AYLA

ETHIOPIA YELLOW BLOSSOM, FLORAL, CITRUS, GRAPEFRUIT, STONEFRUIT PRODUCER : FAYSEL ABDOSH VARIETAL : JARC 74158 PROCESS : WASHED REGION : BOMBE, BENSA, SIDAMA ALTITUDE : 2000 to 2350 MASL We cupped this in February while working through Faysel Abdosh's washed Sidamas, and it was the one we kept coming back to. It comes from Ayla Bombe, his first washing station in Sidama, about four kilometres from the town of Daye. He named it after his niece Ayla and the village of Bombe where it sits. The farms are on the slopes of Bombe Mountain under forest shade, between 2000 and 2350 metres, so the cherries ripen slowly. It is a washed coffee made with Testi's improved method: a 96 hour fermentation with the water changed every 24 hours at around 20 to 21°C, then 15 days drying on raised beds under shade nets. The variety is JARC 74158, a small bean that gives Bombe its floral character. In the cup it is clean and floral, with grapefruit and citrus, yellow blossom, and a soft stonefruit sweetness underneath.