Danche

About This Coffee

We’re kicking off Ethiopia season with this absolute peach of a coffee (literally and metaphorically) from the Danche washing station. Visiting Danche was the highlight of Tom’s trip to Ethiopia back in January. The station is situated on the crest of a small hill near to the famed Chelbesa washing station, and receives a consistent cool breeze, providing relief from the otherwise searing heat. Sitting atop the hill is an enormous kararo tree that casts a huge shadow across the ground at the top of the station, providing a natural place for the workers to take shelter during the heat of the day. Overseeing operations is station manager Ferew Ayalew who has a background in agronomy, and oversees a clearly well-maintained and managed operation. After explaining the different processes at the station, and guiding us along the drying beds, we were treated to a delicious lunch of the traditional fermented flatbread injera, made from the native teff grain, topped with a dahl-like thick stew of chickpea and broad bean called shiro. On delivery, the ripe coffee cherry is pulped and graded, before being fermented underwater in tanks for an average of 72 hours. The coffee is then graded again in washing channels, separating out the denser, higher quality beans that constitute this lot. The resulting parchment coffee is then soaked in clean water, and dried on raised beds for 8-20 days until the optimal moisture level has been reached. It’s surely no coincidence that the combination of perfect drying conditions and impeccable attention to detail has resulted in one of the most delicious and expressive washed Ethiopian coffees that we have tasted. It’s elegant and complex, with notes of peach, oolong tea and meadowsweet.