Description
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Dumerso Gr1
Dumerso Washing Station
Location
Dilla, Kochere District, Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region, Ethiopia.
In the Cup
Black Tea • Lemon • Mango
Processing
Washed
Varieties
Kudhume, Welisho, Dego
Altitude
1,600–2,400 MASL
TRACEABILITY
Sourced from around Dilla in Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone, this coffee is processed at the privately owned Dumerso Washing Station. The station works with approximately 800 smallholder farmers, each cultivating local heirloom coffee varieties on farms of less than one hectare.
STORY
The Coffee
Coffee is the principal source of income for families in the growing communities surrounding Dumerso, accounting for more than 90% of household earnings in the area.
Farming remains largely traditional, with coffee commonly grown alongside food crops. This intercropping approach makes efficient use of limited land while providing additional food for farming families. Most farms operate with minimal external inputs, using little pesticide and relying mainly on compost made from previous harvests. Much of the work, from cultivation to harvest, is carried out by farmers and their families.
The Art of Production
Farmers deliver ripe coffee cherries to Dumerso Washing Station, where they are sorted before being depulped. The beans then undergo 36–48 hours of fermentation before being washed.
The coffee, still enclosed in its parchment, is spread in thin layers across raised drying beds. During the initial days, it is turned every two to three hours to encourage even drying. Depending on weather conditions, drying takes approximately 12–15 days, until the beans reach a moisture content of 11.5%.
The dried coffee is then transported to Addis Ababa for hulling, sorting and preparation for export.
