Ethiopia Banko Chelchele - Honey Yirgacheffe

We Taste - White peach, violet florals, lemon jelly bean

The community of coffee gardeners who live around Banko Chelchele grow some of the highest elevation coffee in all the world. Cooler evenings and long fruit maturation windows reveal themselves through elegant florals and a complex brightness. The heirloom shrubs dotting the rich soil bring people together for the cultivation, harvest, and processing in a way that is central to their tradition, heritage, and livelihoods. Farmers handpick ripe coffee cherries for sweetness, representing generations of care, investment, and education.

Banko Chelchele washing station collects, sorts, and processes meticulously, ensuring that the quality delivered from the land and farmer are sustained. For their Honey process, the outer skin of the coffee cherry is removed, while the sticky, honey-like mucilage remains attached. The pectin-covered parchment is then carefully open air fermented and dried on raised beds. In our estimation, Banko Chelchele's Honey process is on the lower side of fermentation, leaving the terroir and heirloom varietal characteristics more intact. The sweet, round quality with a hint of tropical fruit introduced by the mild fermentation is nonetheless noticeable and appreciated in the cup.

Light roasting preserves what is unique about this distinctive process from the birthplace of coffee. At two to three weeks off-roast, expect a bouquet of florals alongside malic, citrus, and fermented fruit to open up into a sugary, juicy, and ultimately elegant cup.

Roast: Light - Rest ~2 weeks prior to brewing for best results.
Process: Honey - picked ripe and depulped, then open air fermented and dried on raised beds for 15-20 days. 
Varieties: Heirloom Ethiopian, 74110, 74112
Elevation: 1,900 -2,300 masl
Location: Yirgacheffe; Banko Chelchele, Gedeb woreda, Gedeo Zone
Producer / Washing Station: Banko Chelchele
Farmers: Local smallholders, 396 farmers
Exporter: EDN Ethiopian Coffee Export PLC
Grades / Certifications: Grade 1 - No chemical fertilizers or pesticides used.
Harvest: Nov. 2024 - Jan. 2025

Brew Guides
Espresso: 1:3.0 in 26-28 sec.
Filter: 1:17.2