Lilac Dream

It's been a few years since we last brought you coffee from Lalesa, and I'm thrilled to have it back. I tracked the quality coming out of this kebele (neighbourhood) in the Gedeb district for a few seasons before we finally bought it, and when we did, it was floral and juicy and everything I'd hoped for.

The washing station is owned and run by Alemayehu Tilahun. Alemayehu was born in Gedeb town and got his start in coffee 14 years ago. Ask him what his success is built on and he'll point to one thing: his relationships with the community. In 2019 he built his own wet mill, with the goal of buying only ripe, red cherries from the farmers in his village. This season, 397 farmers contributed their cherries to this lot.

He's a farmer, too. Alemayehu grows coffee on 15 hectares of his own at 2,150 metres, and he oversees the whole operation, from the farm through to the processing, together with his wife and family. Like most of Gedeb, his land is a dense, layered semi-forest, with coffee growing in the shade of false banana trees. That shade, plus the altitude and the cool nights, is a big part of why Gedeb produces some of the best coffee in all of Ethiopia.

The beans are a mix of two local landrace varieties, Wolisho and Dega. These are the classic varieties of the Gedeo zone, formally known as "Yirgacheffe". If you sort through them, you'll see some larger beans (Wolisho) and some that are a bit smaller (Dega).

When we last had Lalesa, Alemayehu was working with Snap, the exporter where my amazing friend Abenezer Asfaw built his reputation for quality. Abenezer went on to start his own export company, Origin Land, and since November 2024 he's been with Berhe Hagos Coffee. Lalesa is a station he knows well, and it's great to see it back on our table through him.

Abenezer has a real knack for building relationships with washing station owners, so much so that they’re willing to follow him to a new export company.

In the cup, this is everything we love about Gedeb: floral and delicate, with jasmine tea, peach and apricot, and a creamy body. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

As always, this green was frozen immediately upon arrival.

-Phil