How to Roast Yirgacheffe Kochere Shepherd Coffee Beans _ How to Brew Ethiopian Kochere Coffee

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In 1995, Ethiopia reorganized its regional divisions. The Yirgacheffe we're familiar with was planned within the Gedeo Zone in the new SNNPR region. Currently, Yirgacheffe is located in the central part of Gedeo, with the famous Yirgacheffe town situated about 25 miles north of Kochere. The production model mainly involves local small farmers delivering their batches to cooperatives for unified processing. For a long time, it has been renowned as one of the best coffee origins in southern Ethiopia.

Kochere Coffee Growing Region

Kochere is situated on a plateau at an altitude of 1650-1800 meters above sea level.

The main harvest season in Ethiopia is November and December. Most farmers don't use modern farming methods; instead, they manually care for coffee trees without using harmful pesticides or herbicides. Therefore, almost all Ethiopian coffee is organically grown by default, regardless of certification. The combination of original growing methods and precise processing has made the region's coffee world-famous. Neko farm owner said: "This time, there wasn't enough time to prepare, but we will prepare for RFA organic certification for the next harvest."

Washed processed coffee requires more resources (water) than natural processing, so the resulting washed green coffee beans have higher quality. Coffee beans are spread evenly on drying beds for drying, allowing for good ventilation. To avoid over-fermentation, they regularly turn the coffee beans.

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

Differences Between Washed and Natural Yirgacheffe

Coffee beans must be processed immediately after harvest, otherwise they will start to ferment and produce 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 processed beans have good mellow flavors, high aromatics, and vibrant acidity.

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

Fruits begin the sun-drying process immediately after harvesting without any processing. This is the oldest existing processing method. The drying process typically takes about 4 weeks. The processing method must be very rigorous to ensure the coffee doesn't lose any flavor.

Fully Washed Processing:

This method uses washing and fermentation to remove the fruit pulp and mucilage. Farms using the washed method must build washing tanks and have access to continuous flowing 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 a moisture content of 50%. They must be dried to reduce the moisture content to 12%, otherwise they will continue to ferment, become moldy, and spoil.

The better processing method is sun-drying, which takes 1-3 weeks but produces excellent flavor that is highly appreciated.

Difference Two: Coffee Bean Appearance

Green beans: Generally, washed green beans are blue-green, while natural green beans are yellow-green.

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

Difference in Dry Aroma:

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 long aftertaste.

Washed Yirgacheffe: Washed processing has brighter acidity, like citric acid, cleaner mouthfeel, more prominent citrus aromas, and some black tea notes in the finish.

Similarity: Both have fruity acidity, similar to lemon and citrus fruits.

Kochere Coffee Bean Roasting Analysis

Light roasting makes the tropical-grown Yirgacheffe fruit aromas more obvious and rich. The entry has slight acidity like apple's sour fragrance, which反而 enhances the coffee's body, making the bitterness more aromatic and worth savoring. Essentially, coffee is a fruit, and maintaining sweet and sour fruit flavors after high-temperature roasting is what makes Yirgacheffe special.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g semi-direct flame.

Using fast roasting mode, preheat the drum to 200°C, air 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 the 8th minute, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'20", first crack begins, reduce heat to 70°C, open damper fully (be very careful when reducing heat - don't reduce it so much that there's no cracking sound). Remove beans at 192°C.

This roast is a fast-roasted light roast.

Kochere Coffee Bean Brewing Analysis

First brewing: V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 90°C, grind size 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:16.

35g water for bloom, bloom time 35s.

分段: Pour water to 110ml, stop water flow, then slowly pour to 230ml.

Taste: Somewhat weak.

Correction Method for Weak Pour-Over Coffee Flavor:

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

Keep everything else the same, try increasing your coffee grounds by 3-5g (same grind size as before). This increases the coffee bed thickness, enhances its water absorption capacity, and can also increase concentration.

Second brewing (corrected): V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 88.9°C, grind size 3.5.

Water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15.

35g water for bloom, bloom time 32s.

分段: Pour water to 110ml, stop water flow, then slowly pour to 228ml.

Taste: Smooth, much richer flavor.

Regional Information

Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, Kochere.

Grade: G1.

Variety: Heirloom.

Growing Altitude: 1650-1800 meters.

Processing Method: Washed.

Flavor Characteristics:

Fruity (rich fruit flavor), Fresh Jasmine Aroma, Berries, Citric Acidic (lemon acidity), Pineapple, Apple, Smooth, Clean, Long Aftertaste.

Yirgacheffe Kochere Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer excellent value - a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 75 yuan. Calculating at 15g per single-origin coffee serving, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 5 yuan. This represents exceptional value compared to café prices that often reach tens of yuan per cup.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473