Ethiopia Chelbesa Danche, Washed Kurume & Wolisho

About the Coffee

SNAP (Smallholder Farmers Alliance Program) works with around 800 producers in the Chelbesa Kebele of Gedeb, one of four coffee-growing districts in Ethiopia's Gedeo zone. The region sits at 2,200 meters above sea level, where smallholder farms are planted almost entirely with JARC varieties. Gedeb shares a zone with the well-known Yirgacheffe woreda and produces coffee from similarly small family plots. Subtext's importer, Quest, has been working with SNAP for three years, and this is the fourth year Subtext has purchased coffee from the same producer. Subtext bought 240 kg of this lot and gave it a cupping score of 86.75.

The two varieties here, Kurume and Wolisho, were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) in response to a wave of Coffee Berry Disease that hit Ethiopia in the 1960s. Both were bred specifically for disease resistance. Processing at the Chelbesa Danche station is overseen by Frew, the Special Prep Coordinator and Yirgacheffe Operations Manager for SNAP. Subtext's team visited the station in January 2024, spending several days in Gedeb with SNAP across multiple stations in the region.

When cherry arrives at the Danche station, it goes into water first for sorting, with floaters removed. The cherry is then de-pulped and left to dry ferment for 96 hours before being washed to remove the mucilage (the sticky fruit layer surrounding the seed). After washing, the parchment coffee is spread onto raised drying beds and dried for 12 to 14 days.

About Subtext

Subtext is a roastery based in Toronto, operating out of an industrial space at 130 Cawthra Ave in the city's west end. Their sourcing approach is built around transparency: every bag lists the producer's name, the specific station or farm, and the town of origin. They deliberately avoid broad regional labels that obscure where and from whom a coffee actually came. They don't blend coffees and don't roast dark, both choices tied to a stated goal of letting producers and their work remain visible.

On the roasting side, Subtext tracks moisture and density of green coffee before roasting, takes thermocouple readings throughout each roast, runs hundreds of color measurements to assess development and consistency, and uses refractometers to measure solubility and extraction after brewing. Profiles are evaluated blind and adjusted based on those tastings. Their sourcing runs through importers they've vetted for shared values around quality and fair pricing, Quest among them.