Ethiopia Chelbessa

And the season is here again, all the beautiful Ethiopian coffees are here! We’ve got a lovely one this year, from the farm of Chelbessa in Yirgacheffe. 

This lovely coffee comes from the Chelbessa Washing Station in Yirgacheffe. Chelbessa is one of the largest “Kebeles” or towns in Gedeb. This washing station receives coffee from nearly 500 farmers in the region. Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.The washing stations serve as many as several hundred to sometimes a thousand or more producers, who deliver cherries throughout the harvest season. 

Although this offering is not traceable to a single variety, it is comprised of native heirloom varieties cultivated in Ethiopia. This coffee underwent a traditional natural process, and is typically delivered the day it is harvested. The coffee is first sorted for ripeness and quality before being rinsed clean of dirt. Then the cherries are spread on raised drying beds or tables, where they will be rotated constantly throughout the course of drying. Drying can take an average of 8–25 days, depending on the weather.

A beautiful coffee with a lovely sensory experience, this clean natural boasts the delectable note of orange blossoms. This then leads to the sweetness and complexity that of nectarine before ending with the lingering finish of earl grey. She’s a classic, and in today’s coffee world, a coffee like this is hard to come by. We’re really happy to have her with us.