Testi Bishan Wate Washed Heirloom

$35.00
About This Coffee

ROAST: Light
ORIGIN: Bishan Wate, Hambella, Guji, Ethiopia
NOTES: Spiced Mango, Peach Tea, Earl Grey

This washed Ethiopian coffee from Faysel Abdosh and Testi Coffee is a beautifully clean expression of high-elevation Guji, produced at the Bishan Wate washing station overlooking the Wate River.

The approach here is meticulous but refreshingly traditional. Freshly harvested cherries arrive at the station and are depulped within eight hours, fermented for 36–48 hours, carefully hand-washed, and slowly shade-dried on raised beds.

The result, according to the producing team, is a sparkling, clean coffee with a bright fruit profile. This is exactly the kind of clarity and structure that makes great washed Ethiopian coffee so compelling.

Story

Faysel Abdosh's relationship with coffee began remarkably early. He started buying and selling coffee locally at just 16 years old, eventually turning decades of experience in the Ethiopian coffee industry into what would become Testi Coffee.

In 2009, Faysel founded Testi, naming the company after his middle son — a name meaning "joy" in the Harari language.

Today, Testi operates more than 35 washing stations across Ethiopia's major coffee-growing regions, working with producers and communities to bring exceptional Ethiopian coffees to the international specialty market.

Faysel has also been part of Ethiopia's changing specialty coffee landscape, including hosting one of the country's early private coffee auctions. His coffees have since become sought after by specialty roasters around the world.

The Bishan Wate washing station is located in Hambella, Guji, at high elevation overlooking the Wate River.

Moii identifies this particular coffee as 74165, an Ethiopian variety grown in the high elevations surrounding the station.

Elevation is an important part of the story here. The supplied producer material describes the station itself as sitting at nearly 2,200 MASL, while Moii's current listing places the coffee's growing elevation higher, around 2,350 MASL. Taken together, it is firmly a high-elevation Guji coffee.

But what makes Bishan Wate particularly interesting isn't simply where the coffee grows. It's the attention given to the coffee once the cherries reach the station.

Origin & Process

Bishan Wate – The Process

This is a classic washed Ethiopian process, but the details reveal just how much work goes into creating that sense of cleanliness in the cup.

🍒 Fresh Cherry Reception – Within approximately eight hours of harvest, cherries arriving at Bishan Wate are prepared for processing.

⚙️ Depulping – The fruit is removed from the coffee before fermentation begins.

⏱ 36–48 Hour Fermentation – The depulped coffee ferments for 36–48 hours, allowing the remaining mucilage to break down.

💧 Hand Washing – Following fermentation, the coffee is washed by hand. Staff monitor the clarity of the water, physically feel the parchment for remaining mucilage, and even listen to the sound of the coffee moving through the washing channels to determine when the process is complete.

🌤 5–7 Day Shade Drying – The washed coffee is moved onto raised beds, where it dries under shade for approximately five to seven days until reaching its ideal moisture level.

That combination of careful fermentation, sensory evaluation during washing, and controlled shade drying is designed to preserve the coffee's cleanliness and allow the character of the variety and origin to remain at the forefront.

Origin & Process

📍 Station: Bishan Wate

🌎 Location: Hambella, Guji, Ethiopia

🌱 Producer: Faysel Abdosh / Testi Coffee

🍒 Variety: 74165

🧪 Process: Washed

⏱ Fermentation: 36–48 Hours

🌤 Drying: Raised Beds Under Shade, 5–7 Days

🏔 Elevation: Approx. 2,200–2,350 MASL

Brewing Recommendation

Best brewed as a pour-over or as a Soup on the OXO Rapid Brewer to highlight its clarity, sparkling acidity, and clean high-elevation structure.