Ethipopia Yerga Cheffe Kela Kochore - Green Coffee Beans - 16oz Bag

We have tasted a lot of wet-process coffees from the Southern zones of Sidama and Yirga Cheffe areas this year, and there is a wide variety in qualities in this crop year. Generally, Sidama had issues in the Northern parts with a lower crop and some of the higher altitudes experiencing frost damage. But in the south the croup was large. It is great for the farmers but it is very hard for the washing stations to keep the quality up and process so much coffee. But  this, washed coffee from Yirga Cheffe area is proving there are clear winners in 2015. It hails from the Alemu station in Kochore. They have a well-managed effort directed at the coffee and an incredible number of drying beds to ensure there was no shortage of space. But more importantly with this arrival, the cup... I was simply amazed by the clarity of flavors, brightness, and refined finish.

Aromatics of this Yirga Cheffe have a potency to them, with sweet notes of refined honey out front. Strong florals of star jasmine interplay nicely with notes of stone fruit; apricot and peach. Aspects of sugar browning are expounded on when adding hot water and the crust has a strong smell of toffee, caramel, and tropical fruit. This coffee has a delicate cup profile that shines on the lighter end of the roast spectrum. Sweetness saturates the palate in the lighter roasts, a dark red honey taste that reverberates into the finish. The acidity is lively and well defined, lending. Citrus pervades the cup profile. It's hard to place exactly, like a pomelo citrus quality, also sweet lime and mandarin. My darker roasts (FC) have an emerging bittersweet cocoa that, instead of distracting, seems to add a bracing and balancing quality to the sweet and bright nature of this coffee. But still the lightest level of City roast, ending just when First Crack completes, is where the bright and dynamic flavor of the Kela Kochore really soars in the brewed cup.