Danche - Red Honey Landrace, Ethiopia

Details

• Origin: Gedeb, Gedeo, Ethiopia

• Producer: SNAP Specialty Coffees

• Washing Station: Wate Danche (Worka Chelbesa II)

• Variety: Ethiopian Landrace

• Process: Red Honey

• Elevation: 2200 MASL

Tasting Notes

🌼 White flowers • 🥭 Mango • 🍍 Pineapple • 🍑 Peach • 🍵 Black tea

Intro

Negusse Debela’s coffees have become a benchmark for consistency, clarity, and innovation in Ethiopia. This release from Wate Danche continues that legacy, showcasing how honey processing can elevate classic Ethiopian profiles with added fruit depth while maintaining elegance and balance.

The Producer

Before entering coffee, Negusse Debela was known as “the computer guy” in Addis Ababa, running a successful computer parts import business. Everything changed in 2008 after a chance encounter with a pour-over coffee in Minnesota—an experience that reshaped his career path entirely.

That same year, Negusse founded SNAP Specialty Coffee, with the mission of producing exceptionally consistent, high-quality Ethiopian coffees. Today, SNAP operates or partners with several washing stations across the country, including the renowned Worka Chelbesa sites in Gedeb. Wate Danche represents the second iteration of Worka Chelbesa and has quickly become known for pushing boundaries in Ethiopian processing while honoring tradition.

The Process

This coffee is produced using the Red Honey process. After harvest, the cherries are pulped to remove the outer skin while leaving most of the sticky fruit mucilage intact around the seed. The coffee ferments within this mucilage, which darkens and thickens—giving honey-processed coffees their name. After fermentation, the coffee is washed clean and dried carefully to reach optimal moisture levels. The result is a cup that bridges the clarity of washed coffees with the fruit intensity of naturals.

Take a Sip

At first sip, this coffee may surprise you—it presents with the clean sweetness and florality of a washed Ethiopian. Look closer, though, and the honey process reveals itself through a more fruit-forward character. Delicate white florals lead into lush tropical notes of mango and pineapple, followed by ripe peach sweetness. A classic black tea backbone ties everything together, creating a cup that is vibrant, refined, and beautifully layered.

What is the roast recency?

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 6-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12 - should we have any left in stock!). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.