Yaye [Anaerobic]

Yaye is a privately-owned carwash located in the woreda (administrative district) of Arbegona, in the Sidamo zone of Ethiopia. The wash station is located in the kebele (local village) of Chericho, and is one of twenty owned and operated by Testi Coffee, a family business founded by Mr. Faysel A. Yonis.

Located at an altitude of 2,230 meters, Yaye produces exceptional batches of washed, natural and specially prepared coffee. Built in 2021, the washing station is one of Testi's premium sites, which means it accepts only the highest quality cherries, and farmers receive additional payments for these batches. The premium sites are selected according to their regional characteristics (Yaye, for example, was built next to the Gelana River), which streamlines processing and ensures that they only receive cherries from local farmers who grow coffee in exceptionally prodigious conditions.

During the harvest, freshly picked coffee cherries are delivered daily by some 300 independent growers from the kebeles surrounding the nearby Tulecha mountain. The average altitude of farms in this region is very high - around 1,995-2,230 m above sea level - which, combined with the region's cool temperatures, is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, resulting in denser beans and a smoother, more complex cup profile.