Lalesa: The Station and Its Community

The Lalesa washing station is located in Gedeb — the southernmost part of the Gedeo region of Ethiopia, and one of the finest coffee-growing areas in the Yirgacheffe zone. The Gedeo people, who have lived in this area for generations, are stewards of a semi-forest coffee farming tradition in which coffee grows beneath native shade trees in dense, biodiverse agroforestry systems. The community's staple food is enset (false banana), and coffee farming is woven into the social and economic fabric of daily life. The area celebrates its main annual New Year festival on January 18th, and the community is predominantly Christian Protestant.

The washing station was built by Alemayehu Tilahun 18 years ago with a specific mission: to purchase cherries exclusively from the nearby farmers of Lalesa, building long-term community relationships rather than buying opportunistically from the open market. Alemayehu, a native of the Gedeo Zone with over 20 years in specialty coffee, has cultivated these relationships into one of the most consistent and respected community lots in the Gedeb area. Dear Green Coffee (Scotland), who carry the lot, awarded it 87 specialty points and described it as delivering "stone fruit, spice, dried mango, sweet lemongrass syrup, and brown spices" — a layered, complex expression of Gedeb's high-altitude washed terroir.

The Process: Traditional Washed With Long Fermentation

Lalesa's washed processing follows the traditional Ethiopian underwater fermentation protocol. Cherries are handpicked at peak ripeness by farming community members, sorted on arrival at the station, and depulped. The pulped parchment then ferments in the underwater method for 72 hours — notably longer than many stations' 24–48 hour protocols — before being soaked in clean water and transferred to raised drying beds for 8–20 days. The extended underwater fermentation at Lalesa is a deliberate choice that builds the slight winey complexity and syrupy mouthfeel that Foundry Coffee Roasters describe as making the lot "a real joy to drink."

For natural process lots, the station ferments in barrels for 9 days before transitioning to raised-bed drying for 13–18 days, then stores at the site warehouse before shipping to the Moplaco dry mill in Addis Ababa.

The Ephtah Project: Women in Ethiopian Coffee

Ephtah Specialty Coffee — the sourcing entity behind this lot — is explicitly dedicated to building sustainable, collaborative supply chains that benefit farmers and their communities, with a particular focus on recognising and promoting women's roles in driving social and economic change in the Ethiopian coffee sector. In a country where women perform the majority of agricultural labour but are frequently excluded from ownership, decision-making, and pricing negotiations, Ephtah's mission is commercially differentiated and socially meaningful.

"Ephtah Specialty Coffee is dedicated to building sustainable supply chains that benefit customers, farmers, and communities — recognising the pivotal role of women in driving social and economic change in Ethiopia." — Foundry Coffee Roasters

Roasters Carrying Gedeb Lalesa

Brew Guide