Country: Ethiopia
Field: Chelbesa, Gedeo
Producer: 400 smallfarmers of the area
Processing: Washed
Varieties: Mixed Heirloom
Altitude: 1950-2000m
Harvest: 2024
Distributor/Roastery: Good Life Coffee, Helsinki, Finland.
Perhaps most popular coffee of 2023 of Good Life Coffee, Danche, is making a return with the 2024 harvest! Just as high-quality and delicious, it offers a juicy and sweet cup of coffee. In its flavor, you can find ripe yellow fruit, citrus, floral notes, and honey.
This coffee comes from high altitudes, grown at 1950-2000 meters above sea level at the Danche washing station in the Gedeo region. It is produced by around 400 smallholder farmers in the area who bring their coffee cherries to the Danche washing station. Generally, higher altitudes correlate with better quality because the coffee cherries receive plenty of light without being stressed by excessive heat. This is evident in this coffee, which is exceptionally delicious and easy to enjoy! The coffee is grown organically, but due to the roastery lacking organic certification, it cannot be marketed/sold as such.
The region has rich soil that produces a large harvest. The smallholder farms in the area are about 1-2 hectares in size, with around 1800-2400 coffee trees per hectare. The trees produce about 3 kg of cherries each. After harvesting their ripe coffee cherries, the farmers bring them to the Danche washing station, where the coffee is processed for sale. The coffee is hand-sorted and pulped to separate the bean from the cherry. Then, it undergoes wet fermentation for 72 hours and is washed in channels where it is also sorted by weight. Low-quality beans float and are separated from the heavier, better-quality beans. After washing, the beans soak in water for another two hours before being dried for about 10 days. During drying, defective beans are removed by hand.
The Danche washing station is owned by SNAP Coffee, founded in Addis Ababa in 2008. It is a company focused on high-quality specialty coffee, operating three washing stations in Chelelektu, Kochere District of the Gedeo Zone, and two partner stations in Uraga and Nensebo. SNAP has three main principles: producing consistently high-quality specialty coffee, transferring knowledge and skills to the smallholder farmers they work with, and promoting waste recycling. Additionally, they invest in the community by supporting schools, building roads, etc.
