Ethiopia — Ayla Washing Station JARC 74110 & 74158 "Bombe Natural" (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍬 Candied Fruit • 🍈 Pomegranate • 🍺 Hops

DETAILS

• Producer: ~800 smallholder farmers, Ayla Station (Testi Specialty Coffee)
• Region: Shantawene, Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: JARC 74110 & JARC 74158
• Process: Natural
• Elevation: 1,950–2,000 masl
• Harvest: 2026

INTRO
Ethiopian natural-process coffees are known for blueberry, milk chocolate, and date notes — and this lot has all of that and a little more. Candied fruit, pomegranate, and hops accompany a creamy body and juicy acidity, making this yearly staple lot a genuinely pleasant and complex coffee. In the cup: candied fruit, pomegranate, and hops.

THE PRODUCER
The Ayla washing station is located in Shantawene, in Ethiopia's Sidamo region. Faysel Abdosh founded the station in 2018, naming it after his niece. His company, Testi Specialty Coffee, operates several stations in Guji — Ayla is their first in Sidamo. Around 800 producers deliver cherry to the station, cultivating coffee at 1,950–2,000 masl on small plots averaging around 0.5 hectares. Beyond purchasing cherry, Testi contributes to community wellbeing in Sidamo — helping build schools for local children, supporting a water access project, and helping connect households to the electrical grid.

THE PROCESS
Producers selectively hand-harvest ripe cherry and deliver it to the Ayla station. Due to the small size of the farms, most of the work is done by the family itself. At the station, cherries are visually inspected and any damaged or unripe fruit removed, then washed and moved to raised beds for drying. During drying, cherries are hand-sorted and turned frequently to ensure even drying and remove any defects, typically taking 15 to 20 days depending on weather.

The frequent hand-sorting and turning throughout drying is the defining step — it's what preserves the complex candied fruit and pomegranate character behind this cup, while keeping the creamy body and juicy acidity balanced.

THE CUP
Complex and pleasant — candied fruit and pomegranate lead, with a distinctive hops note, a creamy body, and a juicy acidity throughout.

Flavour Notes
🍬 Candied Fruit 🍈 Pomegranate 🍺 Hops