Rumudamo: A Washing Station With a Competition Pedigree

The Rumudamo Washing Station sits in the Rumudamo village within the Arbegona district of Sidama — one of the highest-elevation coffee-growing areas in all of Ethiopia, at approximately 2,200–2,300 metres above sea level. In the first Ethiopia Cup of Excellence held in 2020, lots from the Rumudamo station placed 2nd, 3rd, and 8th — a performance that immediately placed the station in the global specialty spotlight. Rumudamo is not simply a high-scoring station; it is one of the defining locations of Ethiopian specialty coffee's current era.

The station services over 600 smallholder farmers in the surrounding villages, who grow coffee alongside food crops including sugar cane, enset, spices, and vegetables. Coffee is the primary livelihood for these communities, and Daye Bensa's investment in the station — 600 drying beds and 24 soaking tanks — reflects the scale of production and the quality ambition that Rumudamo's coffee demands.

74112: The Variety That Defines Rumudamo

The 74112 variety is a JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Centre) selection — one of the research station varieties developed in Ethiopia to combine yield reliability with cup quality potential. Unlike wild heirloom landraces (which have extraordinary aromatic complexity but variable yields), 74112 was bred for consistency while retaining the fruit-forward, floral character of Sidama's high-altitude coffee culture. At Rumudamo's 2,300 masl, this variety produces small, dense cherries that mature slowly and accumulate the sugars and aromatic precursors that drive the station's exceptional cup scores.

In natural processing, 74112 at Rumudamo produces one of the most recognisably distinctive cup profiles in Ethiopian coffee: the intense strawberry character that DAK identifies so directly in their product name. The strawberry is not faint or metaphorical — it is vivid, gelato-like, and persistent across the entire cup as it cools from hot to warm to room temperature.

DAK Coffee Roasters' Relationship With Rumudamo

DAK sources Strawberry Kiss from Rumudamo through their ongoing Daye Bensa partnership (see also Blog #64 for the Iron Lion / Jazz Fruits lot from the same partnership). Where Jazz Fruits/Iron Lion is the accessible, value-focused entry point in their Ethiopian range, Strawberry Kiss is the premium tier — a specific washing station lot with documented CoE history, higher altitude, and a more precise, less widely available cup. DAK's tasting team described it as "one of the best Ethiopians they've ever had" when they first cupped the pre-shipment sample. BrewFusion carries both lots.

"Grown at 2,300 meters above sea level, this batch shines with its vibrant sweetness and layered fruitiness. Each sip reveals the essence of southern Ethiopia: fresh strawberry, star fruit, and juicy apricot." — BrewFusion product page

Roasters Carrying Rumudamo / Daye Bensa Lots

Brew Guide