Duwancho is a microlot processed at Daye Bensa’s Gatta Farm. The farm lies in the village of Shantawene in Bensa, Sidama, at 2,120 to 2,210 metres, in the middle of a natural forest of century-old trees, waterfalls and rivers. Co-founder Mulugeta Dukamo discovered the then still wild piece of forest; the first coffee trees were planted in 2013, followed by the drying station in 2017.
Today Gatta is much more than a farm: alongside the drying station there is a lodge and a training centre. Harvesting, quality control and processing are in the hands of people from the surrounding area, many of them women.
The cherries for this lot come from the neighbouring village of Bombe, where the coffee grows at 1,920 to 2,020 metres. In total, 1,022 farmers deliver to the station. The beans are very dense and mostly small (screen 13 to 14), a sign of slow maturation at altitude.
Only carefully selected, ripe cherries are used for the natural. On arrival they are floated in water to remove lower-quality cherries and then dry for 14 to 18 days on African raised beds. The coffee is then hulled locally and taken to Addis Ababa for final sorting. Harvest runs from December to February.
In the cup, Duwancho is fruity and full-bodied: blueberry, stone fruit and a jammy sweetness.
