Ethiopia Nansebo Refisa (washed)

12oz Bag

Key Lime, Jasmine Tea, Chrysanthemum

Process: Washed

Coop: Smallholder farms from villages surrounding Refisa washing station

Varietal: Indigenous landraces and heirloom varietals

Region: Nansebo, West Arsi

Producer: Many small plot producers around Refisa

The Testi West Arsi Washing Station was established in 2010 and serves about 850 smallholder producers in the area. The farmers deliver their cherry to the washing station, where it is depulped, fermented for 24–48 hours, and washed before being dried on raised beds for 12–15 days.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.

The washing stations serve as many as several hundred to sometimes a thousand or more producers, who deliver cherry throughout the harvest season: The blending of these cherries into day lots makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know precisely whose coffee winds up in which bags on what day, making traceability to the producer difficult. We do, however, make every available effort to source coffee from the same washing stations every year, through our export partners and their connections with mills and washing stations.

Typically farmers in this region don't have access to and therefore do not utilize fertilizers or pesticides in the production of coffee.

This washed Ethiopian from Case Study Coffee sources smallholder lots from villages surrounding the Refisa washing station in Nansebo, West Arsi. The coffee is built on indigenous landraces and heirloom varietals—genetic material deeply rooted in Ethiopia's coffee origins. Washed processing typically emphasizes cleaner, brighter fruit and floral notes, and here the roaster identifies key lime brightness alongside jasmine tea and chrysanthemum florals, suggesting a delicate, tea-like character. These flavor markers point toward the refined aromatic profile that regional elevation and varietal complexity can produce. For reference, explore the flavor wheel to contextualize these tasting dimensions within the wider sensory spectrum.