ETHIOPIA
Arsosala

Arsosala washing station was built in 2016 in the Guji highlands. Farmers in the region began cultivating coffee fairly recently. As a result, the trees are young and their quality and yields are high. About 1,200 farmers deliver to the station. Arsosala pays a 5-10% premium to incentivize high-quality cherry selection.

Farmers and their families selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and deliver it to Arsosala washing station. At intake, cherry is floated to remove underripes and then pulped on the station’s pulper. Coffee is placed in fermentation tanks and fermented for 36 to 72 hours before being washed in clean water and run through washing canals. Parchment is soaked in clean spring water for a further 8 to 16 hours.

After soaking, parchment is laid on skin drying tables for 1 day to allow as much water to run off as possible. During this time, parchment is carefully inspected by workers who remove any damaged beans because it is easiest to detect damages when parchment is wet.