Chelchele - Natural

Origin: Ethiopia

Farm/Region: Chelchele

Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate, Grapes, Baked Apple & Raisin

Producer: Various Small holders

Varietal: Mixed Heirloom

Processing: Natural

Altitude: 1100 MASL

Roast Profile: Espresso

Recommended Recipe: 20g in/44g out Total Extraction time: 27-30 seconds

About The Coffee:  This coffee comes from the Chelchele washing station, which is in the kebele, or village, of Chelchele, in the words, or district, of Kochere, in the Yirgacheffe region. Chelchele coffees tend to have a nice backbone of sweetness from toffee and/or soft nuts like almond, with a floral and citrus overtone.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.

This Yirgacheffe from Axil Coffee Roasters draws from multiple small-holder farms across Ethiopia's celebrated Yirgacheffe region. The natural processing method—where fruit dries intact around the seed—imparts the darker, more fruit-forward profile evident in the roaster's tasting notes of dark chocolate, grapes, baked apple, and raisin. The mixed heirloom varietals contribute complexity to this lot, grown at 1100 meters above sea level.

Natural-processed coffees typically display heavier dried fruit and cocoa character compared to washed counterparts, a signature present here through the grape and raisin notes. The interplay of chocolate and baked spice elements suggests a roast that balances the process's inherent fruit-forward tendencies with deeper, caramelized sweetness. Explore these flavor dimensions further using the flavor wheel.