Wush Wush

El Fénix also doubles up as a community wet mill, and education centre for the wider coffee community. We have benefited as a team from multiple visits to El Fénix, including participating in their Plant to Port course, covering each step of the coffee supply chain at origin, from agronomy and processing, to milling and export.

This particular coffee is the rare wush wush variety, processed by way of the anoxic washed method originally developed at El Fénix. Wush wush is an Ethiopian landrace variety named after Wushwush village near Gera in the west of Ethiopia where it was first discovered. It is notoriously low-yielding and difficult to grow, but the reward is a nuanced and complex cup profile that is sweet, round and floral, with notes of vanilla, lychee and turkish delight.

The anoxic washed method is a cost-effective and easy to replicate process developed by Miguel and the team at El Fénix, that has been implemented throughout the Raw Material network of producers. The pulped cherry is placed in a container which is then covered with plastic sheeting. Cold water is added on top of this, creating a seal and allowing for an anoxic environment for fermentation, whilst also acting as a heat exchange to control the fermentation temperature.

In our experience this process adds a layer of complexity to the coffee compared to it having been processed by way of the more conventional washed method, this coffee being a prime example that showcases the great potential for this rare variety in Colombia.