: Excellent oil content

Yirgacheffe Region

Yirgacheffe produces refined washed coffee with elegant, charming floral notes and clean flavor profiles. Its bright fruit acidity with lemon or citrus tones is renowned worldwide, and it was recognized early on as a distinctive coffee-producing region.

With development, under the ECX system the Yirgacheffe area was further subdivided into four smaller districts, or woredas, including Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. This steep, lush mountainous region has fertile soil, with coffee grown at high altitudes averaging over 1,800 meters above sea level, where large temperature differences between day and night prevail.

At first glance, one might mistake this for a dense forest, but in fact the area is densely populated, with villages scattered along the hilly slopes. Smallholder farmers with average planting areas of about 0.7 hectares grow coffee around their homesteads.

Yirgacheffe was originally dominated by washed coffee, but with the rise and refinement of natural processing, the berry sweetness of natural-processed Yirgacheffe has been enthusiastically welcomed by the market, leading to significant increases in both demand and production.

During natural drying on raised beds, proper ventilation and regular turning of the fruit ensure more uniform drying, avoiding over-fermentation or rotting. This lets the coffee beans absorb the sweetness of the cherry fruit, enhancing fruity characteristics and adding a syrup-like smooth texture.

This natural-processed Yirgacheffe Gelena Abaya is a selected batch from the ECX system.

About ECX

There are three main channels for sourcing coffee from Ethiopian origins: importers and exporters, cooperative unions, or direct dealings with privately owned farms or estates that hold import and export licenses. Importers typically source required products through a trading system known as the ECX, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange.

In late 2008, Ethiopian authorities added coffee beans to the ECX system for trading, eliminating the drawbacks of the old system, in which middlemen monopolized prices, manipulated markets, evaded taxes, and exploited farmers. In 2009, supported by the SCAA specialty coffee cupping system, a new trading and grading system was formally implemented.

Coffee production from each region is first transported to collection centers, marked with geographical indications based on its production area, or woreda, and graded into ten levels from Q1 to Q9 and UG, or Under Grade, through defect rate screening and cupping. Afterward, the lots are sent to the exchange in the capital city.

Premium beans classified as specialty grades Q1-Q3 from each region are then evaluated according to SCAA grading and cupping standards: those scoring 85 points and above are listed as Specialty Grade 1, those scoring 80 points and above but below 85 points belong to Specialty Grade 2, while those below 80 points are classified as commercial coffee.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends pour-over brewing with a V60 dripper.

Grind size: 3.5 (Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 90°C

French press: Recommended grind size 4 / water temperature 90°C

AeroPress: Recommended grind size 3.5, water temperature 87°C

Siphon: Grind size 4, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yirgacheffe built its name on washed coffee, which is why the natural lots from Kochere are so interesting: they keep the region's floral signature while adding the berry sweetness that natural processing brings. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the baseline everyone should taste first. Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia's Sidama region, sitting at roughly 1700-2100 meters with coffee planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee-growing areas in the world. The region's white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and tea-like body are so consistent that in 2010 the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange formally separated Yirgacheffe from Sidama, turning the name into a byword for Ethiopian specialty coffee.

For a more tightly defined lot, FrontStreet's Gedding cooperative coffee comes from the Gedding village in the Woka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, once part of the YCFCU-affiliated Woka cooperative before becoming an independent single origin in 2012 with roughly 300 member farmers. Processed in the traditional washed style, it shows clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance, a reminder of just how much the washed tradition still defines the region. And for a direct comparison with the natural cup from Dumeso, FrontStreet's sun-dried Red Cherry uses only fully ripe, undamaged cherries, dried on raised beds with turning every two to three hours in the first days and three to five weeks of drying in total before the fruit is stripped. It cups with peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon, keeping Yirgacheffe's character while adding tropical fruit, berry juiciness, honey sweetness, and a creamy body, which is exactly the style of dried-in-the-fruit Yirgacheffe that natural processing has made so popular.