Ethiopia Lalesa Filter

Lalesa is a drying station in the Gedeb district of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone, the high southern corner of the famous Yirgacheffe region, at around 2,200 metres above sea level. It belongs to Ephtah, the women-led exporter founded by Wubit Bekele, which bought the bare land in July 2023 and had a warehouse and drying beds in place by that September.

Today Lalesa is the largest drying site in Gedeb, and Ephtah puts its growth back into the community. The company now runs two daycares that look after 85 local children, backs women-led businesses through its Ama Commitment Initiative and helps families earn in the off-season with beekeeping, poultry and handicrafts.

Back on the drying beds, this natural lot of 74110 and 74112, varieties selected from Ethiopian forest coffee in 1974, shows the deep, dark side of Gedeb. Because the cherries dry whole, with the fruit still around the seed, the cup picks up a heavy body and plenty of ripe fruit: black grape, dark cherry and fig, settling into cacao nibs. This specialty coffee is rich and jammy as a filter, and dense and chocolatey as an espresso, with enough body to stand up well to milk.