Gera Agena Washing Station

The Gera Agena washing station is owned by Testi Trading and operated by the Yonis family and their team. Faysel has consistently produced incredible coffees out this project and has broken many records on Faysel's private auction with their naturals from the site.

Processing

Anaerobic natural

First, cherries are immersed and floated in water tanks to remove the low density coffees. Cherries are then closed in an airtight fermentation tank. The tanks are regulated by valves to ensure no oxygen can enter throughout the fermentation process. The fermentation occurred for 7 days until the pH level dropped to the target 3.8 in order to highlight the desired profile of winey, dry fruit, juicy, rich floral and tropical flavors. Throughout the 7 days, the fermentation tanks were placed in concrete water baths to maintain constant temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius and to keep the fermentation very slow. The fermentation process was homogenized by rotating or moving the tanks.

After seven days, the fermentation was suspended by taking out the cherries from the tanks. On the first day out of tanks, a quick drying is applied until the coffee humidity drops to 35%. Cherries were then dried for 30 days under shade on African beds. Once the drying period is completed and the humidity decreased to 12%, cherries were collected and stored in a conducive warehouse for four weeks of resting time before final milling and sorting.

Project Direct

Faysel and his team at Testi Trading makes significant investments in the communities that they operate in through their Project Direct initiatives. So far they have completed construction of multiple primary schools and even the first ever high school in the town of Hamasho, a small town in Sidama.