DANCHE / ETHIOPIA
Danche / Ethiopia
【Espresso roast】
Strawberry, Raisin, Dark chocolate.
Notes of strawberry fruitiness, raisin flavor, and a lingering dark chocolate finish.
Country of origin: Ethiopia
Region: Gedeo > Gedeb > Worka > Danche
Processing station: Danche Washing Station
Established: 2019
Producers: 763 smallholder farmers
Average farm size: 0.5-2ha
Varietals: Dega, Wolisho
Processing method: Washed
Altitude: 1950-2200masl
Harvest period: 2023-2024
This year marks our fifth purchase from the Danche Washing Station. It has become a staple and an indispensable coffee for us.
The coffee starts with a vibrant strawberry-like acidity, followed by the concentrated sweetness of dried fruits. The rich flavor, reminiscent of concentrated fruit or sugar-coated notes, transitions into cacao and dark chocolate-like aromas that linger. This espresso features a combination of berry and chocolate, with a slightly wintry impression. When combined with milk or hot water, flavors reminiscent of grapes or tea can be experienced. It’s a coffee that offers various expressions depending on how it's enjoyed and is outstanding again this year.
When visiting the site for cupping, we blind-cup the coffees to avoid any bias from names or preconceptions. However, after five years, we have become familiar with Danche's profile, and there is a high chance we can identify it based on its flavor and balance. Whenever we suspect, "Is this Danche?" and find a clean cup with great quality, we feel a sense of relief.
It is essential to remember that coffee is an agricultural product, and the climate varies yearly. The environment surrounding coffee production in Ethiopia continues to change rapidly. Despite this, sourcing high-quality coffee from this washing station over the past five years is something we deeply appreciate.
This year, we once again sourced coffee from Danche Washing Station through our partners at Nordic Approach / Tropiq. As usual, we visited Ethiopia in late February for purchasing, conducting cupping at the Tropiq lab, and visiting SNAP COFFEE's dry mill. We updated ourselves on the coffee production conditions in Ethiopia and are gradually gaining a deeper understanding of coffee production in this country.
The Danche Washing Station, established in the small village of Danche in 2019, is an environmentally-conscious facility that holds organic certification within Ethiopia. There are several stations in the area called Chelbesa Washing Stations, but we specifically refer to this one as Danche to distinguish it.
Previously, the station sourced coffee cherries daily from 170 neighboring farmers during the harvest season. Today, 763 smallholder farmers are involved, indicating a significant increase in scale. The farms where these cherries are grown are known for dense, semi-forest vegetation, with banana trees and shade-grown coffee, creating a healthy, organic environment in harmony with nature.
All coffee cherries are hand-picked and meticulously sorted before processing. Using standard disc pulpers, the cherries are de-pulped and density sorted by floating in water. The pulped parchment is then placed in tanks to ferment for 72 hours, removing the mucilage. The fermentation tanks are made of ceramic, which enhances the clarity and uniformity of the coffee.
After fermentation, the parchment undergoes thorough washing in washing channels, where density-based sorting is also performed. This traditional method is commonly used in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa, with higher-density beans sinking to the bottom, resulting in top-grade quality. The beans are sorted into Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, and we only purchase the highest Grade 1 beans.
The parchment is then soaked in clean water for two hours before being transferred to raised African beds, spread evenly to a thickness of 2 centimeters, and sun-dried for 10 days to two weeks. Once drying is complete, the parchment is moved to covered warehouses, where defective beans are hand-picked over 2 to 4 hours, completing the final processing stage.
