Ethiopia Ayla Bombe Washed

Ethiopia is commonly thought to be the birthplace of coffee, so it's no surprise that coffee plants, both wild and cultivated, flourish in its lush high elevation regions. The nutrient rich soil and moderate wet and dry seasons support a vast genetic diversity of varietals, referred to as landrace or heirloom. This natural heterogeneity produces truly unique and delicious coffees.

This lot comes to us from the highlands of Sidama in southern Ethiopia. Located near the Shantawene village in the Bombe Kebele mountains, the Ayla washing station processes coffee cherries from around 800 smallholder farmers. This specialty-focused station was established by Faysel Abdosh Yonis in 2018. His family business, Testi Specialty Coffee, owns and operates several washing stations in the Sidama region and the surrounding area.

Faysel's love for coffee started in rural eastern Ethiopia, where he grew up surrounded by small family coffee farms. When Faysel was in high school, he started buying small amounts of coffee from local farmers and selling it to exporters. Today, Testi Specialty Coffee employs over 5,000 workers at its washing stations during harvest time.

Faysel is dedicated to improving the living conditions of the families he works with. In collaboration with the local government, Testi has built numerous schools across the region and continues to invest in education. The company has a program that connects schools and homes to the electrical grid. Faysel believes that clean water should be accessible to everyone. Testi Specialty Coffee builds fresh water wells for rural communities and has bigger water projects planned for the future.

Organically grown by individual farmers, this coffee was hand picked when perfectly ripe. An agronomist from Testi Coffee goes to each farm to assess the ripeness of the cherries and help the farmers know exactly when to harvest. The cherries are collected at the Ayla washing station where they are carefully sorted and depulped. The mucilage-covered parchment is submerged in water for a 36 to 48 hour fermentation before the coffee is fully washed in canals with fresh running water. The coffee is spread out on raised beds under a shade net to dry for 5 to 7 days.