Worka Chelbessa, Ethiopia (2026)

The kebele (meaning community) of Worka Chelbessa is located in Gedeb, which is the southernmost part of the Gedeo region.

For the last decade, the area of Worka Chelbessa has become well known for producing spectacular coffees, which is why coffee producer Negusse Debela wanted to invest in this area when he established SNAP Specialty Coffee in 2008.

Yirgacheffe is famous for putting washed coffee on the map in Ethiopia decades ago. People fell in love with the floral and citric profiles that the washing process brought out in the coffees of Yirgacheffe, and almost instantly this small town became famous for its coffee.

The Worka Chelbessa washing station utilizes the traditional underwater fermentation commonly used in Ethiopia, but has also experimented with dry fermentation. In underwater fermentation the coffee is fully submerged in water for 36 to 48 hours normally, but the process can take longer. In dry fermentation the coffee is pulped and left to ferment without being underwater for 36-48 hours. After fermentation the coffee is dried for 10-14 days on raised beds.

Gedeb is the southern most woreda (district) of the Gedeo Zone, and in comparison to other areas, coffee is somewhat newer to this area. Many farms here have only been growing coffee for one or two generations, and much of the coffee is only 20-30 years old. Farms in this area tend to be slightly larger than in the northern part of Yirgacheffe, but are still relatively small- averaging around 1.5 -2 hectares. (However, a few larger farms that are 5-20 hectares do exist.)