Ethiopia — Faysel Abdosh Testi Specialty Coffee Ayla Bombe JARC 74158 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌼 Yellow Blossom • 🌸 Floral • 🍋 Citrus • 🍊 Grapefruit • 🍑 Stonefruit

DETAILS

• Producer: Faysel Abdosh — Testi Specialty Coffee
• Station: Ayla Washing Station
• Region: Bensa, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: JARC 74158 (Kurume)
• Process: Washed (96hr Water-Changed Fermentation + 15-Day Shade-Net Drying)
• Altitude: 1,950–2,000 MASL (farms at 2,000–2,350 MASL)
• Size: 200g

INTRO

From Faysel Abdosh's Ayla washing station in Bensa — the one Mazelab kept coming back to while working through his washed Sidama lots. Named after his niece Ayla and the village of Bombe where it sits, about four kilometres from Daye. Clean, floral, and precise. In the cup: yellow blossom, florals, citrus, grapefruit, and a soft stonefruit sweetness underneath.

THE PRODUCER

Faysel Abdosh established the Ayla washing station in 2018 as his first facility in Sidama — building what has since become known for clean, floral, high-grown lots from around 800 smallholder farmers delivering ripe cherry from gardens between 1,950 and 2,000 MASL, with the farms themselves reaching up to 2,350 MASL on the slopes of Bombe Mountain under forest shade. The high elevation slows cherry ripening and concentrates sweetness. In a few short years, careful intake protocols, controlled fermentation, and patient raised-bed drying have made Ayla one of Sidama's most consistently compelling washing stations.

JARC 74158 — known locally as Kurume in the Sidama highlands — was developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre and catalogued in 1974 for its resistance to coffee berry disease and quality potential at high altitude. Grown in the traditional garden system alongside food crops, it delivers the clean, floral, citrus-forward character that defines Bombe's finest washed lots.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Ayla involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Ripe cherries selectively harvested and delivered to the station 🔧 Pulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🧪 96-hour water-changed fermentation — Beans fermented for 96 hours with the water refreshed every 24 hours at a controlled 20–21°C, building aromatic depth while maintaining cleanliness 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed after fermentation 🌑 15-day shade-net raised-bed drying — Dried under shade nets on raised beds for 15 days

The 96-hour water-changed fermentation is the defining step — by extending fermentation to four full days while refreshing the water daily at a controlled temperature, Faysel builds the layered floral and citrus complexity that defines Ayla, while the water changes prevent negative fermentation character and keep the cup exceptionally clean. The shade-net drying then preserves every nuance of that aromatic structure through to the final cup.

THE CUP

A clean, floral, and precisely expressive washed JARC 74158 from one of Sidama's most carefully managed and beautifully named washing stations — yellow blossom and florals up front, grapefruit and citrus brightness through the middle, and a soft stonefruit sweetness underneath. The Ayla lot that Mazelab kept coming back to.

Flavour Notes

🌼 Yellow Blossom 🌸 Floral 🍋 Citrus 🍊 Grapefruit 🍑 Stonefruit