The Story of Kochere Coffee Region in Ethiopia How Much Does a Cup of Washed Ethiopian Coffee Cost

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ETHIOPIA, YIRGACHEFFE, KOCHERE

In 1995, Ethiopia reorganized its regions. The familiar Yirgacheffe was planned within the Gedeo zone of the new SNNPR. Currently, Yirgacheffe is located in central Gedeo, about 25 miles north of Kochere lies the famous Yirgacheffe town. The production model primarily involves local small farmers delivering their batches to cooperatives for unified processing. For a long time, it has been hailed as one of the best coffee origins in southern Ethiopia.

Kochere Growing Region

Kochere is situated on a plateau at altitudes ranging from 1650 to 1800 meters above sea level.

Ethiopia's main harvest season is November and December. Most farmers do not use modern farming methods; instead, they manually care for the 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-renowned. Neko farm owner says: "This time we didn't have time to prepare, but for the next harvest, we will prepare for RFA organic certification."

Washed-processed Ethiopian coffee beans require more resources (water) than natural processing, resulting in higher quality washed green coffee beans. The coffee beans are spread evenly on drying beds for proper ventilation, and to avoid over-fermentation, they are turned regularly.

Washed processing has brighter acidity compared to natural processing, which gives Yirgacheffe its "clean" taste. We prefer washed Yirgacheffe because it's clearer.

Origin Information

Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, Kochere

Grade: G1

Variety: Heirloom

Altitude: 1650-1800 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Flavor Profile:

Fruity, Fresh Jasmine Aroma, Berries, Citric Acidic, Pineapple, Apple, Smooth, Clean, Long Aftertaste

Differences Between Washed and Natural Yirgacheffe - Part One

Coffee beans must be processed immediately after harvest, or they will start to ferment and develop off-flavors. There are two processing methods: "Natural" and "Washed," which result in different flavor profiles.

Natural processed beans have complete natural mellow flavors, gentle aromas, and more body;

Washed processing has good mellow flavors, high aromatic intensity, and lively acidity.

Natural Processing (Dried-in-the-Fruit):

The cherries begin the sun-drying process immediately after harvest without any treatment. This is the oldest existing processing method. The drying process typically lasts about 4 weeks. The method must be executed very carefully to ensure the coffee doesn't lose any flavor.

Fully Washed Processing:

This method uses washing and fermentation to remove the pulp, mucilage, and parchment. Farms using the washed method must build washing tanks and have access to continuous fresh water. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in the tank and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean.

After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment with 50% moisture content and must be dried to reduce the moisture content to 12%; otherwise, they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled.

The better processing method is sun-drying, which takes 1-3 weeks but produces excellent flavor characteristics and is quite popular.

Part Two: Appearance Differences

Green Beans: Generally, washed green beans are bluish-green, while natural processed green beans are yellowish-green

Roasted Beans: Washed Yirgacheffe has more silver skin, while natural Yirgacheffe has less silver skin

Dry Aroma Differences:

Natural Yirgacheffe: Light fermented wine aroma, spicy fragrance

Washed Yirgacheffe: Jasmine floral aroma, lemon or lime acidic fragrance

Cupping Analysis

Natural Yirgacheffe: Natural processing is somewhat complex with light fermented wine aroma, much more intense fruit flavors, honey sweetness, cocoa notes with hints of spice, full body and persistent aftertaste.

Washed Yirgacheffe: Washed processing has brighter acidity, like citric acid, cleaner mouthfeel, more obvious citrus notes, with some black tea character in the finish.

Similarity: Both have fruit acidity similar to lemon and citrus fruits

Roasting Analysis

Light roasting makes the tropical fruit aromas of Yirgacheffe more obvious and rich. The initial slight acidity is like apple's sour fragrance, which actually enhances the coffee's body, making the bitterness aromatic and memorable. Coffee is fundamentally a fruit, and maintaining fruity sweet and sour flavors after high-temperature roasting is what makes Yirgacheffe special.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g semi-direct heat

Using fast-roasting mode, preheat to 200°C, damper at 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 160°C, damper unchanged. At 4'50", temperature reaches 150°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Reduce heat to 130°C, open damper to 4;

At 8 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 8'20", reduce heat to 70°C, damper fully open (be very careful when adjusting heat - don't reduce it so much that cracking stops). Drop at 192°C.

This roast is a fast-roasted light roast.

Brewing Analysis

First Brewing: V60 dripper, 15g coffee, 90°C water, grind setting 4, water-to-coffee ratio approximately 1:16

35g water for bloom, bloom time 35s

分段: Pour water to 110ml, pause, then slowly pour to 230ml

Taste: Somewhat weak

Methods to Correct Weak Pour-Over Coffee - Part One:

Keep everything else the same, just adjust your grind to be finer. This increases the number of particles absorbing water and retains hot water longer, naturally increasing the coffee concentration.

Keep everything else the same, try increasing your coffee dose (with the same grind setting) by 3-5 grams. This increases the bed thickness, enhances water absorption, and can also increase concentration.

Second Brewing (Correction): V60 dripper, 15g coffee, 88.9°C water, grind setting 3.5,

Water-to-coffee ratio approximately 1:15

35g water for bloom, bloom time 32s

分段: Pour water to 110ml, pause, then slowly pour to 228ml

Taste: Smooth, much fuller flavor

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Ethiopian coffee beans offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value - a half-pound (227g) bag costs only about 90 yuan. Calculating at 15g per cup, one bag can make 15 cups, with each cup costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to cafés selling single cups for over 100 yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473