Ethiopia Banko Gotiti

About this coffee

Banko Gotiti Washing Station

Banko Gotiti is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Yirgacheffe _woreda _(administrative district) in Ethiopia’s Gedeo zone. The washing station is found in the kebele (local village) of Banko Gotiti, and is one of 26 owned and managed by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr Faysel A. Yonis.

Sitting at 2,100m above sea level, Huke 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.

The washing station currently employs five permanent staff and between 150-200 seasonal workers. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebeles of Banko Gotiti, Chelba, Chelchele and Chelbessai. At Huke, Testi separates and processes each kebele’s cherry delivery as a distinct lot, providing extra traceability. This particular coffee comes from the kebele of Banko Gotiti, giving the lot its name.

The majority of the families that contribute to this lot farm organically on tiny plots of land, averaging under 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. Most outgrowers who contribute to this lot live within 5-7 kilometres of Huke washing station, and their crop grows under exceptionally prodigious conditions, which adds to the distinct cup quality of this lot.

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.

This Banko Gotiti lots embodies everything that we love in washed Ethiopian coffees – clean, complex and overall sweet cup. One of the best washed coffees we cupped this year – flavours of peach, lemongrass, black tea and some floral notes.