Qunqana

This coffee is produced by smallholder farmers who contribute red ripe cherries to the Qunqana washing station in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. A rare honey process from Ethiopia (typical processing in Ethiopia is usually washed or natural), this coffee is super sweet with tasting notes of tropical fruit, strawberry pear preserves, vanilla, and black tea. It;s a lovely example of a cross between a washed Ethiopia with super clean, sparkling fruit notes (think lemon, pear, tea-like) and a natural Ethiopia with intense berry and tropical fruit notes. It is velvety, sweet-tart, and original.

About the Qunqana Washing Station. Qunqana was founded by Asefa Dukamo and MuluGeta Dukamo in the famous coffee growing region of Sidama. Asefa grew up in a coffee growing family and as a child helped his parents cultivate coffee and other garden crops. As a teenager, Asefa became a coffee supplier, meaning he would buy coffee cherries from nearby relatives and villagers to sell to washing stations. At the time, there were very limited washing stations near his village and he would often travel very long distances to find a market for his coffee. Thus, his dream of opening a washing station was born. He wanted to help coffee farmers nearby by shortening their travel time, lowering their cost of transportation, and allowing them to earn more for their coffee cherry. He opened his first washing station less than a mile from his parents’ house in 1997 and opened Qunqana (sometimes called Asefa No. 1 washing station on coffee maps) in 2002. Since it’s opening, Qunqana has expanded and added numerous certifications to its coffee lineup, all the while focusing on improving coffee quality in order to put themselves on the map as one of the leading washing stations for quality. 

The Sidama Coffee Growing Region. The Sidama coffee growing region is known for producing some of Ethiopia’s best coffee. This region spreads across fertile highlands where surrounding rivers and lakes, along with very high elevation, results in cool weather and fertile soil. These factors, in combination with over 100 inches of rainfall each year, cause the coffee to ripen slower (a factor leading to higher quality coffee) than other regions in Ethiopia.