Ethiopia Bensa Buncho

This fragrant, berry-sweet coffee comes from smallholders in Shantawene village, in Sidama’s Bensa district. The area’s high elevations, reaching up to 2,300 meters, produce some of Ethiopia’s most expressive coffees, with flavors of stone fruit, honeysuckle, and sweet Earl Grey.

Sidama has long been a gateway to southern Ethiopia’s coffees, known for stable coops and classic washed profiles. In recent years, eastern districts like Bensa and Arbegona have redefined expectations through private processors. Their success stems from exceptional terroir bordering the Harenna Forest, where high altitudes, natural shade, and fertile soils create ideal growing conditions.

Daye Bensa Coffee Export PLC, founded in 1996 by two brothers from Bensa, now operates estates and more than 15 processing stations. This lot represents 940 smallholders farming small, diversified plots. Harvested cherries are floated, hand-sorted, and depulped, then fermented in cool water for 36–48 hours and dried on raised beds for 12–15 days, often shaded from afternoon sun. After conditioning in local warehouses, the coffee is finished at Daye Bensa’s Addis Ababa dry mill before export.