Very Special
This coffee features the classic washed Ethiopian profile, but taken to levels we consider, well, very special. It has been washed using clean water from the Mejo River and is classified as Grade 1—the highest quality grade for Ethiopian coffees, which indicates a great deal of effort put into the selection and grading during processing.
This lot also features a fully classified Ethiopian Heirloom subvariety, catalogued by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) as 74148.
It has a fruity and multi-layered flavour profile in line with all its sister Ethiopian Heirlooms grown at high altitudes. We expect that different brewing methods will highlight some notes over others, as it will change as the coffee ages.
It’s some of the best Ethiopian we’ll taste this year, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did when we first came across it! Congratulations to everyone who made it possible.
Washed processing
For this lot, carefully hand-picked coffee cherries were delivered to Huke washing station and were meticulously sorted by hand and in a floatation tank prior to processing. Around 80% of the cherries selected were fully ripe, with the remaining 20% being made up of semi-ripe fruit, as Testi have discovered that this enhances the structure and complexity of the cup.
After sorting, the coffee cherries are then pulped within six to eight hours of harvesting, to remove the fruit and skin. This parchment-covered coffee is fermented in tanks of clean water for 96 hours. While doing this, mill workers keep a close eye on the clarity of the water being used (replace it with fresh water as necessary), and check the parchment manually of feel how much mucilage is detaching from the beans.
Huke Washing Station
Sitting at 2,100m above sea level, Huke produces exceptional washed, natural and special preparation lots. The site was built by Testi in 2021 as a ‘premium’ facility, and selected for its natural advantages – including its high elevation, the surrounding region’s characteristics and access to fresh, clean water. By choosing sites in areas favoured with great growing conditions and paying premiums for properly harvested fruit, Testi ensures they only receive extremely high quality cherry, resulting in outstanding complexity and distinction in the resulting cup.
The washing station currently employs five permanent staff and between 150-200 seasonal workers. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebeles of Banko Gotiti, Chelba, Chelchele and Chelbessai. At Huke, Testi separates and processes each kebele’s cherry delivery as a distinct lot, providing extra traceability. This particular coffee comes from the kebele of Banko Gotiti, giving the lot its name.
