Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans Hand Brew Parameters Recommendation Washed Kochere Coffee Beans Hand Brew Flavor Characteristics

Flavor Description

Featuring jasmine-like aromatics, with lemon and citrus acidity complemented by the sweetness of melon. This coffee offers balanced, soft acidity with fruity sweetness, a smooth and full-bodied mouthfeel, and a strong, clean, sweet, and juicy aftertaste—truly a premium coffee experience.

The Kochere region's advanced equipment allows for proper 'washed' processing of Yirgacheffe green beans, resulting in high-quality, clean flavor profiles. Combined with Yirgacheffe's signature citrus notes, the floral aromatics are exceptionally full-bodied.

In 2013, Kochere refined its green bean selection to achieve better appearance and Grade 1 quality, earning a remarkable 94 points from Coffee Review and further highlighting Kochere's importance in the Yirgacheffe market.

Yirgacheffe: Ethiopia's Renowned Coffee Region

Since the 1970s, Yirgacheffe has amazed the international coffee community with its washed coffee beans featuring unique floral and citrus characteristics, establishing it as one of Ethiopia's most famous coffee-producing regions. The floral and citrus notes have become synonymous with washed Yirgacheffe coffee. Located in southern Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe grows traditional Arabica varieties, celebrated for their floral and fruity flavor profiles.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee, hosting Earth's most diverse coffee varieties. Major growing regions include Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, Harar, and Djimmah (note that English spellings of Ethiopian place names vary).

Sidama, Yirgacheffe, and Kochere are the primary regions for washed specialty coffee beans. The most renowned Yirgacheffe is a small city north of Sidama, with average elevations ranging from 1,850 to 2,400 meters and annual rainfall of 1,300mm. Due to its unique geographical environment and distinctive flavors, it became independent from the Sidama region. Yirgacheffe coffee beans are famous for their jasmine-like floral aromatics and citrus characteristics. Natural processed Yirgacheffe coffee beans offer strawberry and cream-like textures, while Harar/Sidama feature stronger, wilder blueberry and berry flavors.

Kochere and Other Ethiopian Coffee Regions

Kochere is a small growing region located about 25 kilometers southwest of Yirgacheffe, with approximately 10,000 coffee farmers. Most residents' income comes from coffee harvesting, and the coffee varieties grown are local ancient heirloom varieties. Due to this region's relatively advanced green bean processing equipment, it delivers exceptional flavor performance.

Harar is located in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Because of its remote, underdeveloped location and tropical dry climate, traditional manual and natural processing methods are primarily used.

In addition to the major regions mentioned above, other common varieties on the market include:

Limu and Djimmah. In western Ethiopia, "Limu" represents washed coffee, while "Djimmah" represents natural processing.

Lekempti, Wellega, and Gimbi in western Ethiopia produce coffees quite different from traditionally washed Yirgacheffe. Coffees from this region feature sweeter fruit flavors with less prominent lemon acidity.

Ethiopia excels at natural coffee processing, but historically, due to less stringent customer requirements and limited farmer knowledge, most coffee fruits were dried directly on drying grounds except in wealthier regions like Sidama that used washed processing. This led to inconsistent quality in natural processed coffees—excellent batches could be extraordinary, while poor batches were unpalatable. In the past, grading was based on defect bean ratios: washed green beans were Grades G1 and G2, while natural processed beans ranged from G3 to G5. However, in 2008, the Ethiopian government established the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) system, where processed green beans from all regions are sent for cupping and detailed flavor grade classification. Today, Ethiopia's natural processed coffees also achieve G1 grade.

Most Ethiopian smallholder coffee farmers cultivate less than one hectare. Exporters invest in washing or natural processing plants in various regions, purchasing green beans from small farmers for centralized processing and export. There are also production cooperatives formed by regional small farmers who jointly invest in washing or natural processing facilities. Famous processing plants include Aricha, Beloya, Chuchu, Domerso, Gotiiti, Shakisso, and Wenago—all commonly seen coffee names.

In recent years, due to the global popularity of specialty coffee, improved traceability management, and advanced agricultural techniques, many Ethiopian natural processing plants have implemented stricter requirements for harvesting worker quality and improved drying rack quality. Ethiopia's natural processed coffees offer excellent value and delightful flavors—a true blessing for coffee enthusiasts!

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Guide for Yirgacheffe Washed Kochere

FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over recommendation: Weigh 15g of washed Kochere coffee grounds and grind to medium consistency (particles slightly coarser than table salt). FrontStreet Coffee uses BG grinder setting 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate) with 90°C water temperature and V60 filter for extraction.

Pour hot water from the gooseneck kettle in clockwise circles around the center of the filter. Start timing when brewing begins. In 15 seconds, brew to 30g, then stop pouring. At 1 minute, begin the second pour. Like the first pour, move clockwise around the center, avoiding the area where coffee grounds meet the filter paper to prevent channeling effects.

Leave a small circle at the outer edge when pouring over the coffee grounds, then gradually work your way back to the center. By 2 minutes and 20 seconds, brew to 220g total. The pour-over is complete.

Japanese-Style Ice Pour-Over: Washed Kochere

FrontStreet Coffee's ice pour-over reference for washed Kochere:

Yirgacheffe washed Kochere, light to medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (67% standard sieve pass rate)

20g coffee grounds, 150g ice, 150g hot water. Water temperature should be 1°C higher than the normal pour-over recommendation of 91°C. Normal grind setting is small Fuji 3.5, but for ice pour-over, grind slightly finer by half a setting to small Fuji 3.

Bloom with 40g water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: first segment with 60g water, second segment with 40g water. Use a relatively fine but tall water column, pouring with force to stir and agitate the coffee grounds thoroughly. However, be careful not to let the liquid level get too high or touch the filter paper edges.

The entire extraction time should be approximately 2.5 minutes (similar to normal extraction time for 20g of coffee).

Important Notice :

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