Flavor Profile Description of Ethiopia Kochere Coffee

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Devoted fans of Yirgacheffe coffee must have heard of Kochere, this famous micro-region in Ethiopia. Located in the broader Yirgacheffe region, Kochere can be considered the most exceptional area. In the ECX classification system, Kochere stands as an independent production zone, speaking volumes about its significance. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has discovered that Yirgacheffe Kochere coffee beans differ from general batches—the coffee produced in this region boasts intense flavor characteristics, rich aromas and textures, featuring vibrant citrus acidity, sweet silky mouthfeel, and fruit flavors.

Kochere Production Area

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with approximately 20,000 inhabitants. The three neighboring small production areas—Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya—produce coffee with flavors almost identical to Yirgacheffe, so they are also classified under the Yirgacheffe region.

Kochere is located 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, as a small production area at elevations of 1,650-1,800 meters. It is a prosperous region known for coffee production and one of Yirgacheffe's three famous micro-regions. The local population is about 100,000 people, with coffee beans as their main source of income. This region's processing equipment is exceptionally advanced. The renowned coffee review website Coffee Review awarded the washed Kochere beans an impressive score of 94 points.

Kochere is one of Ethiopia's SNNPR's 77 Woredas (Ethiopian administrative regions). In the coffee domain, Kochere is part of Gediyo within Yirgacheffe and also one of Yirgacheffe's most important production areas. Kochere can be further divided into several micro-regions, and coffee produced within these areas is sometimes named more specifically by source town (such as Chelelektu or Teklu Dembel), processing station (such as Teklu Dembel and Alimu processing station for this batch), or micro-region (such as Banko Gutiti), aligning with current coffee trends regarding traceability. Naturally, batches with stronger traceability have more specific origins, resulting in better flavor stability and reproducibility each year, commanding higher prices.

Coffee Production Model in Kochere Region

The Kochere production model primarily involves local small farmers delivering their batches to cooperatives for unified processing. The local Chalalacktu village has about 100,000 people who depend on coffee for their livelihood, with related production activities constituting their main economic source. Due to the income generated from coffee production, the local standard of living is significantly better compared to many Ethiopian villages, with well-established health facilities, higher education institutions, and other amenities. Advanced processing equipment has always enabled Kochere region's coffee to achieve high standards in washed processing, delivering clean sweetness with complex notes of molasses and citrus.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere differs from general batches of green coffee beans, belonging to the highest specification G1 grade. The origin's flavor characteristics are intense, featuring clean and fresh lemon aromas, delicate and elegant jasmine floral notes, along with rich aromas and flavors of cantaloupe, citrus, ginger, and spiced tea.

Washed Processing Method

Washed Process, also known as washing method, is a traditional processing technique that uses water resources to treat coffee cherries. Typically, the washing steps include flotation, pulp removal, soaking and fermentation to remove mucilage, washing or continued soaking, drying, and finally hulling to obtain the coffee beans we need. Compared to natural processing, farmers using the washed method must equip themselves with pulpers and build washing pools, while having access to continuous fresh water, making it unsuitable for every location. It's most commonly found in places like Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and Kenya. However, washing indeed offers multiple advantages: on one hand, it reduces the defect rate of green beans, thereby stabilizing quality; on the other hand, it significantly shortens drying time, making production more efficient. Of course, there's also the preservation of the "washed flavor."

After washing, coffee beans are either dried in the sun or using drying machines until the moisture content reaches about 12%. Finally, the parchment of the green coffee beans is removed.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia · Yirgacheffe Kochere

Region: Yirgacheffe Kochere
Variety: Local indigenous varieties
Altitude: 1,650-1,800 meters
Processing Method: Washed Process
Grade: G1

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Records

To highlight the clean mouthfeel and bright acidity of this washed Kochere bean, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster decided to use a medium-light roast. Roasting machine: Yangjia 800N, batch size: 550g. Preheat the roaster to 200°C and add the beans. Set airflow to 3, heat to 160, keep airflow unchanged. The return temperature point occurs at 1'32". When the roaster temperature reaches 151°C, adjust airflow to 3.5. When temperature reaches 140°C, increase heat to 180, keeping airflow unchanged. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aromas completely disappear, and the dehydration stage begins.

At 8'35", ugly wrinkles and dark spots appear on the bean surface, with toasted bread aromas clearly transitioning to coffee aromas—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this moment, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 8'53", maintain heat at 180, adjust airflow to 4. Develop for 1'45" after first crack, then drop at 195°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cupping bowls marked with 150ml and 200ml measurement lines. Following SCAA standards, water TDS is around 150ppm—too low TDS can easily lead to over-extraction, while too high affects mouthfeel and causes under-extraction. Cupping water temperature is set at 94°C. Grind size is controlled to achieve 70%-75% pass-through rate through a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11 grams of coffee grounds to 200ml of hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, resulting in extraction concentration precisely within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%. Steeping time is 4 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Orange blossom
Wet Aroma: Sensation
Flavor: Lemon, black tea, fruit sweet and sour

FrontStreet Coffee Barista Brewing Insights

Dripper: V60 #01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: EK43s setting 10/fine sugar size (sieved to 80% through #20 sieve)

Regarding grind size, FrontStreet Coffee determines it through sieving method, based on SCAA recommendations for pour-over coffee, combined with practical verification. If you don't have a sieve at home, FrontStreet Coffee suggests observing water flow rate to judge—too fast means the grind is too coarse, too slow means it's too fine.

Frontsteet Brewing Method: First, wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. For the first pour, inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Then pour 95g (scale shows approximately 125g), completing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows approximately 225g), completing in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drip filtration completes at 2'05", remove the dripper, and finish extraction.

Brewing Flavor: Lemon, floral notes, orange, cane sugar—overall clean and refreshing, with honey flavors in the aftertaste and oolong tea finish.

Important Notice :

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