Ethiopia Chelbesa

The Chelbesa Washing Station is a private mill that handles exclusively organic coffee grown by 650 local smallholders located in the Danche area of the Gedeb woreda, in the highlands above Yirgachefe. The washing station was established in 2019 by Ato Sisay, his fourth washing station and third in Yirgachefe. Sisay and his team specialise in clean, expressive coffee that clearly convey the variety and local practices of its appellation. In this case, we love the clean, sweet and tea-like quality of this washed coffee, a profile that Gedeb is renowned for.

Exclusively hand-picked, ripe cherry is collected at the washing station and separated as day lots. Upon receipt, cherries are floated to remove any under-ripes and are depulped on the same-day. The coffee is wet fermented for 48 hours before drying on raised beds for 20 days.