Ethiopian coffees are usually produced on small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders deliver their coffee in cherry to the local washing station or processing centre, where it will be sorted, weighed, and paid for. The washing stations serve as many as thousands of producers throughout the harvest season. The blending of these cherries into day lots makes traceability to the producers extremely difficult.
This coffee is produced at Chelchele washing station, which is named for the kebele, or village, where the coffee is harvested. The washing station is located in the town of Chelchele, not far from Yirgacheffe town, which is in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
Coffee in this region is grown at an elevation between 1950 and 2200 meters. Cold weather and minimal air resulting from high elevations slow cherries ripening, resulting in a dense coffee bean and sweeter cup profile.
COFFEE VARIETY
Ethiopian heirloom
Ethiopian heirloom variety is a term used to describe varieties that are native to the countries/region. Being considered the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia has an estimated 10,000–15,000 heirloom varieties that are grown in the wild. Most of them have not been formally genetically identified.
The heirloom variety is typically classified into two groups: JARC varieties and regional landraces. JARC varieties are developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre such as 74110 and 74158 varieties. JARC varieties are designed to be more resistant to diseases while maintaining native characteristics. The regional landraces are varieties that are grown in the wild. These varieties are indigenous to a region, for example, the Badessa, Khudumi, Miqe, Sawa, and Wolichu varieties are native to the Guji area.