Ethiopia – Sidama, Wondo

Bean Basics

How we are using this coffee:

Ethiopia is synonymous with specialty coffee. The volume of coffee we buy from this origin is in the top three. As a single origin these coffees sing at lighter roast levels, and shine through blends in low percentages to add a pop of acidity to the cup.

About this coffee

The Aleto Wondo district is in the Sidama zone of Ethiopia. Grown by the various small holder producers in the Aleta Wondo region at 1,950 – 2000 meters. 1022 farmers contribute to this washing station. Wondo Dukamo Daye Bensa washing station is located in a fertile and forested area near Lake Abaya in the upper Gidabo River basin, not far from the sources of the Ganale Dorya and Dawa Rivers in the Aleta Wendo Zone of the Sidama Regional State.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.

Red Cherries are going to be floated so unripe cherries and dirt could be removed. Then the cherries are going to be depulped in a machinery and transferred to fermentation tanks. Depending on the weather the pulped beans are going to stay in the tanks from 24-36 hours. This process helps to detach the mucilage surrounding the beans. Then it is going to be washed on the tunnels with almost drinkable clean water. After the mucilage is cleaned the beans are transferred into raised African beds to dry. 

At the drying beds the cherries will be rotated for even dryness. And will be stored when they reach the desired moisture level.

The washing stations serve as many as several hundred to sometimes a thousand or more producers, who deliver cherry throughout the harvest season: The blending of these cherries into day lots makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know precisely whose coffee winds up in which bags on what day, making traceability to the producer difficult. We do, however, make every available effort to source coffee from the same washing stations every year, through our export partners and their connections with mills and washing stations.

Typically farmers in this region don’t have access to and therefore do not utilize fertilizers or pesticides in the production of coffee.

Roast Events

Roast profile recorded on an MCR-2D