Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Reko
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Reko One Roast
As we launch this coffee, you may know that the new harvest is in full swing. We like to hold back new coffees for the new year, rather than gearing the highs of the coffee year for Christmas.
The last time we had Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Reko in the roastery was in the thick of Covid. Back in the days when we had time to reflect and thought we could control the future! It is no secret that we buy most of our Ethiopian coffees through Trabocca and have done so for a long time. I like the idea of being a small part of a force for good. As a small company, buying part of bigger lots is normal practice, as you can imagine how much coffee 850 smallholder farmers can produce collectively.
We have enjoyed Reko in filter brewing. I would advise that this has great potential as espresso too, best drunk without milk.
Top Trumps:
Mill: Reko
Owner/ partnership: Faysel A. Yonis, founder of Testi Coffee, and Masreshu Sima, the founder of Reko washing station.
Region: Kochere, Yirgacheffe.
Varietals: Kurume and Mixed Heirloom.
Altitude: 1850-2100 Meters above sea level.
Process: Natural
Smallholder farmers: 850 approximately.
Cup Potential: Filter
Before I write any recipes or flavour potential, I cannot stress enough about the value of letting Ethiopian coffee cool, before tasting it!
Aromatics: Liquorice laces, Sweet citrus, brown fruit | Body: medium| Acidity: Brown fruit, stone fruit & citrus
On opening Reko is all of the brown fruit sugars, dry citrus and cocoa. The bigger doses were drier in the cup. The cup evolves into two worlds, one of ripe brown sugars and a lighter, soft, stone fruity one. The two worlds meet and become one sweet delight. Sugars like mead and (it could be nostalgia?) red liquorice laces reminiscent of strawberries.
Starting Recipe: 60g Litre.
Cup Potential: Espresso
This wasn’t the easiest to dial in, my second espresso of 2025. I am putting this down to the grinder and a cold room setting up.
Brew temp:94C+
Coffee to water: 17g-34g for milk-based drinks. 17g-50g Espresso
Extraction window:28-35 Seconds
Milk-based: 9oz. This is an odd choice of coffee to put in a big milk drink. It does work if you can brew the coffee hot and long enough. At best, this is Cocoa, dry citrus and gentle.
Milk-based: 6oz. Chocolate, brown fruit sugars & citrus.
Espresso: Now it is all worth it! Floral, Mead-like sugars, good body and wild ripeness. This was the best brew for us in espresso.
Background:
Reko washing station is named after Reko-Mountain, a tall and skinny mountain that towers above the hills of Kochere. Reko, translated in Afaan Oromo, means challenge. It refers to the challenge of climbing the Reko-mountain. Masreshu and Faysel adopted the name and its symbolic value. It is their challenge to cultivate the best Yirgacheffe coffee.
The success of Reko Washing Station has three main areas.
- Training and education of all members. A good protocol can only be followed if people understand what they are doing.
- Selection and separation. Picking ripe cherries and keeping coffee of the same lot together, with the relevant information. Area and date etc.
- Monitoring and control. Delivering high-quality coffee requires much hard work, experience, and dedication.
Feel free to share your brews with us.