Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere Washed G2 Green Coffee Beans

Kochere is a small production area that sits roughly 25 kilometers south of Yirgacheffe town in southern Ethiopia. It is a prosperous, coffee-dependent corner of the country and one of the three celebrated micro-regions of Yirgacheffe. Around 100,000 people live here, and coffee farming is their principal source of income. The area is notably well equipped for its size, with modern processing facilities and equipment, and the respected review site CoffeeReview awarded Kochere washed lots a score of 94 points.

Ethiopia's Coffee Regions

Ethiopia has eight principal coffee-producing regions: Nekempte (Lekempti) Gimbi, Limu, Illubabor, Djimma, Harrar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe. Of these, the specialty regions with the strongest reputations are Nekempte (Lekempti), Limu, Harrar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe itself lies within the Sidama administrative region of Ethiopia, which tells you that Yirgacheffe is in fact a small enclave inside the much larger Sidama zone.

What Makes Yirgacheffe Distinct

Yirgacheffe is, at its heart, a small town of roughly 20,000 inhabitants. Three neighboring areas—Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya—are conventionally grouped under the Yirgacheffe name because their coffees taste nearly identical to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe lots. In both culture and geography the area resembles neighboring Sidamo, yet Yirgacheffe seems to enjoy an especially privileged set of natural conditions. The finest FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe lots are defined by floral aromatics, bright citrus acidity, lemon tones, and a silky, smooth mouthfeel.

The Kochere Micro-Region

Kochere lies in southwestern Ethiopia, about 25 kilometers south of the famous town of Yirgacheffe. Production is organized around smallholder farmers who deliver their cherry to cooperatives for centralized processing. The village of Chalalacktu alone counts roughly 100,000 residents who depend on coffee for their livelihood, so coffee-related activity is the backbone of the local economy. Thanks to that income, the standard of living here is considerably better than in many Ethiopian villages, with functioning health facilities, institutions of higher education, and other services. Advanced processing equipment lets Kochere maintain a consistently high standard in washed preparation, yielding coffees with clean sweetness and complex notes of molasses and citrus.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Kochere G2 Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G2

Region: Yirgacheffe

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local Landraces

Flavor Notes: Jasmine floral, lemon, bergamot, honey, black tea

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you are new to Ethiopian coffee, the best place to start is FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe daily-driver. It has built its reputation on white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a distinctly tea-like finish, and its approachable price has made it the first specialty bean many drinkers ever buy.

Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Sidama zone of southern Ethiopia, at elevations of roughly 1,700 to 2,100 meters, with coffee planted above 1,800 meters—among the highest coffee-growing altitudes in the world. The region was historically wetland, and the name Yirgacheffe has become shorthand for the instantly recognizable white-floral character and lemon-citrus acidity of Ethiopian specialty coffee. In 2010, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange formally separated Yirgacheffe from Sidamo because of its fame, which is how the household name we know today came to be.

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests a V60 dripper with water at 90–91°C. Use 15 grams of coffee ground to a fine-granulated-sugar texture (80% retention on a #20 sieve), at a 1:15 ratio. Bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then pour to 125 grams over about a minute; once the water level drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams to reach 225 grams, finishing the pour around 1:35. Drawdown completes between 2:00 and 2:10—lift the dripper off and enjoy.