Daanisa farmers group is a group of 44 farmers who deliver their cherry to Dambi Uddo washing station. The name comes from the local name for an umbrella-shaped native tree. The daanisa tree has medicinal properties and is used for a wide range of construction purposes. Perhaps most importantly, it is used to shade the region’s coffee trees.

Dambi Uddo Agro Industry founded Dambi Uddo washing station in 2019. Located in Sukkee Qutto in Guji, the high altitudes that often reach above 2,000 meters above sea level provide ideal conditions for cultivating high-quality coffees. This lot is the product of 44 farmers that Dambi Uddo identified who are producing superb coffees and delivering them to the station. Their cherry is processed separately to maintain traceability.

Farmers selectively handpick cherry and deliver it to the washing station or to local collection points. At the washing station, coffee is sorted to ensure that only the ripest cherries are processed. The collection agent oversees the quality of cherry before processing.

Natural coffees, such as this one, are floated in water first to remove any underweight or damaged beans and any debris. After cleaning, cherry is carried straight to raised beds, where it is spread into a single layer for drying. Cherry is raked regularly and visually handsorted to remove any damaged cherry that may have made it through the initial sorting.

After a few days, washing station staff will increase the thickness of the layer to slow the drying and stabilize humidity. Total drying time can take up to three weeks under cloudy conditions, or two weeks should the weather be sunny.