From source to sip
The story behind your next cup.
In the Gedeo highlands of southern Ethiopia, the Obese family has worked the same Yirgacheffe slopes for four generations. Their limited micro lot sits at nearly 2,000 meters, where cool mountain air slows the cherries and concentrates their sugars. The result is a cup that reads more like ripe summer fruit than coffee.
Yirgacheffe is the name that built Ethiopia's reputation as the birthplace of coffee. Tucked into the Gedeo Zone, its forest-garden farms grow coffee alongside food crops on steep, mineral-rich volcanic soil. The Obese family cultivates Wolisho, an indigenous landrace native to these southern highlands and prized for its capacity to carry bright, fruit-forward flavor when handled with care.
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The Coffee Story
The SourceFour Generations in Gedeo
Yirgacheffe is the name that built Ethiopia's reputation as the birthplace of coffee. Tucked into the Gedeo Zone, its forest-garden farms grow coffee alongside food crops on steep, mineral-rich volcanic soil. The Obese family cultivates Wolisho, an indigenous landrace native to these southern highlands and prized for its capacity to carry bright, fruit-forward flavor when handled with care.
At 1,944 meters, the cherries mature slowly and develop the dense sweetness that defines the region. The family picks selectively, taking only cherries at peak ripeness, then ferments and dries each small batch with the attention a micro lot demands. Coffee grown at this high altitude rewards patience with clarity and complexity in the cup.
The CraftSealed Fermentation, Slow Dry
This lot is processed as an anaerobic natural. Whole cherries rest in sealed, oxygen-free vessels before drying, a method that lets fermentation build distinctive fruit clarity and a winey depth you rarely find in conventionally processed coffee. The cherries then dry slowly on raised beds, the fruit's sugars settling into the bean. To understand how this differs from a clean washed lot, see our guide to natural and washed processing methods .
We roast this coffee to City+ in small batches at our Virginia Beach roastery. The lighter approach is deliberate. It protects the delicate floral and tropical character that the anaerobic ferment worked so hard to create, rather than burying it under roast.
The CupSummer Fruit in a Glass
The first sip lands on juicy watermelon and ripe pineapple, lifted by a clean snap of lime acidity. As it cools, grape and a soft winey sweetness move forward, the signature of a well-executed anaerobic ferment. The body stays light and silky, letting the fruit carry the cup from first sip to finish.
