Chelelektu

The Chelelektu washing station was built in 2010 and processes up to 950,000kg of ripe coffee cherries each year from around 363 farmers. The Washing Station occupies nearly 3 hectares of land in Chelelektu kebele, a town in the Kochere district of the Yirgacheffe coffee area of the Gedeo Zone. Since 2014, the team here has improved infrastructure, focusing on enhancing its speciality offerings. Farmers in this region have grown coffee for generations. They are true specialists and are committed to using the best chemical-free cultivation methods. These cultivation methods produce an already standout product, and Chelelektu makes the most of this by adhering to stringent post-harvest standards. For washed lots such as this one, cherries are pulped and then fermented for 36 to 72 hours, depending on weather conditions. Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is thoroughly rinsed in clean water and passed through grading channels that separate each lot into two grades based on density. After washing, coffee beans are dried for 18 days on 134 raised beds in the sun.