Ethiopia Negele Gorbitu Natural Anaerobic

GrainPro packaging 60 kg

In the heart of the legendary Yirgacheffe region, in the Gedeo zone of southern Ethiopia, lies the Negele Gorbitu cooperative – a community of small-scale farmers that embodies the traditional Ethiopian way of coffee cultivation. The cooperative was founded in 1975 and named after the local village Negele and the Gorbitu district, where farmers first united with a vision of jointly processing and selling their coffee.

Negele Gorbitu is part of the larger YCFCU (Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union) organization, which brings together more than two dozen cooperatives from the region. This gives members access to better infrastructure, export channels, education, and fair prices. The cooperative itself brings together around 1,100 small-scale growers, most of whom farm on small garden farms less than one hectare in size. These farmers primarily grow indigenous Ethiopian heirloom varieties, entirely without chemical inputs, often in combination with growing fruits, spices, and shade vegetation.

A typical feature is hand harvesting – each cherry is picked carefully and selectively. All cherries are then brought to the cooperative's wet mill, where traditional washed processing takes place: fermentation in water tanks, washing, and drying on raised African beds. This process is not only demanding but also slow – each batch is monitored and dried with maximum care, achieving extraordinary purity and complexity in the resulting cup.

The Negele Gorbitu cooperative has long maintained a high quality and reputation among specialty roasters worldwide – it is known for its stability and consistency, but also for its care for the community. A portion of the proceeds from coffee exports is invested back into village development: education, access infrastructure, and ensuring drinking water.

The story of this coffee is thus deeper than just a flavor profile. It is a story of solidarity, self-sufficiency, and the deep cultural roots of coffee in everyday life. In a cup of Negele Gorbitu coffee, we taste not only the terroir of Yirgacheffe but also the result of cooperation, care, and faith in a common future.

This particular lot was processed as Natural Anaerobic, where ripe and sorted cherries were placed in stainless steel containers and left to ferment anaerobically for 4 days. Subsequently, the coffee was spread on African beds, where it dried for approximately 15-18 days.

Flavor profile: Skittles candy, lychee, floral aroma, juicy and sweet acidity, with a finish of black tea with lemon

Country of Origin: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe, Gedeo

Farm: Various delivering to Negele Gorbitu Cooperation

Farmer: Various delivering to Negele Gorbitu Cooperation

Altitude: 1995-2020 m.a.s.l.

Variety: Kurume, Dega, Wolisho

Processing: Anaerobic

Cupping Score: 88+

Crop: 25/26