Ethiopia
Yirgacheffe
Negusse Debela
Various Smallholder Farms
Wolisho, Dega
Natural
November–January
Caramel, Tangerine, Almond, Juicy
2050 meters
Organic
60 kg w/ GrainPro
This coffee was produced by smallholder producers in the Worka Chelbesa kebele, or village, in the Gedeo zone of Ethiopia, and was processed at a wet mill in the kebele operated by Negusse Debela. Negusse operates two sites now in Worka Chelbesa, including one in the Danche sub-area, and processes Washed, Natural, and unique experimental lots in an effort to continue improving the quality of their final product.
Worka Chelbesa is located in Gedeb woreda, which is the southernmost part of the Gedeo zone. The area is known for its dense semi-forest vegetation, including ensete trees and other shade plants, providing ideal conditions for shade-grown coffee.
Local farmers grow Wolisho and Dega variety coffee, which are landrace varieties from the Yirgacheffe region. Cherries are manually harvested before being taken to the processing station where they are handsorted before being processed. Natural coffees are dried on raised beds until reaching their ideal humidity.
As the coffee industry continues to grow in Ethiopia, the country’s historic growing areas don’t always match up with the current-day maps defining Ethiopia’s geography. Our goal is to provide the clearest and most accurate information about the coffees that we offer, and we’re proud to provide the most specific location information we have for these coffees. Learn more about Ethiopia’s coffee growing regions on our blog.
Region: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNPR)
Zone: Gedeo
Woreda: Gedeb
Kebele: Worka Chelbesa
ECX Growing Area: Yirgacheffe
Gedeb is one of the districts, also called woredas, of the Gedeo zone, with the Kochere woreda to the west, Yirgacheffe woreda to the northwest, Bule woreda to the north, and the Oromia region to the south and east. The nearby Yirgacheffe woreda gives this coffee region its name.
Literally translated as “Land of Many Springs,” Yirgacheffe has the ideal topography, elevation, and water sources to produce and process exceptional coffees. This region is located inside of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia, which is home to 45 distinct people groups. Coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe are typically multi-generational small-scale landholders, sometimes farming only a few hectares. Most coffees in Yirgacheffe are sold as cherry to centralized washing stations that help further separate flavor profiles.
Yirgacheffe is considered by many to be the birthplace of coffee and the coffee trees grown in the region are a naturally occurring mix of heirloom varieties cultivated among other species in coffee gardens and coffee forests.
