MALAWO, Sidama Washed

This beautiful coffee comes from Arbegona, one of the thirty districts (or woredas) in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. Located in the Sidama zone, Arbegona—which is also the name of the main town—is bordered by Bona Zuria to the south, Bursa to the southwest, Gorche to the northwest, and Bensa to the east.

The cherries are harvested from small plots in the highland area, specifically in a village called Boreta. Situated at a staggering altitude of 2,200 masl, this village stands among Ethiopia's highest growing areas, earning its coffees the prestigious "Highland Coffee" designation. The area enjoys a sunny climate and is surrounded by lush vegetation. While coffee is the main cash crop, farmers also cultivate sugar cane, false banana, spices, and vegetables.

Cherries are sorted for density and quality by floating them in large water tanks. After flotation, they're transferred to African raised beds with mesh nets, where they're rotated every 30 minutes to ensure even drying and control fermentation. Drying typically takes 12-15 days, depending on temperature and humidity. Finally, the dried cherries are stored in warehouses for flavour development.

Daye Bensa was founded in 1996 by two coffee producing brothers Asefa Dukamo Korma and Mulugeta Dukamo. They began exporting their high-quality coffees in 2006 and went on to place highly in several Cup of Excellence competitions. Today Asefa acts as the CEO and Mulugeta manages the expansion and construction of washing stations.

74158 was one of the outcomes of the Metu-Bishari Selection program conducted by the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) in the mid-1970s. The program targeted forests around the Bishari village in the Metu woreda to select CBD-resistant mother trees.

The offspring of these selected mother trees have been widely propagated due to their high yield potential and excellent resistance to CBD.

The washed process was designed to minimize the risk of off-flavours caused by uncontrolled fermentation during the natural process. Cherries are typically sorted using a flotation tank, where under-ripe or defective fruits float to the top and can be removed. The remaining cherries are then pulped and left in a tank to ferment until the sticky fruit mucilage is soft enough to be washed off the parchment—a paper-like layer surrounding the seed.

The design and cleanliness of the tanks are crucial, and the degree and speed of fermentation depend on various factors. These include the amount of fruit remaining, the presence of bacteria and yeasts, whether the tank is filled with water, and the environmental conditions.

Once the mucilage has sufficiently degraded, it's washed away with water. The remaining parchment coffee, as it's commonly called, is then dried until it reaches a safe moisture content. The bacteria-rich and sugary water used in the process must be treated carefully, as it can cause algae blooms if it enters streams and rivers.

In situations where large amounts of coffee are processed in bulk, such as in Ethiopia, some operations have found it economical to use a mechanical demucilager. This device removes all the fruit from the parchment with minimal water, bypassing the fermentation stage entirely. However, some believe this leads to a reduction in cup quality, as many flavour precursors are created through fermentation.