Hunkute, Washed Heirloom Cultivars, Ethiopia

Flavour description: A bright aroma of dried apricot and bergamot. The cup is complex yet light-bodied, with flavour notes of candied lemon peel, apricot, and a hint of clementine. It finishes dry, reminiscent of Assam tea. 

Colour: Mild yellow
Category: Curious
Producers: Hunkute. The cooperative has 2149 members. 
Varietal:  Traditional Ethiopian Heirloom varieties and JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) selections such as 74110 and 74112.
Process: Washed
Washing station: Hunkute Site 2
Location: Dalle, Sidamo 
Union: Sidama Union 
Harvest: January 2026
Elevation: 2150 meters above sea level
Years of relationship: 15 years, since 2011
Price transparency: The FOB price paid for this coffee was US$4.95 /lb

Hunkute is an extremely special coffee to us at Drop Coffee. We’ve been buying and roasting Hunkute for over 13 years, so it plays a huge role in our portfolio as well as our history. Hunkute is located in the Dalle region in Sidamo and is made up of two washing stations (site 1 & site 2) where the coffee is processed and belongs to the Hunkute Sidama Cooperative, which is made up of 2149 members, most of whom are small-scale farmers from the surrounding area. This harvest is from Hunkute Site 2, which is located at 2150 masl. 

In Ethiopia there are over 1.1 million smallholder coffee farmers, delivering cherries to local washing stations. Many people people dry, roast, and brew their own coffees themselves. As a country, Ethiopia consumes over 40% of what they produce (compared to Kenya where they keep less than 5% of all the coffee produced in the country). Since Sidamo is such a coffee mecca, the market is competitive for the cooperatives in the region. 

This is one of the reasons the Sidama Cooperative pays farmers upfront daily during harvest (November-January). All of the volumes and coffee cherry prices are displayed and they also have a second payment based on the selling price which is then paid to the farmers  by August. This differs greatly from how late we've seen some farmers while visiting different cooperatives in Ethiopia. At Hunkute, about 70% of the payment goes to the farmers and the rest is for investments at the washing stations and the cooperative. 

Hunkute is like no other coffee we’ve ever come across, with an aroma of dried apricot and bergamot. The cup is complex yet light-bodied, with flavour notes of candied lemon peel, apricot, and a hint of clementine. It finishes dry, reminiscent of Assam tea.It’s no surprise many longtime Drop Coffee drinkers hold this as one of their favorites. 

Click here to learn more about Hunkute.

Innehåller kaffe, förvaras mörkt och svalt.