Ethiopia
Yirgacheffe
Small holder farmers
Gerbota
Local land race and JARC Varieties
Washed
Nov - Early January
Chocolate, Fresh herbs, Hint of gooseberry, Lemon, Light Body
2100 meters
N/A
60kg W/GrainPro
EU - Hamburg, Germany - Schwarze
The Gerbota washing station, nestled in the heart of Ethiopia’s renowned coffee-growing region, has been a cornerstone of the local coffee community since its establishment in 2012. Owned by Tebarek Eshetu, a long-standing partner of Tracon Trading, the station serves as a hub for around 1,660 smallholder farmers who bring their meticulously harvested red cherries from nearby kebeles such as Gerse, Molicha, Adame, and Gerbota. Spanning 2 hectares, the station is equipped with 250 drying beds, where the coffee undergoes its transformation.
Located in the newly formed South Ethiopia Regional State—created from the southern part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) following a 2023 referendum—Gedeo Zone stands as a beacon of Ethiopia’s coffee heritage. Named after the Gedeo people, whose ancestral lands lie within this zone, Gedeo is surrounded by the Oromia Region to the east, south, and west, with the Sidama Region forming its northern boundary. Among the eight woredas of Gedeo Zone, Yirgacheffe shines brightest, revered as the most treasured coffee-growing area in the region.
The Gedeo Cultural Landscape, a testament to the rich cultural and agricultural heritage of the Gedeo people, has earned recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This region, with its unique blend of high altitude, ample rainfall, and optimal temperatures, has given rise to one of Ethiopia’s three trademarked coffee regions—Yirgacheffe.
This coffee underwent washed process. Cherries are manually harvested before being taken to the processing station where they are hand sorted before being processed. Pulped coffee is wet fermented for 72 hours before being washed in channels. The fermentation tanks at Negusse’s sites are ceramic, quickening the fermentation process and contributing to the clarity of the final cup. The coffee is then density sorted for quality, ensuring easy separation in higher grade lots. After fermentation and sorting, coffee is soaked for two hours to complete the fully Washed process and then dried for 10 days. All coffee is hand sorted a final time after drying before being prepared for export.
Through this intricate process, the Gerbota washing station plays a vital role in producing some of Ethiopia’s most distinguished coffees, preserving the rich legacy of the Gedeo Zone while embracing the future of coffee cultivation.
Literally translated as “Land of Many Springs,” Yirgacheffe has the ideal topography, elevation, and water sources to produce and process exceptional coffees. Yirgacheffe is a coffee classification in the Ethiopia coffee market. It is also one of the woredas in the Gedeo zone, a district like a municipality or county that includes many towns of South Ethiopia Region (formerly Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region-SNNPR).
Coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe are typically multi-generational small-scale landholders, sometimes farming only a few acres. Most coffees in Yirgacheffe are sold as cherry to centralized washing stations that help further separate flavor profiles.
Yirgacheffe is considered by many to be the birthplace of coffee and the coffee trees grown in the region are a naturally occurring mix of heirloom varieties cultivated among other species in coffee gardens and coffee forests. As part of the Gedeo Zone, Yirgacheffe is bordered to the south by Kochere, to the west by the Oromia Zone, to the north by Wenago, and to the east by Bule.