Ethiopia Worka Chelchele

Country/Region: Ethiopia/Gedeb, Gedeo

Varietal: Dega, Wolisho, Kurume, JARC 74110

Processing: Anaerobic Washed

Elevation: 2000 - 2200 m.a.s.l.

We Taste: Peach, Orange Blossom, Sencha

Produced high in the hills of the Gedeb district, Worka Chelchele represents the dedication of nearly 400 smallholder farmers. Coffee here is intercropped with enset, beans, and tall shade trees, a biodiverse system that enriches both the land and the crop. Harvest mornings often begin with neighbors gathering together, singing as they carefully pick the ripest cherries—a rhythm of work and community passed down through generations.

This same spirit carries into the washing station, where cherries are received and hand-sorted with care. The best lots are chosen for a special anaerobic fermentation process, where they are sealed in tanks for 36 to 48 hours before being pulped, washed in clean spring water, and laid to dry on raised beds. 

Traceability is deeply valued here, with drying batches marked with the names of the families who harvested them, giving farmers a tangible connection to the final cup. The result is a coffee that is bright and sweet, with layered fruit notes—an expression of land, labor, and the community with each sip.