F E A T U R E D C O F F E E T H I S M O N T H

This amazing Grade 1 Natural coffee comes from Daanisa, Guji, Ethiopia.

Daanisa is a sub-kebele in the Guji region. The name comes from the local name for an umbrella-shaped native tree. The Daanisa tree has medicinal properties and is used for wide range of construction purposes. Perhaps most importantly, it is used to shade the region’s coffee trees.

Farmers selectively handpick cherries and deliver it to the washing station or to local collection points. At the washing station, coffee is sorted to ensure that only the ripest cherries are processed. The collection agent oversees the quality of the cherries before processing.

Natural coffees, such as this one, are floated in water first to remove any underweight or damaged beans and any debris. Only the cherries that sink are accepted for the higher qualities. Floaters are kept aside to be processed as lower grades. After cleaning, cherries are carried straight to raised beds, where they are spread into a single layer for drying. They are raked regularly and sorted to remove any damaged cherries that may have made it through the initial sorting.

After a few days, washing station staff will increase the thickness of the layer to slow the drying and stabilize humidity. Total drying time can take up to three weeks under cloudy conditions, or two weeks should the weather be sunny.

Region: Guji
Town: Oddo Shakiso, Daanisa
Farm/Station: Dambi Uddo Washing Station
Owner: Various farmers deliver coffee to Dambi Uddo Station
Farm Size: < 5 hectares on average
Altitude: 2,000-2,100 m.a.s.l
Grade: G1
Process: Natural
Variety: JARC varieties and local Landraces
(for noting: JARC varieties are those that were developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC), one of Ethiopia's agricultural federal research centres, for increased resistance to pests and higher yields. There are around 40 such varieties.
Local Landraces are coffees that are grown wild in Ethiopian Forests).