Ethiopia Sidama Bensa Shantawene Buncho Natural G1

Tasting Note:  Tropical Fruit | Tangerine | Fruit Gummy | Grapes | Lingering

 Size:  200g/1kg

Brewing Recommendation: Filter Brews / Modern Espresso 

The "Buncho" Station (aka “The Coffee Tree” 🌱)

Welcome to Buncho, Daye Bensa’s station in Shantawene, Bensa (Sidama), named after the Sidama word for a coffee tree! Founded in 2018, Buncho sits beside Gatta Farm and a waterfall, collecting ripe cherry from a network of smallholders across Shantawene, Bombe, and neighboring villages. The station runs 150 raised beds and 12 washing tanks, processing tons over tons of coffees with various processing methods.

The Buncho station sits around 2,000-2,200m, while contributing farms climb even higher (many are higher than 2,300m). That elevation, with cool nights, strong diurnal swings, slows cherry ripening time in comparison to hotter areas at lower altitudes. A slower maturation in fruition concentrates sugars, and preserves those tropical and citrus aromatics that many love.

Decoding 74158

Varietal 74158, also known as Walega, is a cultivar developed by Ethiopia’s Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC). It originated from a wild mother tree in the Metu-Bishari area and was released in the 1970s, with the primary objective to address coffee leaf rust and improve farmer resilience Like most of JARC’s 1970s “74-series” selections, such as 74110, 74112, and so on.

Buried under the "heirloom" umbrella term, 74158 wasn’t popular until recent years because it was originally valued for disease resistance. Thanks to advancement in coffee processing methods and producing technologies, the coffee producers finally have the infrastructure and a matured market to showcase its unique cup qualities.