Dumerso is one of the most exceptional coffees we’ve ever had at Elm, combining the long sought after terroir of Yirgacheffe with all of the innovation in processing we’ve seen in the last decade. The end result is a perfectly clean coffee, bursting with peach, champagne, and floral flavors that’s brought coffee buyers to the Gedeo Zone for years, with an extra dimension added by the unique limited oxygen natural processing. By fermenting the coffee in an oxygen free environment, there is much more control over what kind of cultures propagate on the coffee during processing, resulting in a fruit-forward coffee without fermented off flavors. 

Dumerso Washing Station is named for the village where it’s located in the Yirgacheffe District, founded 12 years ago and serving more than 650 farmers from the surrounding communities of Dumerso, Yirgacheffe, Hafusa, Adame and Bedessa. A family owned endeavor, led by brother-sister team of CEO Hirut Birhanu and Manager Mahder Birhan, Dumerso has faced intense challenges in the past few years, their site was damaged, along with dozens of other washing station,  in a wave of civil conflict in 2017 that was coupled with a frosty season that decimated their harvest. 

Since then, Gedeo Zone coffee has struggled, but Dumerso has been at the forefront, rebuilding and taking the time to refine their processing. This renewed focus has led to a wave of experimentation, including this lot of limited oxygen natural process.