AGA DANCHE | ETHIOPIA

About the Coffee:

The Danche Station annually receives 1,000 tons of red cherries, which yield 175 tons of parchment coffee. The red cherries are collected from registered outgrower farmers at the site and then deposited into the silo. The cherries are organized according to their lot (the kebele or administrative division where the coffee was collected).

The Agard pulping machine then initiates the pulping process, efficiently removing floaters (defective cherries). After pulping, the machine separates and transfers the high-quality Q1 and Q2 parchment coffee to dedicated fermentation tanks, while the floaters are sent to their respective tank. To ensure quality, the fermentation tanks are thoroughly cleaned prior to use.

The parchment coffee remains in the tanks for 48–72 hours, depending on the weather conditions, to complete the fermentation before being washed. Once fermentation is complete, the mucilage is removed by manually washing the coffee in soaking tanks.

The parchment is then placed on drying beds under a shed for 48 hours for skin drying and manual sorting to remove minor defects. Depending on the intensity of the sun, the coffee will remain on African drying beds for a maximum of 8–12 days. During this time, the coffee is turned at least five times a day and covered with plastic sheeting when the sun is at its strongest (11:00 A.M.–3:00 P.M.).

Once the parchment's moisture content reaches the optimal range of 10%–11%, the Danche Station stores it in a well-ventilated facility until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final processing.