Is Natural Process Kochere Coffee Good?_Introduction to Kochere G1 G2 Grading System_Where to Buy Kochere Coffee Beans

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Kochere Coffee Beans: Origin and Characteristics

Kochere coffee beans are produced in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia. This area governs the well-known Yirgacheffe and Kochere regions. Due to the special flavor characteristics and unique style of coffee produced in Yirgacheffe, which is widely loved, it has formed its own category in product classification and has always held a place in the global specialty coffee market.

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town located in the Sidama province, with three neighboring small producing areas: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya. Because the coffee flavor produced in these areas is almost on par with Yirgacheffe, Kochere is also classified within the Yirgacheffe region. In November 2009, Ethiopia implemented a new trading and grading system. Besides Yirgacheffe, three sub-producing areas were added: Wenago, Kochere, and Genlena/Abaya, indicating that the flavors of these three producing areas are extremely delicate and can be further subdivided.

Geographic and Cultivation Details

Kochere is a small producing area located about 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe. The harvested coffee beans come from local small-scale coffee farmers, assembled from numerous individual small coffee farmers. These small farmers' coffee cultivation areas average about 1 hectare, with planting altitudes ranging from 1800-2400 meters. The main coffee varieties are a mix of Typica and Heirloom (local native varieties).

Due to this region's more advanced green bean water processing equipment, it has always demonstrated high-level performance in washed processing. The clean sweetness with complex notes of honey and citrus is highly praised. The main local production model involves small coffee farmers delivering each harvest of red cherries directly to nearby cooperative washing stations for unified processing. Ethiopia introduced washed processing technology in the 1970s, and currently, the green bean processing in the Kochere region is primarily washed.

Washing stations screen and grade red cherry-colored coffee fruits, then directly remove the fruit pulp for washed fermentation. After washing, the parchment green beans are placed on racks for natural sun-drying. When humidity reaches 12% or below, they are sent directly to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) warehouse in Awassa. Cupping grading and quantity determination are typically performed. Usually, washed beans are stored in parchment form until dehulling work is done before export.

ECX Classification and Regional Distinction

Under the ECX system, Yirgacheffe is divided into four sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, Yirgacheffe, and Abaya. This batch of beans comes from the Kochere area, the southernmost part of the Yirgacheffe region, which is the area with the most excellent conditions and largest production volume among the four sub-regions.

The "Haile Selassie" Legacy

"Haile Selassie" was originally the name of Ethiopia's last emperor, known as the "Lion of Judah." This emperor was born in the late 19th century and led Ethiopia to break free from European imperialism in the 20th century. He was a controversial national hero and dictator.

To this day, Haile Selassie is still considered by some believers as the messiah (savior) appointed by God to come to the mortal world. This batch of green beans is named after the emperor's title. The exporter and processing plant handled the entire process. After small farmers from the Kochere area delivered harvested fresh red berries to the processing plant, the plant staff removed unripe berries and placed them on racks for sun-drying. The entire process followed the strict standards for producing G1 grade, with very few unripe and defective beans in the green beans. Not only is the cleanliness excellent, but the rich ripe fruit flavor also indicates this is a very successful natural processing work.

Flavor Profile

Flavor description: Classic natural processing style, rich ripe fruit flavor, peach and mixed berries, cocoa, hints of tobacco. Although the appearance of natural processed beans may not be as clean as washed beans, the flavor richness is far beyond what washed beans can achieve.

Ethiopian Grading System

Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee beans use Ethiopia's domestic grading system, which divides into five levels based on the number of defective beans within 300 grams:

Grade 1: 00-03 defects (zero to 3 defects) - the highest grade for washed beans

Grade 2: 04-12 defects (4 to 12 defects) - standard grade for washed beans

Grade 3: 13-25 defects (13 to 25 defects) - highest grade for natural processed beans

Grade 4: 26-45 defects (26 to 45 defects) - standard grade for natural processed beans

Grade 5: 46-90 defects (46 to 90 defects) - basic export grade for natural processed beans

Brand Recommendation

The washed Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer sufficient guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227-gram) bag costs only about 75 yuan. Calculating based on 15 grams per cup of single-origin coffee, one bag can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 5 yuan. Compared to café prices that often reach dozens of yuan per cup, this represents extremely high value for money.

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

Important Notice :

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