Ayla Bensa
Region:
Sidamo, Ethiopia
Washing station:
Ayla Bensa
Varieties: Mixed Heirloom
Altitude:1950 – 2000 m.
Processes: Natural, Washed
Common cupping notes:
Orange ,Florals ,Winey
Bombe coffee and taste profile
Bombe is a high-altitude location in the Bombe mountains of Bensa district, Sidama (around 2000 m.a.s.l). This altitude plays a key role in why the Bombe coffee is so special. Very high altitudes make things difficult for the coffee tree. The colder climate slows the growth cycle, and development takes longer. Coffee harvests from higher altitudes are typically later than those at lower altitudes, even in the same vicinity. In addition, higher altitudes tend to have better water drainage, so that reduces the amount of water freely available to the coffee tree.
The result is a slowly matured cherry that is small, dense, and packed with flavor. Lastly, coffee in Bombe tends to ripen uniformly. This makes picking the cherries a simpler process because they are all perfectly ripe for picking at the same time. Together, these many factors combine to produce Bombe’s delightful flavor packed with citrusy and floral notes.
Processing at Ayla Bensa
As opposed to the high-altitude farms, Bombe coffee is processed lower down at the Ayla Bensa washing station. The washing station maintains a buying station, so farmers do not need to travel far to sell their cherries to the Ayla Bensa team.
Once at the Ayla Bensa washing station, Bombe coffee is processed as a separate lot, kept apart from other coffees to preserve its unique flavor. The washing process starts with removing the pulp, a couple of days of fermentation in water, followed by a manual rinse, and finishes with the coffee beans drying on raised beds until the moisture content reaches desired levels.
