Danche Hydro Honey - Ethiopia

Tropical rakija. Tangerines. Floral. Plum.

Location: Danche, Gedeb, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Processing: Natural Hydro Honey, 96-hour aerobic and anaerobic fermentation
Elevation: 2100masl
Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom, Mixed Ethiopian Landrace
Harvest Period: January '26

This is the kind of coffee that makes you pause after the first sip - bright, floral and bursting with juicy fruit. It feels vibrant and almost electric in the cup, with layers of sweetness that keep unfolding as it cools.

Danche Station is located in Gedeb, in Ethiopia’s celebrated Yirgacheffe region, and serves as SNAP Coffee’s main centre for experimental processing. This lot brings together cherries from 810 smallholder producers in the villages of Danche and Kubi, where coffee is grown alongside food crops on small, diversified farms.

The coffee grows at around 2,100 metres above sea level in rich red soil and a semi-forested environment. The high elevation and cool climate allow the cherries to ripen slowly, supporting the floral character, vibrant acidity and layered sweetness for which coffees from Yirgacheffe are known. The lot is composed of mixed Ethiopian landrace varieties and is harvested between November and January.

Danche is processed using an innovative method known as Hydro Honey. Only cherries measuring more than 20° Brix are selected, ensuring a high level of ripeness and natural sugar. After sorting and floating, the cherries are dried on shaded beds for 48 hours before being placed into carefully prepared fermentation barrels. They first undergo 48 hours of aerobic fermentation, followed by 48 hours submerged in water without oxygen.

After fermentation, the coffee is dried slowly in the cherry under shade for approximately 25 days. This combination of controlled fermentation, rewetting and extended drying preserves the clarity associated with Yirgacheffe while creating greater fruit intensity, sweetness and texture.

The lot was developed by SNAP Coffee’s processing team as part of their work exploring new ways to express Ethiopia’s exceptional raw material. The result is an expressive and complex coffee that combines the elegance of its origin with the depth and richness of experimental processing.

Here’s our recommended filter recipe for this coffee: 15g in, 270g out - Water at 99°C - Bloom with 75g of water for 1:00 - First pour to 170g - Second pour to 270g - Total brew time around 3:30.