Drop Hunkute

Hunkute is an extremely special coffee to us at Drop Coffee. We’ve been buying and roasting Hunkute for over 13 years, so it plays a huge role in our portfolio as well as our history. Hunkute is located in the Dalle region in Sidamo and is made up of two washing stations (site 1 & site 2) where the coffee is processed and belongs to the Hunkute Sidama Cooperative, which is made up of 2149 members, most of whom are small-scale farmers from the surrounding area. This harvest is from Hunkute Site 2, which is located at 2150 masl.

In Ethiopia there are over 1.1 million smallholder coffee farmers, delivering cherries to local washing stations. Many people people dry, roast, and brew their own coffees themselves. As a country, Ethiopia consumes over 40% of what they produce (compared to Kenya where they keep less than 5% of all the coffee produced in the country). Since Sidamo is such a coffee mecca, the market is competitive for the cooperatives in the region.

This is one of the reasons the Sidama Cooperative pays farmers upfront daily during harvest (November-January). All of the volumes and coffee cherry prices are displayed and they also have a second payment based on the selling price which is then paid to the farmers by August. This differs greatly from how late we've seen some farmers while visiting different cooperatives in Ethiopia. At Hunkute, about 70% of the payment goes to the farmers and the rest is for investments at the washing stations and the cooperative.

Hunkute is like no other coffee we’ve ever come across. With a bright aroma of black tea, Hunkute brews a well-balanced and delicate cup, with fruity flavours of apricot and Assam tea. It has medium-high citric acidity and a finish reminiscent of fresh peach, with hints of white flowers. The body is light and smooth like iced tea. It’s no surprise many longtime Drop Coffee drinkers hold this as one of their favorites.