The Demeka Becha site is owned by Ayele Tulu, a Sidama man who is deeply integrated into the local area of Bona Zuria. This particular 132 lb lot is Ayele’s “Pride and Joy”, and he manages the process from start to finish year after year.
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 everyone who has the privilege of working with the family and their coffee producing sites. She’ll make you a killer-doro wat (chicken stew), which is served to honor guests in Ethiopia, and follow it up with traditional Ethiopian buna (coffee), served on her porch below the flowering vines that shade it even in the heat of midday.
Demeka Becha site is situated at the top of a hill, which is ideal for air flow along the drying beds. You enter through tin gates which open onto lush green grass and, if you’re lucky, smiling day laborers lined up clapping and whistling their excitement at your visit. Producers bring their cherries to be weighed on the blue tinted 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 fermentation tanks and cement washing channels. Following fermentation and washing, the parchment coffee is carried by hand to the drying beds where laborers spread it out to the depth of a fingertip and keep it turning until it is dried and moved to the locked storehouse to await trucking to Addis Ababa and final processing.
The Relationship with Swift & Old Soul Co.
Old Soul Co. has partnered with Swift’s powerhouse husband and wife founders for over a decade to source our Ethiopian lots. It’s a relationship which has survived war, COVID, and many more challenges. Our recurring partnership has produced numerous award-winning coffees in both national and international roasting competitions and one we truly cherish.
Processing Method: White Honey
This process starts out like other special processes in our care: before the carefully selected ripe cherries head to the pulper, they are further hand sorted for color consistency, floated for density, then hand sorted again. This ensures uniformity for processing and later for roasting. White honey processing is the closest to washed process; once pulped, the parchment will still be coated in a thin layer of sticky mucilage, which is then fermented under Tsegab’s watchful eye.
Following the fermentation cycle, the parchment is directly moved to shaded drying beds for stable distribution of air flow and soft sunlight until they reach the targeted dryness. The drying of honey processed coffees is challenging, and it is critical to ensure the mucilage can dry as evenly as possible.
History of Honey Process in Ethiopia
A fun historical note: Swift Coffee Sourcing’s CEO, Emily McIntyre, and partner Michael McIntyre were among the early advocates for introducing honey processing to regions of Ethiopia, including Sidama—long before the method gained export recognition. Today, honey processes are an integral—and beautiful—part of Ethiopia’s coffee landscape.
