Region :           Yirgacheffe
Altitude :         1,950–2,200 masl
Process :          Washed
Variety :           Landrace
Grade :              1
Q Score:            86.5

Very smooth, medium body and outstanding acidity.
Lemon, nectarine and hint of jasmine. Sweet and smooth finish.

Coffee Bio:

Ethiopia is widely regarded as the birthplace of coffee, and Yirgacheffe—in the bottom half of the country, in the Gedeo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR)—is arguably its most famous growing region.

As James Hoffmans explains in The World Atlas of Coffee: “So many of the great washed coffees from Yirgacheffe are explosively aromatic, full of citrus and floral notes and have a light and elegant body, so this is undeniably one of the greatest and most interesting regions for growing coffee.”

Ethiopia is a landlock country so coffee is first trucked to Djibouti (850kms from Addis) before it can be shipped around the world.

Processing Information:

Harvesting time is usually between October and January – depending on the growing altitude and prevailing climatic condition at the time. Oftentime, unpredicted weather patterns (associated with the growing impact of climate change) pose challenges during harvesting and drying periods (like untimely excessive rains).

The green coffee making up this lot was collected from various smallholder farmers who live around the Kochere district. After picking ripe red cherries, they supply them to the nearby washing station which operates in the area.

For the wet processing method, coffee is brought to the washing stations by the surrounding member farmers. For those located farther out, the Mamo Kacha team collects the harvested cherries. In both cases, quality is inspected to ensure only red ripe cherries are accepted, and the under-ripe ones rejected. The cherries are then pulped during the same day of harvesting, otherwise overfermentation will occur if kept overnight. The pulp is then removed and soaked in fermentation tanks from 36-72 hours (depending on the temperature). Afterwards the parchment is taken to drying beds till properly dried.

Grading System:

Washed coffees are labeled as “Grade 2” and Naturals as “Grade 3, 4 or 5”. “Grade 1” can refer to either processes, provided that it meets the highest physical quality and cup score. The screen for export from Ethiopia is 14+

Kochere Location: