Ethiopia Washed Keramo
Keramo is a washing station found in Bensa, Sidama. The station is named after the kebele (village) where it’s situated (Keramo), a place well-known for high quality coffee production. The station sits at over 2,300 MASL, and the coffee delivered here grows between 2,260 and 2,360 MASL, which are really incredible elevations for growing coffee. Daye Bensa (the award winning group who this coffee comes from) tells us that this extremely high altitude adds complexity and makes for distinct cup characteristics. This station receives coffee from about 381 smallholder farmers growing and harvesting coffee in and around Keramo, Sidama, Ethiopia. Keramo farmers have built a reputation for picking only red cherries, and in 2020 Daye Bensa Coffee earned a Cup of Excellence award with coffee from the station. This coffee from Keramo is a single variety lot, something not very common in Ethiopia, but Daye Bensa isn’t in the business of common coffees. 74158 is a variety developed by the Jimma Argricultural Research Centre (JARC) for resistance to disease and high yield.
Daye Bensa ferments washed coffees under water for 36 hours before taking coffees to dry on raised beds. Drying times depend on weather conditions but are typically between one and two weeks.
Keramo is a well-known washing station, and it deserves to be. We’ve cupped washed and naturals from this station for a few years and have never found a coffee that we didn’t like. This year we snagged a washed lot that is silky with delicate tropical notes and a uniquely specific note of oolong tea. We can’t wait to work more with this station in coming harvests.