Chelichele #02 is a coffee that will win you over with its combination of juicy fruitiness and clean, sweet structure. The first sip opens with passion fruit – distinctive, vibrant, yet elegantly integrated. This is followed by a multivitamin juice, that familiar impression of a freshly squeezed fruit mix, which gives the cup energy and breadth. In the finish, everything quiets down to cocoa, dry and smooth, which carries the profile with confidence and leaves a long, pleasantly sweet aftertaste on the palate. The acidity is medium and beautifully readable, the body is light to medium, and the overall impression is fresh and completely clean—exactly how we like top-quality Ethiopian natural coffees.
This coffee comes from the village of Chelechele in the Gedeb region, where the Chelichele washing station operates under the wing of Ephtah Specialty Coffee. The high altitude of 2,150–2,200 meters above sea level, small farmers with an average of half a hectare of gardens, and the diversity of localheirloomvarieties create ideal conditions for slow ripening and concentrated flavors. Ephtah has long invested in quality and the community: pre-financing up to 85% of the harvest to ensure stability for farmers, emphasizing the role of women in production, a childcare center in Gedeb, and expanding drying capacity (a ~2-hectare facility with ~200 beds; several permanent employees and dozens of seasonal workers during harvest). Thanks to this infrastructure and patient work, each batch is consistent, transparent, and clear in taste.
Processing is purely natural. During drying, the beans are regularly turned, covered at night and when it rains, and the final sorting is done by hand to maintain the highest possible purity of the profile. The result is a cup that gets the most fruitiness out of the natural method while maintaining remarkable clarity: maracuja is juicy, "multivitamin" gives volume, and cocoa beautifully combines sweetness with a delicately dry, mature finish.