Gara Sole is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Hamesho Borona kebele (village) in Ethiopia’s Sidama zone. The washing station is one of 26 owned and managed by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr Faysel A. Yonis.
Sitting at 2,200m above sea level, Gara Sole produces exceptional washed, natural and special preparation lots. The site was built by Testi in 2021 as a ‘premium’ facility, and selected for its natural advantages – including its high elevation, the surrounding region’s characteristics and access to fresh, clean water. By choosing sites in areas favoured with great growing conditions and paying premiums for properly harvested fruit, Testi ensures they only receive extremely high quality cherry, resulting in outstanding complexity and distinction in the resulting cup.
Gara Sole WS currently employs three permanent staff and around 160 seasonal workers, depending on how busy the season is. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 400 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebeles of Hamesho Borona district. At the washing station, Testi separates and processes each kebele’s cherry delivery as a distinct lot, providing extra traceability.
The majority of the families that contribute to the site farm organically on tiny plots of land, averaging less than one hectare in size. Coffee is their main cash crop and grows alongside food crops of corn, grain and bananas, under the shade of native Birbira, Wanza, and Acacia trees. The average elevation of the farms in this region is very high – around 2,000–2,200m above sea level – and this, combined region’s cool temperatures, is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, leading to denser beans and a sweeter, more complex cup profile.
This coffee lot was produced as part of Testi’s quality improvement initiative, Premium Cherry Selection (PCS). Launched in 2018, the Premium Cherry Selection program ensures that best practices are used for growing, harvesting and processing the coffee cherry. Through the program, Testi pay a premium to farmers who pick and deliver only the ripest cherries from their farms. Coffees produced as part of the program represent the highest quality and cleanest cup profile available from the washing station and wider region.
First, 85% well-ripe, 0% overripe, and 5% semi-ripe cherries were selected. The cherries were then immersed in the water tank to remove the floaters.
Drying method: The cherries are dried on raised beds. The 125 kg of cherries were placed on each bed with thickness as thin as possible. The raised beds were placed in a location with more wind blow and less sunlight. The drying goes slowly for 30 days under the shade net.
Improved Process: the floaters to zero level. Cherries were dried on raised African beds for 30 days. The beds were installed in spaces exposed to more wind than extreme sunlight. This helped the cherries dry slowly and kept the embryo active and healthy throughout the drying period.
