This year, we worked with the Danche site and the SNAP quality control team to try to build even higher-quality lot selections. The results of these new protocols have been exceptional. In the cup we find peach tea, watermelon, and Key lime.
Ethiopian Landrace
Gedeb, Gedeo
2,200 masl
December 2025
Hand-picked exclusively at bright red ripeness. Floated to remove defects. De-pulped as quickly as possible, intentionally leaving on a small amount of mucilage. Dried on shaded beds with mucilage intact for three days until moisture content reaches ~10%.
Neguesse Debela began operating his first site in Worka Chelbessa in 2017, later expanding with the purchase of a second washing station in the nearby sub-region of Danche in 2019. Both sites produce exceptional washed and natural coffees and have increasingly focused on experimental processing and quality refinement. This year, in collaboration with the SNAP quality control team and Tim Hill, a new selection process was developed—drawing from the top Grade 1 lots produced at Danche and subjecting them to an intensive cupping and separation process to identify the finest coffees of the harvest. The results have been remarkable.
Ethiopia is widely acknowledged as where coffee originated, and its production continues to represent a significant part of the country’s economy. DNA testing has confirmed over 60 distinct varieties growing in Ethiopia, making it home to the most coffee biodiversity of any region in the world. Given the tradition of coffee production in Ethiopia and the political interworkings of the Ethiopian coffee trade, it is virtually impossible to get single variety coffee lots from Ethiopia. This is changing, albeit very slowly. Most Ethiopian coffees are blends of the many Ethiopian varieties, and referred to simply as 'Ethiopian Landrace'.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.