This coffee's story

ADNAN WASHING STATION

Adnan is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Hamasho kebena (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, Adnan 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.

Adnan 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 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebeles of Bura 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.

ABOUT THE SIDAMO COFFEE REGION

Historically, Sidamo refers to a wide geographical region encompassing much of central-south Ethiopia, that is well known for producing exceptional natural and washed coffees. The region is located in Ethiopia’s South East Coffee Zone, and includes renowned coffee-producing localities such as Yirgacheffe, Kochere, West Arsi, Bensa and Guji. Sidamo extends across the states of Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR), two of eleven ethnically-based regional states of Ethiopia. After a 2019 Referendum, some of the territories that fall under the the Sidamo coffee region have separated from the SNNPR and become the autonomous Sidamo regional state.

Coffees that are grown and processed in Sidamo showcase an extremely diverse range of flavour profiles, and are noted for their intensely fruit-forward, tea-like, floral and complex character that is sought after worldwide. It is widely accepted that the coffee species, Arabica, originated in the lush forests of southern forests of Ethiopia and hence growing conditions in this area are perfectly suited for producing exquisite coffees.

ABOUT TESTI COFFEE

Testi Trading PLC is a family-owned company embedded at the origin to supply the specialty coffee industry with high-quality coffee beans. Mr. Faysel together with his family established Testi Trading PLC in 2009. The name ‘Testi’ means joy or Happiness in the Harrari language (it is also the name of Faysel’s middle son).

Testi coffee is focusing on quality and long-term relationships, as well as maximizing the potential of Ethiopian Coffee. Their focus is to work with their supply chain of smallholder farms to improve their livelihoods and living conditions. Testi coffee independently own 3 farms and twenty washing stations in all specialty coffee growing regions.

Processing

Fermentation
At the washing station, freshly harvested cherries undergo careful pre-selection to ensure only the highest-quality fruit moves forward. The cherries are first immersed in clean water tanks, where density naturally does the sorting. Floaters—often unripe, overripe, insect-damaged, or otherwise defective cherries—rise to the surface and are removed. This step ensures that only ripe, healthy cherries with optimal sugar content continue in the process, setting a clean foundation for fermentation and flavor development.

Drying Method
After separation, the selected cherries are transferred in small, controlled batches of approximately 25 kg and evenly laid out on raised African drying beds at a thin depth of about 5 cm. This careful layering allows air to circulate freely around each cherry, promoting slow and even drying. Throughout the day, Testi’s team turns the cherries 5 to 6 times to guarantee uniform sun exposure and to prevent overheating or fermentation defects.

Drying takes place under natural sunlight and typically lasts between 15 and 21 days, depending on weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, and cloud cover. The process is closely monitored until the cherries reach an ideal moisture content of 11–12%, ensuring stability while preserving the coffee’s vibrant fruit character. Once the target moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are relocated to the nearest warehouse, where they are stored under controlled conditions until further processing and export preparation.