Demeka Becha Red Honey Process
Demeka Becha Red Honey Process Demeka Becha Red Honey Process

This wonderful Red Honey processed coffee is a stunner, and is sure to be a favorite just like Sedaqa and Shantawene Red Honey have been.

We taste stone fruit sweetness, similar to apricot jelly, complemented by floral qualities reminiscent to jasmine and a sparkling acidity. A must try.

Demeka Becha:

The Demeka Becha site is owned by Ayele Tulu, a Sidama man who is deeply integrated into the local area of Bona Zuria. His son, Tsegab Ayele, manages the project. 

The heart, perhaps the true engine of the family, is Genet Haile Endeshow, Tsegab's mother and Ayele's wife. She fills up their lives and the home with her warmth, and her embrace expands to include evervone who has the privilege of working with the family and their coffee producing sites.

Demeka Becha site buys cherries from nearby communities including Dilla Suke, Demeka, Goacho, Becha, and Bashiro Dale-close to 10,000 producers are situated in the areas surrounding the washing station.

Producers bring their cherries to be weighed on the blue scale, logged in the book by Cashier and General Manager, Alemu Gobaro, and floated before being dumped into the cement hopper to begin the journey through the 4-disk Agard pulper and into the next step in the Honey Process.

Red Honey Process:

Following pulping, Red Honey process coffees go into a very controlled fermentation cycle.  Then the mucilage-laden parchment is moved to shaded drying beds, where it is kept slowly drying entirely under a shade canopy with excellent airflow.

The drying with shade adds 4 to 5 days overall drying time with this Red Honey, and affords a stable distribution of moisture content throughout the cellular structure, along with a dialed in water activity.

This strong uniformity in the drying of all the coffees is critical in a good honey process.

Location:  Demeka Becha, Bona Zuria, Sidama
Producer: Various Smallholders

Varietal:   Ethiopian Landraces
Process:  Red Honey Process
Altitude:  2,100 - 2,200 m.