Hadeso (pronounced “Had-ess-oh”) is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Shakisso woreda (administrative district) in Ethiopia’s Guji zone. The washing station is named after the nearby kebele (local village) of Hadeso, and is one of 28 owned and managed by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr. Faysel A. Yonis.

Sitting at 1,950m above sea level, Hadeso produces exceptional washed and natural processed lots. The washing station was established in 2017, and currently employs eight permanent staff and 250 seasonal workers. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebele of Dambi Uddo and a collection point in Addis.

The majority of the families that contribute to this lot farm organically on tiny plots of land, which average between two to five hectares 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 1,800–2,050m 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.

PROCESSING

This coffee has been processed following the washed method, using fresh, clean water. It is classified as Grade 1, the highest quality classification for Ethiopian coffees, indicating a great deal of effort has been put into the selecting and grading during processing.

Each day, carefully hand-picked coffee cherries are delivered to the Hadeso washing station and are meticulously sorted by hand and in a floatation tank prior to processing to remove unripe, overripe, or damaged fruit, in order to enhance the quality and sweetness of the cup.

After sorting, the coffee cherries are then pulped to remove the fruit and skin and graded by weight; heavier beans are of superior quality and deliver a sweeter cup. After grading, the parchment-covered coffee is soaked in tanks of clean water for 36–48 hours to remove the mucilage (sticky fruit pulp) by allowing it to ferment and detach from the coffee.

The coffee is then re-washed and graded again by density in washing channels and soaked in clean water for 12 hours. While doing this, mill workers keep a close eye on the clarity of the water being used (and replace it with fresh water as necessary), and check the parchment manually to feel how much mucilage is left on the seeds. As the texture of the washed seeds changes, and millworkers notice slightly more traction, parchment is just about ready to be dried.