Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Kochere Shepherd Washed Process with Refined Gardenia Fragrance

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Shepherd Washed

Ethiopia is Africa's first coffee-producing country and the birthplace of coffee. Its coffee varieties belong to the Arabica species, and the coffee it produces ranks among the finest in the world. Ethiopian coffees offer extremely diverse flavors — jasmine, citrus, floral notes, lemon, even tropical fruit aromas — and their delicate fragrance and sweet flavor have won over the world.

The earliest coffee legend comes from the Kaffa province of Ethiopia. As the story goes, a shepherd was tending his flock when he heard the sheep bleating excitedly and even jumping around restlessly. He discovered they had eaten some red berries, which put them in that excited state. He picked the berries and shared them with people nearby. Later, everyone named the fruit after "Kaffa," calling it coffee — a word that evolved from KAFFA.

This Shepherd coffee from Kochere features explosive aromas, with bergamot fruit notes and gardenia floral scents, and a light, elegant taste.

Yirgacheffe Shepherd Washed

Region: Kochere

Variety: Local native varieties

Altitude: 1800-2100m

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Bergamot, Gardenia, Lemon

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a first look at the Ethiopia region, start with FrontStreet's Washed Yirgacheffe, the most classic pick. Known for white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, it is friendly on price and has become the first specialty bean for many newcomers. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in southern Ethiopia, in the Sidama zone, at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters — one of the highest coffee regions in the world.

If you want to go one level deeper, FrontStreet's Gudingding Cooperative coffee is a great choice. Located in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, it follows the most traditional washed processing, which is why it has no traditional bitterness and instead brings fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance. For a fruitier cup, FrontStreet's Natural Red Cherry is made from fully ripe red cherries dried whole on raised beds, showing citrus acidity, a juicy berry character, honey sweetness, and a creamy smoothness. To brew any of these, FrontStreet suggests a V60 with 90-91°C water, 15 grams of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind of EK43s setting 10, fine-sugar size (80% passing a No. 20 sieve).