Ethiopia - Demeka Becha Layered Ferment

REGION: Sidama
PRODUCER: Ayele Tulu
PROCESS: Layered Ferment (dry)
VARIETY: Mixed: 74/158, 74/165, 74/112, 74/110, 74/40
ELEVATION: 2100-2200 MASL
TASTING NOTES: Peach tea, cider, fresh citrus

Producer Story

High in Bona Zuria, Sidama, the Demeka Becha washing station is owned by Ayele Tulu and managed by his son, Tsegab Ayele. At the heart of the family is Genet Haile Endeshow, Ayele's wife and Tsegab's mother, whose warmth and hospitality are woven into the family, their home, and the coffee-producing sites they operate.

Situated at the top of a hill, Demeka Becha benefits from steady airflow across its drying beds. The station buys cherries from communities throughout the surrounding Sidama region, where close to 10,000 producers farm the nearby hillsides. On arrival, cherries are weighed, logged, and floated for density before heading to the pulper. We're grateful to the Tulu family for the opportunity to roast and share this coffee, and to Swift for the introduction.

The Process

This coffee undergoes a proprietary Layered Ferment process built around meticulous sorting and carefully staggered fermentation. Ripe cherries are hand sorted for consistent color, floated for density, and hand sorted again before being pulped, creating a remarkably uniform starting point.

Over roughly three days, freshly pulped parchment is layered into a 10,000-kilogram fermentation tank in stages, with no water added at any point, making this a dry ferment. Because each layer goes in on a different day, the coffee at the bottom ferments the longest while the upper layers ferment progressively less, producing several distinct degrees of fermentation within a single tank. Holding that range in balance takes exceptional attention across the entire cycle.

Once fermentation is complete, the parchment moves directly to shaded raised beds. There, gentle sunlight and consistent airflow allow the coffee to dry slowly and evenly until it reaches its target moisture level.

The Cup

Layered fermentation produces an expressive and complex interpretation of Sidama, using different degrees of fermentation to build depth while careful sorting and controlled drying maintain balance and structure. Expect peach tea up front, with cider and fresh citrus carrying through a clean finish.

The result is a coffee shaped by experimentation and precision alike, a distinctive process that builds on the character of the region while exploring just how much careful fermentation can bring to the final cup.