Hartmann Family Wush Wush

Many Ethiopian heirloom varieties are named after the places where they were first found, and Wush Wush follows that tradition. It comes from Wushwush, a small region in southwest Ethiopia near Sidamo, known for its lush highlands and the vibrant teas that grow there; teas with a flavour profile that hints at what makes Wush Wush coffee so special.

Like Geisha, another iconic variety of Ethiopian lineage, Wush Wush made its way to South America about 35 years ago. Since then, it’s popped up very selectively in parts of Colombia and Panama, making each lot we find feel a little extra exciting.

Now a bit more about the family! The Hartmann family is made up of four brothers and a sister, their spouses and their grand or their children. Their grandfather Alois Strasil Hartmann first mountaineered through the Santa Clara region in the late 1800s. He found a remote, beautiful, fertile, forest enclosed region that would later become Finca Hartmann. Alois’ son, Ratibor “Chico” Hartmann was responsible for growing the plantation and establishing Finca Hartmann as a coffee farm. Chico’s children now run the farm.

Chico passed in 2016, but years before his passing, he sat his Children down and gave them two options on how to move forward. Option one was the traditional way of dividing the land up by five and each sibling doing their own independent thing. Option two was to keep the land intact and have them work as a team, each focusing on their own strength. They chose…drumroll… option two.

OK, so back to this coffee. It’s grown at 1700m in a forest surrounded farm in the middle of the Santa Clara mountains in Panama. What do the Hartmanns do that’s so unique?

First, the coffee plants. The Wush Wush trees are loving life growing under the forest canopy of El Manantial. Second, they've taken these plants and they've given them lots of care and nurture. When I walk through the farm, the trees are some of the happiest and healthiest I've seen. Then when it's time to pick, they're super punctual. Everyday during the harvest, they find the plot of land that has the most ripe cherry and pick that day.

And then in the processing, this is where this coffee begins to shine. The coffee was fermented in closed tanks for 30 hours in cherry form, then it was depulped and fermented again for another 30 hours. The coffee was then washed and dried on raised beds. After a week, the drying moved to their custom built dark rooms, where the coffee was gently dried by dehydration. This is by far and away the best way to dry coffee.