Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Supernatural

Our in-country partner has been experimenting with new processing methods as a way to increase value and stand out among a growing number of specialty washing stations in Ethiopia. They have been trialing anaerobic fermentation with several of their washing stations in Yirgacheffe since 2015. Uraga washing station receives cherries from farmers in the surrounding region. The station is located in Guji, a coffee growing region that was once part of Yirgacheffe but whose microclimate produces such unique coffee, that it was allocated as its own coffee growing region. Farming methods in the region remain largely traditional. Guji farmers typically intercrop their coffee plants with other food crops. This method is common among smallholders because it maximizes land use and provides food for their families. In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also organic-by-default. Farmers in Guji typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides.

Most farm work is done manually by the immediate family.

To capitalize on the magnificent climate, Uraga washing station provides training to help farmers produce better quality cherries. Training focuses on procedures for harvesting and transporting cherries. While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible. We’re partnering directly with farmers to help them produce top quality specialty lots that are now completely traceable, adding value for farmers and roasters alike. The exceptional quality of Ethiopian coffee is due to a combination of factors. The genetic diversity of coffee varieties means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing. In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure, and great coffee we enjoy today. Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown without chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested, and dried using manual systems.

The supernatural 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 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.

Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles

The district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.

The municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherries from across zone borders. These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive into Guji. Banko Chelchele is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one.

EDN Ethiopian Coffee

EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, southern Yirgacheffe, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at the group’s site in Chelchele, one of Gedeb’s most prolific coffee producing areas.

The Chelchele 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. Being a processor for EDN is much more than transactional—they prefinance all their contributing farmers, provide educational resources, daily meals and lodging for staff. Amenities like these are both a gesture of care and acknowledgment of the potential instability inherent to small-scale farming. They are also strategic, since many processors in the area compete for farmer loyalty, and important for the sustainability of coffee and its workforce in the area.