Dark cherries, Strawberry, Chocolate, Floral

First Ethiopian Natural processed coffee to showcase from Palette Coffee this year is from a well known coffee region of Sidama, South East of Ethiopia.

West Arsi washing station is owned and operated by Testi (happiness in Harrari language) Coffee which is found by the owner Faysel A Yonis in 2009.

This particular lot is produced by the Testi’s Premium Coffee Selection (PCS) program aimed to harvest, process and deliver the ripest and the highest quality coffee cherries available.

Testi Coffee works closely with the farmers not only to secure higher prices for their coffee but to improve farming practices to better the quality and profitability of their coffees.

Testi have also launched the social program called Project Direct which works directly with farmers and their family to provide community resources such as clean water, schools, school supplies and healthcare. So far, their work included building of primary schools in both Aricha and Guji where they fund “all school supplies and provide financial support and scholarships to top performing students.” They have also enabled better access to electricity and clean water to remote areas around their washing stations and beyond.

This coffee is sorted and then graded by weight, spread on a thin layer then dried and turned regularly on raised African beds (Screens) till they reach 25% humidity. They undergo further drying for 13 - 15 days till the optimum moisture level is reached.