Ayla Bombe

by Mecca Coffee

During the harvest season 725 independent growers deliver freshly picked cherries daily to the Ayla Bombe washing station in the Sidama zone of Ethiopia. Most of these farmers grow coffee organically on tiny plots of land in the surrounding area, averaging under 2 hectares per family. Ayla Bombe is one of 26 washing stations owned by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Faysel Yonis and is named Ayla after one of Mr. Faysel’s nieces.   Sitting at an ideal height of 1950m above sea level (MASL), the station producers some exceptional washed coffees thanks to the nearby Bonora river and the wide array of other crops gown on the land by the 725 farmers, everything from acacia trees to bananas. The average elevation of the farms in this region is very high – around 1,950–2,150 MASL - and this, combined with the region’s cool temperatures is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, leading to denser beans and a sweeter, more complex cup profile. In 2018 Tetsi Coffee launch