Ethiopia Elto Coffee-Bona Station 74158 Washed (2026 New Crop) (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Jasmine • 🍑 Apricot • 🍋 Lemon • 🍵 Earl Grey Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Eliyas Dukamo & Atiklit Dejene
• Farm: Elto Coffee-Bona Station
• Region: Sidama, Ethiopia
• Varietal: 74158
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1940-2350 MASL
• Harvest: Jan 2026
• Size: 100g

INTRO

A new 2026 crop washed lot from the Elto Coffee project's Bona station, this 74158 selection offers the clean, transparent acidity and delicate florality that the Sidama region is celebrated for. The cup opens with bright citrus, moving through white-floral aromatics into a sweet black-tea finish — the kind of crystalline, high-clarity Ethiopian that repays a slow, careful filter brew.

THE PRODUCER

Elto Coffee was founded by Eliyas Dukamo and Atiklit Dejene, a husband-and-wife team committed to producing exceptional washed and natural lots from the Sidama highlands. Alongside their flagship Elora station, their Bona operation processes cherries grown at 2,200–2,400 MASL — altitudes that slow cherry maturation and concentrate the sugars and aromatic compounds that give Ethiopian coffee its hallmark clarity.

The 74158 variety is one of the selections developed by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) in the 1970s, chosen for its cup quality and resistance to coffee berry disease. It remains one of the most prized selections in Ethiopian specialty coffee, particularly when grown at elevation and processed with care.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Elto Coffee-Bona Station involves:

• 🍒 Handpicked ripe cherries — Cherries are selectively picked at peak ripeness by smallholder farmers delivering to the Bona station.
• 💧 Pulping and fermentation — Cherries are depulped and dry-fermented in controlled conditions to develop clarity and sweetness.
• 💧 Full wash — After fermentation, parchment is thoroughly washed in fresh water to remove all remaining mucilage.
• ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Parchment is laid on raised African beds and dried slowly over several weeks with regular turning.

The result is a cup that expresses the terroir of Sidama, Ethiopia with precision and clarity.

THE CUP

A crystalline, classically expressive Sidama washed. Fragrant jasmine opens the cup — delicate, lifted, and unmistakably Ethiopian — before giving way to juicy apricot and a clean, zesty lemon acidity through the middle. The finish settles into a long, bergamot-inflected Earl Grey note: aromatic, lightly tannic, and beautifully refined. The kind of cup that rewards a slow, careful filter brew.

Flavour Notes

• 🌸 Jasmine
• 🍑 Apricot
• 🍋 Lemon
• 🍵 Earl Grey Tea