Coffee enthusiasts may be familiar with the legend of how coffee came to be discovered in Ethiopia.  It is said that around 850 AD, after consuming the red berries on a particular tree, a herder’s goats became so energetic that they wouldn’t sleep at night. The herder brought these berries to a local monastery, where the monks claimed them to be of the devil and threw them into the fire. The smell of roasting coffee soon filled the space, prompting the monks to rake the seeds out of the fire and soak them in hot water to preserve the flavor.  That night, they consumed the beverage and discovered the subsequent energy fueled their prayers and vowed to drink the concoction daily.  Today, Ethiopia is Africa’s top coffee producer and one of the highest quality coffee growers in the world, cultivating over 10,000 varietals. Coffee is not just a commodity to be exported either, as half of the coffee grown in Ethiopia is enjoyed by the country’s residents and holds significant cultural prominence.  A prevalent national phrase is “Buna dabo naw,” which translates to “coffee is our bread,” indicating the significance coffee holds in Ethiopian culture.

The southern area of the country is where we find the Yirgacheffe region, located in a narrow section of highland plateau called the Gedeo Zone, named after the local indigenous community. Lush vegetation, optimal moisture, tropical climate, and high altitudes create ideal conditions for producing some of the finest Arabica in the world.  Beans bearing the Yirgacheffe appellation are grown at elevations between 1,700 and 2,200 meters above sea level, resulting in longer maturation times which allow the berries to absorb more flavor, producing the floral, fruity, balanced profile that makes Yirgacheffe so coveted.

Just north of the town of Yirga Chefe proper is the Dumerso washing station.  Otherwise known as wet mills, washing stations are a crucial part of coffee processing infrastructure. Coffee farmers bring their handpicked harvests to these central facilities where coffee cherries are processed to separate the bean from the fruit.  Dumerso is special for another reason: It is owned and operated by a woman, Hirut Berhanu, who works with 750+ female-owned smallholder farms and employs 95% women during the harvest season.

Hirut possesses coffee knowledge acquired over many years, having participated in the country’s grading and export marketplace during her time as a member of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, where most of Ethiopia’s coffee is traded. The exchange’s formation is widely credited with modernizing the nation’s economy by connecting small farmers to markets. The Dumerso station had been established in 1998 but was never fully operational. Hirut acquired the mill in 2010, and by 2013 she had completely transformed it into a fully functional business.  In 2014, Hirut and her sister Mahder created Dumerso Industrial Trading PLC, where beans are milled, roasted, and exported under one entity, empowering the women to sell locally-produced coffees directly to the international market. Despite 75% of domestic coffee production labor being composed of women, they only receive 34% of the income generated (per the Food and Agriculture Organization). Enterprises like Dumerso are a monumental step forward for equality in the industry.

At Dumerso, coffee is first depulped and the parchment is floated for density, where beans that are less dense and lower quality float to the top.  Parchment coffee is where every layer of the fruit has been removed during wet processing except for the paper-like covering surrounding the bean.  Next comes fermentation, where the beans soak in open tanks of water from 36 to 48 hours. Fermentation is a critical step in the processing chain, where the chemical reaction between the sugars in the coffee cherries and the immersion water amplifies the nuanced flavors of the coffee bean, balancing acidity and body.  Once the fermentation water is drained and the parchment coffee is rinsed, the clean parchment is moved to raised patio beds to dry, which can take 9 to 11 days.

The wet processing technique used at the Dumerso washing station is reserved for higher quality coffee that yields a greater market price, which has put Dumerso in the favorable position of passing benefits onto farmers.  The station recently attained both organic and Rainforest Alliance certification, labels that command higher prices.  Hirut and Mahder are building a new business using the by-product of coffee parchment to make pressed firewood, reducing reliance on local forests as the domestic source of fire and generating another source of income to pass onto the growers.  They have installed power equipment that supplies the majority of electricity to local residents, offer financial loans and healthcare to permanent staff, and provide lodging and accommodations for all seasonal washing station workers.

Roasting Plant is delighted to offer you our outstanding Yirgacheffe coffee from Dumerso.  With notes of black tea, bergamot, citrus, and an intense floral essence of jasmine and honeysuckle, complemented by a silky body, one sip will transport you to the land where our beloved beverage first originated.

As part of our commitment to support the women of the global coffee growing community, we are donating a percentage of sales from this Ethiopian Dumerso to The International Women's Coffee Alliance, an organization that supports the work and growth of women in the international coffee growing community.