Habtamu Fikadu Chelbesa Washed | Ethiopia

Ethiopia — Habtamu Fikadu Chelbesa Washing Station 74110 & 74112 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 White Champagne Peaches • 🌼 White Florals • 🍋 Lime

DETAILS

• Producer: Habtamu Fikadu Aga (Kuri Mountain Coffee)
• Washing Station: Chelbesa
• Region: Guji, Ethiopia
• Varietal: 74110 & 74112
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 2,000 masl
• Harvest: 25/26
• Price Paid: $16.17 USD/kg

INTRO A third year working with Habtamu Fikadu and his coffees from Chelbesa — sparkling and floral, best described as white champagne peaches, white florals, and lime. In the cup: white champagne peaches, white florals, and lime.

THE PRODUCER Habtamu Fikadu Aga is the general manager of Kuri Mountain Coffee, an exporting company in Ethiopia. He works alongside Aaga Dinsa to oversee production of landrace varietals like 74110 and 74112. This specific washed lot comes from 140 smallholders in the Chelbesa washing station area.

74110 is a locally selected subvariety of Ethiopian Heirloom, developed in the 1970s at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) for resistance to coffee berry disease, selected from a mother tree in the Bishari village, Oromia. The trees are short and compact, with small leaves and cherries. 74112 comes from the Metu Bishari selections made in the forests of the Illubabor Zone in western Ethiopia in 1974, also selected by JARC for its disease resistance.

THE PROCESS At the company's washing stations, cherries are pulped and undergo submerged fermentation lasting 48–72 hours depending on temperature. After washing, the parchment rests in water for another 12 hours before drying on raised beds for 10–12 days.

This careful, consistent method is what underpins the quality across all of Habtamu's lots — building the sparkling clarity and white floral character that define this cup.

THE CUP Sparkling and clean — stonefruit notes reminiscent of white champagne peaches, with a white florality and juicy red fruit sweetness like apple and pomegranate. Light-bodied, with a sparkling finish.

Flavour Notes 🍑 White Champagne Peaches 🌼 White Florals 🍋 Lime