Jigesa (pronounced “Jee-geh-sa”) is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Shakisso woreda (administrative district) in Ethiopia’s Guji zone. It is named after the kebele (local village) of Jigesa. It was the first of 26 washing stations established by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr Faysel A. Yonis.

Sitting at 1,851m above sea level, Jigesa produces exceptional washed and natural processed lots. The washing station was established in 2014, and currently employs between 250-260 seasonal workers—around 200 of them are women who hand-sort parchment, while the remaining 50 work at the onsite dry mill. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebele of Dambi Uddo and collection points in Wese and Suke.

This coffee is mostly made up of local landrace varieties Kurume and Wolisho.

Each day, carefully hand-picked coffee cherries are delivered to the wet mill and are meticulously hand-sorted prior to processing to remove unripe, overripe, or damaged fruit, in order to enhance the quality and sweetness of the cup

After a few days, when the coffee has reached 25% humidity—this is called the “raisin stage”—the layers of coffee are gradually increased. Careful attention and control during this drying phase ensures the coffee is stable and that a clean and balanced cup profile is achieved. The coffee is turned constantly whilst drying to ensure that it dries evenly and consistently. At midday, the coffee is covered to protect it from full sun. It is also covered overnight to prevent damage from morning dew.

Credit: Melbourne Coffee Merchant