The second life of Aricha (Ethiopia), and what kind!

Another coffee from Ethiopia, currently the third in our current range. The first is our regular Ethiopia Sidamo which we recommend as an espresso coffee.

The Suke Quto and this newest member of our family have a light roast and we recommend as a filter coffee with brewing methods such as Hario V60 , Aeropress , Kalita Wave, Chemex, etc.

Yirgacheffe

This coffee comes from the washing station Aricha, located in the world famous Yirgacheffe area in Ethiopia. This washing station has only recently been revived and how that happened is a special story!

Aricha: a big mess!

According to the current manager, the Aricha washing station was a mess. It was neglected, abandoned and hadn't processed a single coffee cherry in years.

The whole area was overgrown with grass and weeds and the buildings had fallen into disrepair. The small farmers, as is often the case in Ethiopia) who processed their crops in the area had to deliver their coffee cherries to a station further on.

Not ideal at all, of course, because transport is either by foot or by mule. Anyway, until recently...

Because just months before the 2018 harvest, these small farmers met the new owner of the washing station : Faysel Yonis - the founder of the coffee export company Testi Coffee .

Faysel's mission

Faysel was motivated to say the least. Motivated to make Aricha, the washing station, a hub for premium coffee from Yirgacheffe.

After a traditional (coffee) ceremony, the village elders expressed their enthusiasm and gave their blessing for this mission of Faysel. Not only in the context of good business, but especially for the overall picture.

Faysel also started the construction of an electricity network for all surrounding villages. In addition, Testi Coffee is coordinating the construction of a school and they are working to give all families access to clean drinking water.

Traceability and success

Testi Coffee estimates that about 1,000 small farmers from different communities come to Aricha to sell their harvest of coffee berries.

During the transfer, Testi Coffee marks the lots per municipality to guarantee traceability. In the hills around the station you will find four coffee communities ; Aricha, Gersi, Idido and Reko Onancho.

All four communities submitted micro-lots for the 2019 Ethiopian Cup and were among the highest-scoring coffees in this auction. Each farming family received a share of the auction premium to support themselves!

Curious?

If you're looking for floral and complex tasting Yirgacheffe's, Aricha is the place. Is your mouth watering already?