Ethiopia Arsosala Special Preparation: Sample Coffee Roasters

Ethiopia
Arsosala
Special Preparation

Arsosala washing station currently serves 1,200 smallholder producers in Urga woreda, Guji. Their coffee has notes of white peach, jasmine, and bergamot.

Body Acidity

Roasted omni for filter and espresso

Arsosala is a washing station founded in 2015 that currently serves about 1,200 smallholder producers in the Urga woreda (district) of Guji, a beautifully forested area in southern Ethiopia. Before the early 2000s, this region was considered part of Sidama but has since become its own ‘independent’ one.

Growers here tend small coffee gardens at very high altitudes in the rich red soil of the highlands; they often grow other crops as well. As commonly happens in the rest of the country, smallholders deliver their coffee in cherry to the closest washing station—in this case, Arsosala—where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, paid for or given a receipt, and later processed in bulk.

Blending all these cherries (typically separated or tagged per day lots) makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know the producers participating in each bag; that’s why the coffees are sold under and referred to the name the washing station.

The cherries of this lot were picked ripe and de-pulped the same day, then fermented overnight before being washed clean and dried on raised beds (it typically takes the coffee 8–15 days to dry under sun and 15–20 days to dry when there are cloudy skies).

The ‘special preparation’ refers to an additional inspection during hand-sorting stage, just before the fermentation starts, to make sure only the ripest cherries make it to this lot.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Heirloom coffee beans, provided by Cafe Imports and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: 1200 Smallholders
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Guji
Altitude: 1800-1900m above sea level
Varietals: Heirloom
Process: Washed
Harvested: November 2022
Body: Light
Acidity: Refined
Tasting notes: White peach, jasmine and bergamot
Roast style: Omni

The location

Coffee from Ethiopia

Seen as the birthplace of domesticated coffee, there are not many more exciting times at the Sample warehouse as when our fresh Ethiopian lots arrive. Legend says it’s our favourite origin…

The Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia

Unique for its floral and highly aromatic coffees. Some our of very favourite and memorable Ethiopian coffees have emerged from this legendary region.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.