Origin: Shantawene, Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia

Producer: The Buncho Washing Station, Daye Bensa Coffee

Farm: 800 various smallholder farms

Process: Honey

Varieties: 74158

Elevation: 1920-2020 masl

Importer: The Coffee Quest

Roast: Light

Notes: Berries, 7up, Lavender, Marzipan

Transparency : we paid $6.46USD/lb + exchange, brokerage, shipping, and a 10% USA Tariff on Ethiopian imports. This was our first round of coffees imported to the states that have been affected by US Tariffs. FOB price $5.50usd.

Buncho Honey, Ethiopia

Woo, that time of season where fresh Ethiopian coffees roll in and we get to enjoy the beautiful fruits from the birthplace of Arabica! We've expanded our offerings this year from Ethiopia and are excited to roll out a few new looks for us, as well as a couple favourites from last year!

Our first release is this beautiful Honey Processed lot from the Buncho Washing Station located in the Shantawene kebele, which is in the Bensa area of Sidama, Ethiopia. Managed by Asefa Dukamo Korma, Buncho sits at an elevation of ~2000 meters above sea level, and services around 800 small producers in the area.

Producers working with the Buncho Washing Station will bring freshly picked cherry, primarily the Ethiopian varietal 74158, where the washing station will pay per KG of cherry and begin the processing of the cherry.

For this honey lot the cherries are first floated in water for sorting and removing of any bad cherries (good cherries sink, bad cherries float!). The cherries are then de-pulped and put directly onto raised beds, still covered in sweet sticky mucilage. The honey process means that before drying the coffee the mucilage is not washed off, like you would for a typical washed coffee.

While drying the coffee, workers at the Buncho Washing Station will constantly move and rotate the coffee, ensuring an even and consist drying process. Reaching desired moisture content will take anywhere from 12-15 days depending on the weather.

The Buncho Washing Station is owned by the Daye Bensa Coffee group, who also own the Bombe Abore station that we purchased from this year and last. They're a quality focused export group started by two brothers in Ethiopia. They've notably placed high in Cup of Excellence competitions in 2020, 2021, and bringing home 2nd place in 2022. 

This is our second year buying coffees from stations owned and operated by Daye Bensa, and we are super happy with the quality of coffees we've been receiving, and this Honey processed lot is no exception.

In the cup we're getting big lavender florals, 7up-esqe lemon-lime sweetness, and a rich marzipan finish that just makes this coffee so hard to put down. This is a light roasted coffee that will perform well on as a pour-over or an espresso if you enjoy bright juicy Ethiopans ;)