Ethiopia Wush Wush

Coffee Story
Every region in Ethiopia has its mystique and magic, and Keffa is no exception. The roads are sparse and constantly travelled, giving up the rich scent of the red soil with rolling hills that disappear into a soft, misty sky with puffy trees emerging against the skyline like cotton balls dyed the deepest spring green. Nestled in the Keffa Zone near Ginbo, is the little magical village of Wush Wush and Dinkalem Ademe and his wife Sofiya's washing station that sources their coffee from about 2500 smallholder farms in the surrounding area. The out-growers in the Ginbo district are smallholders, aka "garden farmers," so-called because most of them produce coffee in the "garden" areas around their homes and often harvest cherries from coffee that occurs naturally on the land where they live.

Once harvested, the ripe cherry is brought to Dinkalem's washing station, which sits on two hectares, with long drying beds stretching to the far reaches of the property. The nearby Agama River provides water for washing through the winding channels at the station. After the coffees have been pulped, fermented and washed, they are placed on the drying beds to reach optimal moisture content. The workers at the washing station carefully stirred and handpicked defects and covered the parchment multiple times a day, depending on the sun or rain.