Ethiopia – Chelbesa – Wolisho, Dega – Washed

This coffee was produced by smallholder producers in the Worka Chelbesa kebele, or village, in the Gedeo zone of Ethiopia, and was processed at a wet mill in the kebele operated by Negusse Debela. Negusse operates two sites now in Worka Chelbesa, including one in the Danche sub-area, and processes Washed, Natural, and unique experimental lots in an effort to continue improving the quality of their final product.

Worka Chelbesa is located in Gedeb woreda, which is the southernmost part of the Gedeo zone. The area is known for its dense semi-forest vegetation, including ensete trees and other shade plants, providing ideal conditions for shade-grown coffee.

Local farmers grow Wolisho and Dega variety coffee, which are landrace varieties from the Yirgacheffe region. Cherries are manually harvested before being taken to the processing station where they are handsorted before being processed. Pulped coffee is wet fermented for 72 hours before being washed in channels. The fermentation tanks at Negusse’s sites are ceramic, quickening the fermentation process and contributing to the clarity of the final cup. The coffee is then density sorted for quality, ensuring easy separation in higher grade lots. After fermentation and sorting, coffee is soaked for two hours to complete the fully Washed process and then dried for 10 days. All coffee is hand sorted a final time after drying before being prepared for export.