Ethiopia Natural Banko Chelchele

This amazing coffee comes from smallholders in the Chelchele area, part of the Gedeb district in southern Gedeo Zone, where some of Ethiopia’s most complex and aromatic naturals come from year after year. Gedeb is a unique area dense with coffee growers and processors. This coffee was processed at a central site in Chelchele, one of the district’s most prolific coffee areas. The site employs over 200 people during harvest months to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry and parchment, as well as all other intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. They prefinance all their contributing farmers, provide educational resources, daily meals and lodging for staff. 

The natural processed coffees at the Banko Chelchele station are sorted by hand on arrival, then floated to remove less dense and damaged cherries. In the case of this microlot, fresh cherry is sealed into carbon fiber drums and left to ferment anaerobically (deprived of fresh oxygen) between 7 to 10 full days between 15-18 degrees Celsius. This stage allows the sugars in the fruit to develop far beyond where they would in a traditional natural without the risk of over fermenting. After the 10-day drum fermentation, the soft and syrupy cherry mixture is carefully moved to raised screen beds to dry, slowly and gradually. Once it reaches a fully dried state, the pods are moved to a cool warehouse where they are left to rest for a number of weeks. This last step allows the internal moisture to equilibrate and the water activity to settle, preparing the green coffee for a long shelf life of vibrant flavors. Finally, the green coffee is trucked to Addis Ababa for additional sorting and preparation for export.

This full natural process coffee is dried on raised beds (see photos) in the traditional Ethiopian manner. Our City Roast brings out Blueberry, black cherry, and dark chocolate notes.

Grower Smallholder farmers organized around the Banko Chelchele processing station

Region Banko Chelchele, Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region

Altitude 1900 – 2300 Meters

Variety Regional cultivars 74110, 74112

Process Full Natural

Certifications Conventional