Coffee 10 oz - Naga Singage, Ethiopia

Located in prime coffee land and less than 5 km from the town of Yirgacheffe, the Aricha washing station is in reach of several coffee-growing communities.  Everything is perfect for coffee here – the farmer community is experienced, the soil is fertile, the mountains and forests provide the ideal microclimate.  However, it wasn't until Faysel Abdosh from Testi Coffee took over in 2018 that the quality of the coffees from these local communities has elevated into the gems they are today.

Faysel comes from a family of coffee growers and therefore, has the intuition and experience needed not only to manage a washing station but work with farmers.  He is a strong believer in growing together with the farming community hand-in-hand. In Aricha, this has meant becoming a community advocate with the regional government in order to run electricity lines to homes and build schools to provide education programs for the children.

Around five hundred farmers from the vicinity regularly bring their cherries to the washing station.  Nearly all the farmers are from southern Ethiopia’s Gedeo ethnic group. They have lived in this area for as long as anyone can remember and have grown coffee here since the 1920s. They are experienced farmers whose families own small plots rarely exceeding two hectares in area. These “home gardens” also grow staple crops and indigenous forest trees, which experts believe help preserve the region’s plant diversity.

“We have a good relationship with our farmers,” says Faysel, as he explains how he wants the farmers to see the washing station as their own. Testi pays a premium to farmers who bring their cherries exclusively to the Aricha washing station. In addition, the washing station shares profits with the farming community, providing an incentive to improve the quality of the coffee they bring to the washing station. 

Unlike many washing stations in Ethiopia which combine the cherries from various regional communities into one lot, the Aricha station processes each community’s coffee separately, allowing its unique terroir, growing practices, and flavor to shine.