Why Is Yirgacheffe Coffee Noticeably Sour? What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Kochere Coffee Varieties?

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Die-hard fans of Yirgacheffe coffee must have heard of Kochere, this famous micro-region in Ethiopia. Kochere is located in the most premium area of the entire broader Yirgacheffe region. In the ECX regional classification, Kochere is an independent producing region, which shows its status. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee discovered that Yirgacheffe Kochere differs from general batches of coffee beans. The coffee beans produced in this region have strong flavor characteristics, rich aroma and mouthfeel, with vibrant citrus acidity, sweet silky mouthfeel, and fruit flavors.

Kochere Producing Region

Yirgacheffe itself is a small town with about 20,000 people. The three neighboring small regions of Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena Abaya have almost identical coffee flavors to Yirgacheffe, so they are also classified under the Yirgacheffe regional category.

Kochere is located 25 kilometers southeast of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, as a small producing region at an altitude of 1650-1800 meters. It is a prosperous area that produces coffee and one of the three famous micro-regions of Yirgacheffe. The local population is about 100,000 people, with coffee beans as the main source of income. The processing equipment in this region is very advanced. The renowned coffee review website Coffee Review gave Kochere washed beans a high rating of 94 points.

Kochere is one of the 77 Woredas (Ethiopian administrative regions) in Ethiopia's SNNPR region. In the coffee field, Kochere belongs to part of Gediyo within Yirgacheffe and is also one of the most important producing regions in Yirgacheffe. Kochere can be further divided into several micro-regions, and coffee produced within these areas is sometimes named more specifically by source town names (such as Chelelektu or Teklu Dembel), processing stations (such as Teklu Dembel processing station and Alimu processing station for this batch), or micro-regions (such as Banko Gutiti). This aligns with current coffee trends regarding traceability. Of course, batches with stronger traceability have more specific sources, higher flavor stability and reproducibility each year, and naturally higher prices.

Coffee Production Model in Kochere Region

The Kochere production model mainly involves local small farmers sending their output batches to cooperatives for unified processing. The local Chalalacktu village has about 100,000 people who rely on coffee for their livelihood. Related production activities have become their main economic source. Due to the income from coffee production, the local living standards are much better than many Ethiopian villages, with complete health facilities, higher education institutions, and other amenities. Advanced processing equipment allows coffee from the Kochere region to consistently maintain high standards in washed processing, with clean sweetness carrying complex notes of molasses and citrus.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Kochere differs from general batches of coffee beans and belongs to the highest specification G1 grade batch. The regional flavor characteristics are strong, with clean and fresh lemon aroma, delicate and elegant jasmine floral notes, and rich aromas and flavors of cantaloupe, citrus, ginger, and spiced tea.

Washed Processing Method

The washed method, translated from Washed Process, is also called washed processing—a traditional processing method that uses water resources to treat coffee cherries. Generally speaking, the washing steps include flotation, pulp removal, soaking and fermentation to remove mucilage, washing or continued soaking, drying, and then hulling to obtain the coffee beans we need. Compared to natural processing, coffee farmers using the washed method must equip themselves with depulpers and build washing pools, and have a continuous supply of fresh water, so it's not applicable everywhere. It's most commonly found in places like Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and Kenya. However, washing indeed has multiple advantages: on one hand, it reduces the defect rate of green beans, thereby stabilizing quality; on the other hand, it greatly shortens drying time, making production more efficient. Of course, there's also the preservation of the "washed flavor" in coffee.

After washing, the coffee beans are dried in the sun or with drying machines until the moisture content reduces to about 12%, and finally the parchment of the green coffee beans is removed.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia · Yirgacheffe Kochere

Region: Yirgacheffe Kochere

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Growing Altitude: 1650-1800 meters

Processing Method: Washed processing

Grade: G1

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

To highlight the clean mouthfeel and bright acidity of these washed Kochere beans, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster decided to use a medium-light roast for these beans. Roasting machine: Yangjia 800N, batch size: 550g. Preheat roaster to 200°C, set damper to 3, heat at 160. Keep damper unchanged, return temperature at 1'32". When roaster temperature reaches 151°C, adjust damper to 3.5. When temperature reaches 140°C, adjust heat to 180, keep damper unchanged. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering the dehydration phase.

At 8'35", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma—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 damper to 4. Develop for 1'45" after first crack, discharge 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 cause over-extraction, while too high affects mouthfeel and causes under-extraction. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Grind size is controlled to 70%-75% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11g coffee powder to 200ml hot water,即1:18.18, so the extracted concentration falls within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%, with a steeping time of 4 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Orange blossom

Wet Aroma: Feeling

Flavor: Lemon, black tea, sweet and sour fruit

FrontStreet Coffee Barista Brewing Experience

Dripper: V60 #01

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: EK43s setting 10 / fine sugar size (sieve through #20 sieve to 80%)

Regarding grind size, FrontStreet Coffee determines this through sieving methods, following the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) grind recommendations for pour-over coffee, and then validates through practical operation. If you don't have a sieve at home, FrontStreet Coffee suggests observing the flow rate to judge—if water flows too fast, the grind is too coarse; if too slow, the grind is too fine.

FrontStreet Coffee 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 inject 95g (scale shows around 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, inject the remaining 100g (scale shows around 225g), completing the pour in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drip 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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Tel:020 38364473