Enjoy this clean medium bodied washed ethiopia!  We tasted mild notes of strawberry, honey, and jasmine.  

Region: Chelbesa Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 1950-2200 masl

Varieties: Wolisho, Dega

Process: Washed

Roast: Lighter side of Medium

The Chelbesa kebele (village) is a renowned producing area in Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone of Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). Here, shade-grown coffee thrives under a dense, layered, semi-forest canopy. The Chelbesa wet mill was established in 2019 with the goal of sourcing fresh coffee cherries from hundreds of nearby smallholders. Over 760 producers contributed to this Grade 1 natural processed coffee.

The ceramic fermentation tanks at the Chelbesa mill bring clarity to the coffees and stimulate the fermentation process with better heat retention.

In the “washed” or “wet” process coffee cherries are floated and sorted to ensure consistent ripeness and to remove any defective cherries. The seeds (coffee beans) are then removed from their skins using depulping machines and typically moved to fermentation tanks to remove the mucilage—the remaining fruit remnants. At the Chelbesa wet mill, pulped beans are fermented for 72 hours, washed and soaked for an additional hour, then dried on raised beds for 12 days.

Washed processing has become widely popular. The cup profile of washed coffees tends to reflect the terroir of the coffee. The processing method allows the growing conditions, the region, and the true character of the coffee to shine through.

We mainly enjoy this coffee as pour over/drip but it does well in all brew methods.  For pour over, try a 1:16.5 ratio and a kettle temperature of 212°.  

For espresso, a good starting point is: 17 grams in and 42 grams out in 25-33 seconds with a boiler temp of 205°.  Happy Brewing!