This natural process coffee comes from the Dumerso washing station (in the town of the same name), in the Gedeo zone in Yirgacheffe. It’s a fabled coffee producing area, and there are about 800 farmers who deliver ripe cherry to Dirshaye Firenju’s mill.

It’s an interesting and delicious coffee. Speckled Ax is always on the lookout for clean naturals, as opposed to overly fermented and funky coffees that derive much of their fruit-driven character from heavy-handed processing, and this coffee delivers. What makes it intriguing is its combination of dark blue fruit (blackberry and blueberry) coupled with good acidity, florals, and herbals. It a balanced and well-structured cup of coffee.

Ethiopia Dumerso

Roasting high quality organics and small lot estate coffees in a vintage Petroncini fired with local sap and fruitwood.

Speckled Ax

This is a special lot from the Muungano cooperative in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  In the coffee world, Congo has long had a reputation for both potential and disappointment. I have had numerous conversations with importers about pre-shipment coffee lot samples of bourbon–introduced by missionaries in the 19th century–that scored in the high 80s, but upon arrival in the US–having run the gauntlet of crude processing and drying facilities, deeply rutted roads, regional bribery and other stuff–barely registered as specialty grade, if that. This is tragic and ironic, though not surprising, given the complete devastation that King Leopold brought upon the country, and colonialism’s exploitative hold on the area right on through the 20th century. Hell, Bill Russell had already won multiple championships by the time Belgium granted it its independence.

Muungano has been able to beat long odds every year. It hasn’t been any sort of special trick or sacrifice on our part to purchase their coffee. It’s been easy. Cherry picking, as they say. For the last five years, their coffee has been stellar. How do they do it? Many of their members put their coffee cherry in boats, bypassing the horrible roads altogether and floating it on Lake Kivu to one of their washing stations. They have members guard their coffee from the wet mill to the dry mill. They have members guard their coffee at the dry mill, making sure not only that it is processed well, but that it isn’t stolen, or swapped out with inferior stuff. The cooperative’s office team is comprised of logistics wizards–they get their coffee in containers and on ships in a timely fashion. And so when it arrives, it’s awesome.

Last year our own Kyle Knight–one of our baristas, director of retail coffee, and a guy who generally loathes naturals–competed with Muungano and crushed in the regionals and then finals of the US Brewers Cup. This all happened in Orange County, CA, JUST before all the COVID-19 stuff started hitting the fan.

This year’s natural is not quite as fruity as last year’s crop, but it is deeply sweet, layered and heavy, with a bit of the stewed cranberry and prune that we’ve come to associate with Muungano, along with chocolate, cinnamon, and a little black tea. Certified organic.

One more thing: muungano means “togetherness” in Swahili. Keep that in mind.

Location: Keniezire, South Kivu
Varietal: red bourbon
Process: natural, dried on raised beds

Speckled Ax

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Speckled Ax

🇺🇸 United States

Coffee items

Congo Muungano

Ethiopia Dumerso