Diima Chelchele from Candycane Coffee is an Ethiopian pour-over coffee for anyone who loves distinctly fruity, juicy, and sweet natural coffees. In the cup, you’ll find blueberries, strawberry jam, and hibiscus, complemented by notes of plums, cherries, and roses, with a long, dessert-like finish reminiscent of dark chocolate and caramel fudge. It’s a coffee that smells of ripe fruit, tastes full-bodied and juicy, and retains an elegant floral character.
The coffee comes from Ethiopia, specifically the mountainous Gedeb area in the Yirgacheffe region. The coffee cherries for this lot are grown by smallholder farmers at elevations of 1,900–2,100 meters above sea level, where the cooler climate and fertile soil promote slow ripening and greater flavor complexity. Processing takes place at the Chelchele processing center. It is precisely the high altitude, careful selection of cherries, and the expertise of local farmers that give this coffee its typical Ethiopian character: abundant fruitiness, floral elegance, and a clean, juicy sweetness. Diima Chelchele #7 beautifully demonstrates why natural coffees from the Gedeb area are so popular.
The variety is Heirloom, meaning local Ethiopian varieties that possess immense genetic diversity and often yield floral, fruity, and complex cups. The processing is natural—after harvest, carefully selected ripe cherries are dried whole, pulp and all, on African drying beds. During drying, the cherries are turned regularly to ensure even drying and preserve their purity and sweetness. It is precisely this traditional processing method that gives the coffee a fuller body, intense fruitiness, and the distinctive sweetness of strawberry jam.
- Elevation: 1,900–2,100 m above sea level