This coffee comes from Banko Chelchele village in Gedeb Woreda, Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The producing area is part of the wider Yirgacheffe coffee-growing region and is located within the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region of Ethiopia. The coffee is grown at an altitude of approximately 1,900 to 2,300 meters above sea level. The producing community consists of smallholder farmers, with coffee forming an important part of local agricultural activity and household income. Farming in the area is closely connected with local knowledge, family traditions, and community-based harvesting practices. During the harvest season, coffee cherries are hand-picked with attention to ripeness and quality. The cherries are typically picked selectively, with an emphasis on ripe cherry selection before processing.
The Banko Chelchele processing site is organized to handle coffee-processing activities throughout the season. The site employs more than 210 workers who manage processing operations. The operation maintains a vertically integrated relationship with farmers in the Chelchele area, including financial support, subcontracting opportunities, and premium payments. The processing site focuses on receiving, sorting, drying, and preparing coffee cherries according to the processing method required for each lot.
After primary processing, final processing and cleaning are carried out at a subcontracted processing and warehouse facility in the Germent area of Addis Ababa. At the dry mill, the coffee is processed by category, density, and screen size. Additional sorting and cleaning are performed to remove unwanted debris, stones, and other foreign material. Once processed, the finished clean coffee is packed into jute bags and wrapped in Ecotact plastic bags.
