Ethiopia - Adorsi

Origine: Yirgacheffe, Sidama, Ethiopia    
Variety: Kurume
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,950 MASL
Washing station: Adorsi
Farmers: 800 independent outgrowers

Adorsi is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Yirgacheffe woreda (administrative district) in Ethiopia’s Gedeo zone. The washing station is found in the kebele (local village) of Aricha, and is one of 26 owned and managed by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr Faysel A. Yonis.

Sitting at 1,950m above sea level, Adorsi produces exceptional washed, natural and special preparation lots. The washing station was first built in 2001, and was acquired by Testi in 2018. Adorsi is one of Testi’s busiest washing stations: it employs 50 permanent staff and 400 seasonal workers who process a whopping seven containers of washed coffee, ten of naturals, and a little more than a full container of special preparation lots annually.

At Adorsi, Testi separates and processes each kebele’s cherry delivery as a distinct lot, providing extra traceability. This particular coffee comes from the kebele of Aricha, and is made up of cherry grown by 800 outgrowers.

During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 800 independent outgrowers from ten nearby kebeles, including Aricha, Reko, Gersi, Naga Singage, and Idido. The majority of the families that contribute to this lot farm organically on tiny plots of land, averaging just half a hectare in size. Coffee is their main cash crop and grows alongside food crops of corn, grain and bananas, under the shade of native Birbira, Wanza, and Acacia trees. The average elevation of the farms in this region is very high, averaging between 1,900–2,000m above sea level. This, combined region’s cool temperatures, is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, leading to denser beans and a sweeter, more complex cup profile.

This coffee lot was produced as part of Testi’s quality improvement initiative, Premium Cherry Selection (PCS). Launched in 2018, the Premium Cherry Selection program ensures that best practices are used for growing, harvesting and processing the coffee cherry. Through the program, Testi pay a premium to farmers who pick and deliver only the ripest cherries from their farms. Coffees produced as part of the program represent the highest quality and cleanest cup profile available from the washing station and wider region.

Processing

This coffee has been processed using the washed method, using clean water from the Wegida river. It is classified as Grade 1, the highest quality classification for Ethiopian coffees, indicating a great deal of effort has been put into the selection and grading during processing.

Each day, carefully hand-picked coffee cherries are delivered to the Adorsi washing station and are meticulously sorted by hand and in a floatation tank prior to processing to remove unripe, overripe, or damaged fruit, in order to enhance the quality and sweetness of the cup.

After sorting, the coffee cherries are then pulped within six to eight hours of harvesting, to remove the fruit and skin and graded by weight; heavier beans are of superior quality and deliver a sweeter cup. After grading, the parchment-covered coffee is soaked in tanks of clean water for 36–48 hours to remove the mucilage (sticky fruit pulp) by allowing it to ferment and detach from the coffee.

The coffee is then re-washed and graded again by density in washing channels and soaked in clean water for 12 hours. While doing this, mill workers keep a close eye on the clarity of the water being used (and replace it with fresh water as necessary), and check the parchment manually to feel how much mucilage is left on the seeds. As the texture of the washed seeds changes, and millworkers notice slightly more traction, parchment is just about ready to be dried.

Taste Notes

A classic Ethiopian washed coffee.
Juicy and sweet flavors of apricot, peach, and green apple with a lingering brown sugar finish.