Ethiopia Chelchele Rue Co-Ferment

This coffee comes from smallholders in the Chelchele area, part of the Gedeb district in southern Gedeo Zone, where some of Ethiopia’s most complex and aromatic naturals come from year after year. Gedeb is a unique area dense with coffee growers and processors. The coffee was processed at a central site in Banko Chelchele, one of the district’s most prolific coffee areas.  

This very special process involves an anaerobic fermentation with added local rue, also known as tena adam, which is a widely appreciated herb in traditional Ethiopian medicine as well as a common garnish for coffee brewed in a traditional jebena. Both the fermentation and the added fresh herb are used to create a transformed cup profile.

Rue is a native plant to Ethiopia and has a lot of cultural importance to the country. You’ll often be served a small branch of it with thing elliptical shaped leaves when ordering coffee. The idea is to stir the leaves in your cup to allow the aromatics to warm up and seep into the coffee.