This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from Ethiopia’s Gedeb district. This corner of Yirgacheffe (officially the Gedeo Zone) is well-known for being dense with processors and having a uniquely heady, perfume-like terroir that sets it apart from the rest of Yirgacheffe. “Supernatural” is the name given to coffees like this whose cherry is fermented for a period of time prior to drying on raised beds, giving the final cup an acidic, fruity kick that conventional naturals typically can’t achieve.
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 cherry 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 central Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one.
EDN Ethiopian Coffee & Processing
EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The Banko Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.
EDN processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented “supernaturals”. “Supernaturals” such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color and then transferred to the site’s fermentation tanks to ferment aerobically for 24 hours in full cherry. After this step cherries are moved directly to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 2-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.
During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.
