• Ethiopia - Chelbesa - Red Honey
  • Ethiopia - Chelbesa - Red Honey
  • Ethiopia - Chelbesa - Red Honey
  • Ethiopia - Chelbesa - Red Honey

Ethiopia - Chelbesa - Red Honey

Regular price R 350.00
Unit price per

Origin: Chelbesa, Yirgacheffe Precision

This coffee comes from Chelbesa, one of the most technically respected sites in Yirgacheffe, where altitude, forest cover, and processing discipline converge to produce some of Ethiopia’s most refined modern profiles. Grown in a cool, slow-maturing environment, Chelbesa coffees are prized for floral clarity, balanced sweetness, and structural elegance.

This lot was selected for SNAP Specialty Coffee, scoring 87.25 SCA, placing it firmly in high-tier specialty coffee.

Processing Infrastructure: Danche Wet Mill

In 2019, SNAP Specialty Coffee built a dedicated wet mill in a small pocket called Danche, nestled within the lush, forest-covered Chelbesa Village. The mill was designed to serve 476 smallholder farmers from the surrounding area, enabling precise, local processing while preserving traceability and quality.

This investment marked a turning point for Chelbesa — shifting from fragmented processing to centralised, quality-controlled post-harvest handling.

Process: Red Honey, Forest-Slowed

Once hand-harvested, ripe cherries are floated to remove defects and ensure density selection. The cherries are then depulped, removing the outer skin and approximately 50% of the mucilage.

Instead of fully washing, the coffee is:

  • Dried with mucilage intact

  • Spread on raised African beds

  • Dried slowly in partial shade under forest canopy

This controlled, low-stress drying environment allows gentle fermentation to occur on the parchment, building sweetness and mouthfeel while preserving aromatics.

After drying, the coffee is hulled, rested, and stored for export.

Varieties: Ethiopian Landrace, Dialled

Produced from local Ethiopian landrace varieties, this lot showcases:

  • High floral aromatic density

  • Complex citrus and stone fruit acidity

  • Exceptional transparency when well processed

Honey processing enhances texture and sweetness without masking varietal character.

Cup Experience: Sweet Structure, Floral Lift

At 87.25 SCA, the cup profile is polished and intentional:

  • Jasmine and white florals

  • Stone fruit and citrus sweetness

  • Honeyed, silky mouthfeel

  • Clean, tea-like finish

This is not a heavy honey coffee — it’s refined, balanced, and resolved.

Why This Coffee Works

Because everything here is intentional:

  • Purpose-built wet mill

  • Controlled mucilage retention

  • Shaded drying for aromatic protection

  • Processing that enhances, not dominates

It’s modern Ethiopian coffee with restraint.

Brewing Mindset

Treat this as a sweetness-forward, high-clarity Ethiopian:

  • Moderate ratios preserve florals

  • Slightly coarser grind than washed Yirgacheffe

  • Gentle extraction wins

Filter methods highlight elegance; espresso delivers perfumed sweetness and structure.

The Bigger Picture

Chelbesa Red Honey represents the evolution of Ethiopian specialty coffee — local infrastructure, farmer inclusion, and precision processing, all without losing origin character.

Quietly confident.
Technically sound.
Deeply expressive.