Ethiopia West Arsi Ararso Gr1 Natural - Green

Country: Ethiopia Region: Ararso, West Arsi Varietal: Wolish, Kurume Process: Natural Altitude: 1,900 - 2,000 MASL Cupping Notes: Apricot, Cherry, Cola Recommended Roast: City to Full City Good For: Pour Over, Auto Drip, Espresso Description: This coffee comes from the Ararso Washing Station in the Ararso kebele (community) in West Arsi, Oromia. The region is able to grow coffee at 2,000+ meters above sea level which allows for slow cherry maturation that leads to dense, high quality coffee. This station is owned and operated by Kassim, who has had a long relationship with of our export partner in Ethiopia. Kassim is credited with putting a spotlight on the region for the cup quality of his coffees , after being recognized at the 2020 Cup of Excellence. In the 2024 harvest year, 192 small holder farmers delivered coffee to Kassim’s Ararso. The two varieties in this lot are popular in the region, Kurume is the most popular and originated in Yirgacheffe’s forests, Wolisho is also popular and comes from the highlands. This station processes both special preparation coffees, and traditional washed coffees, like this one. The washed coffees here are first pulped and washed with running water upon delivery to the station. After this, coffee is then fermented for 48-72 hours before being taken to shaded drying beds where they begin drying for 3 days, protected from direct sunlight and then finished drying on traditional African drying beds until they reach 11.5% moisture content. Data collection throughout processing, monitoring things like temperature, PH, and humidity have helped improve quality year over year.