Ethiopia Arsosala

Ethiopia Arsosala

Region: Guji

Altitude: 1800-1950 masl

Coffee varieties: Heirloom

Process: Washed

Drying: Dried over a 10 day 

Cupping notes: Mandarin, Jasmine, Peached Iced Tea

Cupping score: 86.25

Arsosala is a washing station founded in 2015 that currently serves about 1,200 smallholder producers in the Uraga woreda of Guji. Coffees are picked ripe and depulped the same day, then fermented overnight before being washed clean and dried on raised beds. It typically takes the coffee 8–15 days to dry under the sun.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than 1/2 hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate. The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot.

Coffees are washed in channels, and graded in water by density. The lower density (lower quality) will float and are removed, leaving only the denser and therefore higher quality beans which are separated as higher grade lots.

After fermentation, soaking takes place for 2 hours.

Coffee is then piled up in layers which are 2cm in height and dried over an 8-15 day period then followed by hand sorting for 2-4 hours.