Ethiopia, Gedeb Zone, Chelbesa

The delicate floral notes, lovely citrus, & complex citric acidity create a highly nuanced enjoyable coffee experience. An exceptional washed Gedeb Zone Yirgacheffe offering. Over the last 10 years this is the best cup of washed Yirgacheffe that I’ve tasted or roasted. Origin Roast

We Taste: Mandarin, Passion Fruit, Honey, Lemon Drop, Apricot

Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Gedeb Zone

Farm/Washing Station/Mill: Chelbesa, One Washing Station

Variety: Korume & Wolisho

Altitude: 1,950 - 2,200 masl

Process Method: Washed, floated & dried on raised beds.

Roast level: Origin

Roasting Notes: This Ethiopia Chelbesa came in super clean with an amazing high green grade. Its bean size is average for Ethiopia,normal moisture content and high density. When I was working on this profile, I found if I shortened up the dry phase too much it would lack sweetness and have muddled flavors. I ended up extending the dry phase to slow down and never achieve a 40 ROR. This allowed the profile to be smoother and still gave me the ability to have a 3:00 mid phase and 1:40 development phase. 

Sourcing Notes:  This is another amazing coffee from The Coffee Quest. Sarah helped guide me to this washed offering suggesting it was one of the high quality offerings of the year. After cupping it I fell in love, and realized it was the best washed Yirgacheffe I've had in the  past 10 years.  I sourced only one bag due to limited supply.  As luck would have it I was able to get a second bag when someone rejected it, Thank You! Drink up amigos, it's delicious. 

Coffee Info/Story: The Chelbesa Washed Lot is produced at the Chelbesa One Washing Station in the Gedeb Zone, Ethiopia (Chelbesa is the “kebele”), and managed by our partners SNAP Specialty Coffee. The approximately 1,000 farmers that deliver cherry to this washing station, come from the region and have between 2 and 3 Ha of land sitting at an elevation of between 1,950 – 2,200 m.a.s.l. This lot consists of the Ethiopian Heirloom varieties Korume and Wolisho.

Once the cherries arrive at the Chelbesa One Washing Station, they are placed in water for sorting and removing of floaters. The cherries are then de-pulped and left to dry ferment in tanks for 2-3 days, to be later washed and placed to dry on raised beds. To ensure an even  drying, the parchment is constantly moved each day, taking 7-10 days, depending on the weather, until reaching the desired humidity.This coffee lot is brought to you by SNAP Coffee, our producing partner in Ethiopia. 

Founded in Addis Ababa by Negusse in 2008, SNAP operates 7 washing stations in key coffee-producing areas like Sidama, Yirgacheffe, and the Guji Zone. 

SNAP focuses its operation on three fundamental pillars – Consistency, Education, and Sustainability. It is within their purpose to improve the livelihood of supporting farmers, and last year their team of agronomists trained more than 6,000 farmers in land and nursery management, and climate-smart agriculture through crop diversification and intercropping.

We’ve been working with SNAP since 2024, and needless to say, we are thrilled to build this relationship in the homeland of Arabica coffee.-The Coffee Quest