Description
Think of Gedeb as the “edge of Yirgacheffe” a highland crossroads where coffee trade and processing blur the borders between Gedeo and neighboring Guji, and where the best lots can feel louder, brighter, and more aromatic than what most people picture when they hear “Yirgacheffe.” This Grade 1 Natural comes from smallholder farmers organized around the Banko Chelchele community, then handled at a single independent site managed by Azeb Tadesse. Cherries arrive throughout the day, get inspected for ripeness, and go straight to raised beds where they’re dried one cherry thick a labor-heavy choice that helps keep the fruit character big while staying unusually clean. The drying is intentionally long (often 3–6 weeks) to stabilize the coffee before it heads to Addis Ababa for meticulous export prep (optical sorting + repeated hand-sorting). Add in Gedeb’s cool temps and steady rainfall, plus vertisol (clay-rich) soils, and you get a natural that’s built for perfume, sweetness, and structure not funk.
Tasting Notes: A “clean natural” with volume: expect berry-forward sweetness (compote/jam vibes), lifted florals, and that signature yogurt-like creamy sweetness that reads like fruit parfait rather than boozy fermentation. Acidity comes across more sparkling and fruit-driven than sharp, body is silky-to-medium, and the finish stays tidy and refreshing the kind of cup that’s expressive black, but also dangerously easy as a daily drinker.
Roasting Notes: This is high-grown (1950–2200 masl) and typically roasts like a dense Ethiopian lot: it loves controlled early heat (avoid scorching), then a steady, unbroken rise into Maillard to build sweetness without flattening florals. Because it’s a natural, plan for more chaff and use stronger airflow from yellowing onward to keep the cup crisp and “clean.” Light (City/City+) is where the florals and sparkling berry pop and the yogurt-like sweetness feels most vivid; Medium (City+/Full City) turns that fruit into deeper jam with a rounder, creamier body; Darker trades aromatics and fruit clarity for heavier cocoa-like depth still pleasant, but less special. If you’re cupping, give it a slightly longer rest than washed coffees (often 10–15 days) to let the perfume and creaminess fully open up
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.