Ayele Tulu Natural, espresso

This washing station was established in 2014 by Ayele Tulu, who is a second-generation producer. The coffee collected by Ayele's washing station is grown at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 2,340 MASL. Over 600 coffee growers deliver their cherries to the washing station and 15 permanent employees work there. Coffee is a family affair, as his eldest son, Tsegab, has also worked in the industry for many years and today owns his own traceable coffee export company, Heleph Coffee Export. Heleph oversees all coffee preparation protocols, from harvest to export, ensuring the highest quality beans.

The Ayele Tulu washing station is in the Bona Zurita district, in the Sidama zone, 106km from Hawassa in Ethiopia. Sidama coffee is renowned for its complex and diverse flavor profiles. Coffee beans from this region often offer floral, fruity and sometimes spicy notes, with a lively acidity that is typical of Ethiopian coffees.

Since its launch, variety 74110 has become one of the most famous and widely propagated in Ethiopia, known for its floral and citrus profile. Variety 74112 has shown signs of resistance in the field, giving researchers the confidence to select the mother tree for resistance breeding. Variety 74112 has been particularly adopted at medium and high altitudes in the southern, south-western and western growing regions of Ethiopia. It is one of the most widely propagated varieties in Ethiopia.

The region's small growers bring their ripe cherries to the washing station, where they are laid out in thin layers to dry in the sun for 15 to 22 days, depending on weather conditions, until they reach a moisture content of 10 to 12%. During this drying phase, the coffees are regularly turned and sorted to ensure that the flavours develop evenly. The result in the cup is a pleasant acidity and gentle liveliness, highlighting the region's particular microclimate. Once dried, the beans are stored in a secure warehouse until they are transported to Addis Ababa for final processing.