Tastes like White Peach, Jasmine, Honey

COUNTRY: Ethiopia
REGION: Southern Nationalities, Nations, and People's Region
ZONE: Godea
WOREDA: Yirgacheffe
KEBELE: Aricha
WASHING STATION: Adorsi
ELEVATION: 1,950 above sea level
VARIETY: Primarily Kurume and Wolisho along with other landrace and JARC varieties
PROCESSING: Washed
FARMERS: 800 independent outgrowers
WASHING STATION OWNER: Testi Specialty Coffee
IMPORTER: Melbourne Coffee Merchants
IMPORTER RELATIONSHIP LENGTH: Since 2018

Adorsi is a beautiful washing station located near the village of Aricha in the heart of Yirgacheffe, one of the world’s most celebrated coffee-growing regions. Many in specialty coffee associate the town with some of the most floral and elegant coffees produced in Ethiopia; a testament to the quality of coffee cherry grown in the hills that surround it.

Adorsi is owned and operated by Testi Specialty Coffee, a family-run company founded by Faysel Abdosh. The washing station holds a special place in Testi’s story as it was the first washing station that Faysel acquired in Yirgacheffe, and today it is one of the most established washing stations the family own. There are many reasons why Faysel was first drawn to Adorsi. The site is in a prime position to receive coffee cherry from some of the best farmers in the region, whose farms sit at 1,900 – 2,000 meters above sea level. The washing station itself also sits at a high elevation, and this, combined with Aricha’s cool climate, allows coffee to dry slowly, and develop greater complexity and sweetness. The site also sits alongside the Wogida river which provides water for processing.

Beyond the breathtaking views it overlooks, what is most striking about Adorsi is the sense of community that Testi have built and fostered here since taking the reigns eight years ago. There is a beautiful house located at the heart of the washing station, where coffee is brewed and meals are shared during the harvest. On our most recent visit to Adorsi, we were welcomed by the most beautiful singing – but it was the laughter and animated chatter amongst the team that echoed across the hillside, and the visible pride and care that was being taken to process the coffee, that stuck with us long after we left.

Adorsi receives coffee cherries from smallholder farms in ten neighbouring villages (kebeles). These include three that informed Adorsi’s name: Aricha, Idido and Gersi. The coffees from each of these villages is processed seperately, to provide added traceability and preserve and showcase a unique taste of place. This particular lot comes from the village of Aricha.

Each outgrower that delivers to Adorsi receives payment on delivery of their cherry, including a premium above the annual market rate set by the Ethiopian government. Farmers who are registered with the washing station also receive a second premium payment three months later or after the lot has been sold, based on what they have delivered. This usually happens around June or July (coinciding with the Ethiopian winter), which is when they would be preparing for the next harvest.

During our last trip to Adorsi, we visited one of the small-scale outgrowers that delivers to the washing station: Nisusse Salo. Nisusse and his family live on a steep three-hectare farm. Like most of the region’s farmers, the Salos grow their coffee under a rich canopy of native trees like Birbira, Wanza, and Acacia which shade and produce important debris and ground cover that acts as a natural fertiliser and prevents erosion. Families like Nisusse’s tend to farm organically, on tiny plots of land. Coffee is their main cash crop and grows alongside food crops like false banana, corn, grain and bananas.