Description

Region:  Yirgacheffe, Kochere, Ethiopia
Producer: Chelchele
Variety: Heirloom
Altitude: 1900-2400m
Process: Natural

This natural lot comes from Chelchele washing station in Kochere, Yirgacheffe, one of Ethiopia’s most renowned coffee areas. Freshly harvested cherries are hand-sorted for ripeness, rinsed to remove dirt, and then spread on raised drying beds for 8–25 days, depending on weather conditions. During this time, they are turned regularly to ensure even drying and to prevent overfermentation. The result is a refined and fruit-forward natural with a balanced sweetness and a distinctive floral touch, a hallmark of Yirgacheffe coffees.

Chelchele sits at the heart of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia’s most celebrated coffee region and the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Farmers here cultivate small coffee “gardens,” typically less than one hectare each, often intercropped with food and shade plants. These smallholders deliver their ripe cherries to local washing stations like Chelchele, where coffees from hundreds of families are combined into day lots. While this blending makes traceability challenging, Café Imports works through long-term partnerships with washing stations to secure consistent, high-quality lots from the same communities year after year. Yirgacheffe’s high elevation, volcanic soil, and diverse microclimates produce some of the world’s most expressive coffees, known for their floral, citrus, and tea-like complexity.