When we were cupping coffees last week to decide which one of them to share with you , one really stood out. We’re excited to roast Kochere for this week’s brew crew.
This coffee comes from a private wetmill in the local community of Gebed in Kochere, Yirgacheffe. The wetmill is working closely with one of our partners in Ethiopia to increase quality through systematic work at the wetmill.
Yirgacheffe is well known for its high quality washed coffees, which are clean, floral and juicy coffees with genuine and unique fruit and berry flavours.
The area where this coffee is grown has some of the most complex and intense coffee flavours in Yirgacheffe. Most are small family plots with a mix of traditional varietals, and recently planted trees of improved varietals. Organic fertiliser is common, though pruning is less common, given the small size of the individual plots.
Coffee processing at Kochere
Hand sorting coffee cherries Photo: Nordic Approach
Coffee cherries are collected from seven different hillsides surrounding the wetmill. These are hand-sorted to remove any unripe or overripe cherries before are approved.
Hand sorting coffee cherries Photo: Nordic Approach
A four disc Hagbes pulper removes the skin and pulp.
The coffee is then fermented under water for 24-36 hours, depending on the weather conditions.
It’s then graded in washing channels in to two grades based on density, and then soaked under clean water in tanks for 12-24 hours.
Raised drying beds Photo: Nordic Approach
They continue to handpick defected parchment at the drying tables, where the coffee is sun dried for 10–15 days days resting on hessian cloths on African drying beds. They’re covered by plastic during midday to protect from the intense midday sun, and also overnight.
