Testi\Duwancho (Premium)

Tasting Notes: Jasmine, lemon tea, yellow peach

Fragrance/Aroma: White florals, slightly creamy, grapefruit
Acidity: Structured, citric, malic
Body: Tea-like, silky
Aftertaste: Peach-like sweetness, slightly honeyed

A bright and poised cup that layers delicate florals with vibrant citrus before settling into a gentle stone fruit sweetness. Elegant in structure, it combines lively acidity with a refined, tea-like character that remains composed from start to finish.

The fragrance opens with soft white florals, complemented by hints of grapefruit and a subtle creamy sweetness that lends the aromatics an inviting roundness. Jasmine forms the aromatic backbone of the cup, its delicate floral character carrying gracefully through each sip without overwhelming the palate.

Structured citric and malic acidity gives the coffee both brightness and definition. Notes reminiscent of lemon tea emerge early, combining citrus zest with the gentle tannic quality of black tea to create a refreshing, lifted profile. As the acidity mellows, nuances of ripe yellow peach begin to unfold, adding a smooth, rounded fruit sweetness that softens the citrus while preserving the cup's clarity.

A tea-like, silky body reinforces the coffee's elegance, allowing the floral, citrus, and stone fruit elements to flow seamlessly into one another. The finish is long and refined, leaving lingering peach-like sweetness with a delicate honeyed quality that gently coats the palate without becoming heavy.

The result is a cup that feels both vibrant and composed, where jasmine provides aromatic lift, lemon tea contributes crisp structure, and yellow peach rounds out the experience with a mellow, honeyed sweetness that lingers well beyond the final sip.

Perched high in the village of Duwancho in Sidama's Bensa district, the Duwancho washing station is one of Testi Specialty Coffee's flagship processing sites, sourcing cherries from approximately 350 smallholder farmers growing coffee on the region's steep, fertile highlands. The station has earned international recognition for its uncompromising approach to quality, with coffees from Duwancho placing second in the 2021 Cup of Excellence Ethiopia and fourteenth in 2022, while a natural-processed lot also secured third place in the 2022/23 Ethiopian Taste of Harvest competition. These achievements reflect both the exceptional terroir of Bensa and Testi's continued investment in precision processing.

This particular lot, however, represents an even rarer selection. Rather than blending deliveries from across the station's supplier network, it is composed exclusively of cherries from just ten core producers living closest to the washing station. Their farms are organically cultivated beneath native shade trees, where the cool climate and high elevations allow cherries to mature slowly, concentrating sweetness and aromatic complexity. Produced in extremely limited quantities, the lot showcases a remarkably focused expression of the JARC 74148 cultivar and the distinctive character of Duwancho's landscape.

The same level of selectivity continues through processing. Cherries are washed using fresh water drawn from the nearby Lugita River before undergoing rigorous hand-sorting and flotation to remove underripe or defective fruit. Within six to eight hours of harvest, the cherries are depulped and graded by density before entering polyurethane fermentation tanks for 48 hours. Throughout fermentation, the water is replaced twice and temperatures are carefully maintained between 20.5 and 21.5°C, ensuring a slow, controlled breakdown of the mucilage while minimising the risk of over-fermentation.

Drying is equally meticulous. The parchment coffee is spread on raised African beds beneath shade netting for approximately 21 days, where it is turned continuously by hand and carefully inspected to remove any remaining defects. By slowing moisture loss and protecting the coffee from excessive heat, the process preserves the vibrant florality, refined acidity, and layered sweetness that have become hallmarks of Duwancho's finest coffees. The result is a tiny, carefully curated lot that reflects not only the remarkable potential of Bensa's highlands, but also Testi’s extraordinary attention to detail applied from harvest through to the final drying stage.

Sourced from: 品力非
We paid: S$38.50/kg
Roasted cost: S$58.30/kg

Moisture content: 9.3%
Weight loss: 10.4%
Agtron: W73.8 / G116.5 / △42.7