Mulugeta Muntasha — Arbegona, Ethiopia

Tasting Notes: Guava, Mango, Banana Upside-Down Cake
Region: Sidama, Ethiopia
Producer: Mulugeta Muntasha
Variety: Ethiopia Heirloom
Process: Anaerobic Red Honey
Elevation: 2,300–2,400 MASL

Bold fruit. Deep sweetness. Complexity in every direction.

For our second year working with Mulugeta Muntasha, we wanted to explore a different side of his coffee. Last year, we offered both washed and natural lots from Mulugeta. This harvest, we selected an anaerobic red-honey coffee from the Arbegona outgrowers station for its distinctive character, layered sweetness, and unapologetically expressive profile.

This coffee is bombastic in all the best ways. Ripe guava and juicy mango lead the way, followed by the rich, caramelized sweetness of banana upside-down cake. It’s a fruit-forward, intensely flavorful cup with plenty of depth, bringing together tropical fruit, dessert-like sweetness, and the complexity that makes experimental processing so compelling.

Mulugeta’s journey into coffee began long before he established his own drying station. He grew up in Bursa, a village that until recently was not known for coffee production. As a young man, he traveled to neighboring Arsi to work as a truck driver, transporting coffee cherry from collection centers to a private washing station. That experience introduced him to the coffee trade, eventually leading him to become a cherry collector and supplier to Ethiopia’s central market.

As coffee cultivation expanded in his home village with support from the local Agricultural Office, Mulugeta returned to Bursa in 2021 and established Dawencho, his own coffee drying station. His dedication to quality quickly earned recognition on the international stage. In 2022, four of Ethiopia’s top ten Cup of Excellence coffees were lots processed at his station, including the winning coffee produced by his brother-in-law, Legesse Botola. Mulugeta also earned second place for the Dawencho farmer group coffee and sixth place under his own name.

We’re thrilled to continue working with Mulugeta for a second year, exploring different processes and expressions of his work. This anaerobic red-honey lot stood out for its complexity and unique characteristics—a coffee that embraces intensity without sacrificing depth.

If you gravitate toward coffees that are adventurous, fruit-driven, and impossible to mistake for anything else, this one belongs on your brew bar.