Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb Worka Sakaro

On the eastern edge of the Gedeo plateau, the Gedeb district sits where the highlands of southern Ethiopia start to feel the thin, cool air of two thousand meters. This is washed Yirgacheffe at its most precise: lemongrass, raspberry, and ripe peach, built by 410 smallholders and the careful hands at Worka Sakaro.

OriginEthiopia RegionGedeb, Yirgacheffe Elevation2,000m ProcessWashed, Grade 1 VarietyEthiopian Heirloom The Source

Gedeb, on the Quiet Edge of Yirgacheffe

Ethiopia is the birthplace of arabica, and Yirgacheffe is the name that put its high-grown washed coffees on every serious roaster's map. Gedeb sits just south of the central Yirgacheffe towns, on the eastern rim of the Gedeo plateau. It was historically more remote than its famous neighbors, and it has spent the last decade earning its own reputation for clean, floral, refined cups. Coffee here is not a side crop. Of the district's farmland, more than half is given to coffee, and the trees grow in the dense shade and volcanic soil that define the region.

This lot draws on 410 contributing farmers, most working plots between one and ten hectares. At 2,000 meters, cherries ripen slowly in the cool mountain air, concentrating sugars and the bright, tea-like acidity that washed Yirgacheffe is known for. The Worka Sakaro washing station gathers their ripe cherry and turns hundreds of small harvests into one cohesive, traceable Grade 1 coffee.

The Craft

Forty-Eight Hours of Patience, Then Twelve Days in the Sun

Worka Sakaro was established in 2011 by Mijane Woresa, who later brought his son Daniel into the operation and secured an export license to ship the station's coffee under its own name. The work is deliberate. Cherry is hand-sorted and floated to remove underripe and damaged fruit, then depulped. The beans ferment for 48 hours and are washed clean in channels, a method that strips away the fruit and leaves the bright, transparent character that defines the washed process. From there, parchment dries slowly on raised beds for 12 to 15 days, hand-sorted again as it cures.

We roast this Gedeb lot to City+, a medium-light level that protects the coffee's delicate florals and citrus rather than burying them under roast. The goal is to let two thousand meters of slow growth and two weeks of careful drying speak for themselves in the cup.

Lemongrass Raspberry Peach Jasmine BodyLight to Medium AcidityBright The Cup

Bright, Sweet, and Unmistakably Yirgacheffe

The first sip leads with lemongrass and a lift of citrus, the kind of clean, above-average acidity that washed Yirgacheffe trades on. Underneath, ripe raspberry and soft peach bring the sweetness, while jasmine and a faint floral spice carry through the finish. The body is light to medium and silky, the cup transparent from front to back.

This is a coffee that rewards attention. Served black and a touch below piping hot, the florals and fruit open up and the sweetness lingers well after the cup is empty.

Find Your Fix

Delicate and aromatic coffees like this Gedeb shine in pour-over. Reach for a Chemex, V60, or Beehouse to show off the florals and bright acidity, or an Aeropress for a quick, concentrated cup. It makes a clean, refreshing cold brew as well. Explore the rest of our coffee beans and find your fix.

Roasted in small batches at our Virginia Beach roastery.

Packaged in reusable glass mason jars, returned locally for reuse. Solar-roasted.

Virginia Beach, VA