This lot comes to us from the Duwancho washing station in Sidama.
Coffee is soaked for two hours here before being placed on raised beds. They believe this extended soaking time adds a level of sweetness they hadn't experienced prior to adding this step to the processing.
During drying they try to keep the thickness of cherries as thin as possible to ensure consistency. They place the beds in areas of good airflow and dry slowly for up to 30 days.
SPECIAL PREP NATURAL
With the special prep the cherries are collected from a limited number of small-holder farmers.
90% of the cherries are perfectly picked, the right red color, 5% semi red and 5% overripe.
All of it is processed and stored separately from other lots. They generally produce a very small number of bags in this way every year.
In most instances, cherries used to produce these lots are collected from a day lot (picked in one day).
Natural coffees in Ethiopia are first sorted for ripeness and quality before being rinsed clean. Then they are spread on raised drying beds or tables, where they will be rotated constantly throughout the course of drying. Drying can take an average of 8–25 days, depending on the weather.
(In partnership with Cafe Imports)