This selection comes from a small regional group of producers who deliver to the Chelbessa washing station, which regularly produces some of our favorite Ethiopian coffees. In the cup we find intoxicating florals, watermelon, peach, and a lively citrus acidity.
Ethiopian Landrace
Gedeb, Gedeo
2,200 masl
December, 2022
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. De-pulped. Grade 1 density separated. Fermented underwater for 36 hours. Dried on raised beds for 10-14 days.
Neguesse Debela started operating his first site in Worka Chelbessa in 2017, but quickly expanded in 2019 by buying another washing station a few kilometers away in a small sub-area of Worka Chelbessa called Danche. Kubi is a specific area of producers from which this particular lot is comprised. Neguesse’s two sites reliably execute immaculate washed and naturally processed coffees, and are now working to create unique experimental lots in an effort to continue improving the quality of their production.
Ethiopia is widely acknowledged as where coffee originated, and its production continues to represent about 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. 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.