Suke Kudensa is a privately-owned washing station that is located in the Uraga woreda (administrative district) in Ethiopia’s Guji zone. Suke Kudensa WS and is one of twenty owned and managed by Testi Coffee, a family-owned company founded by Mr Faysel A. Yonis.
Sitting at 2000 m above sea level, Suke Kudensa WS produces exceptional washed and natural processed lots. The washing station was established in 2021, and currently employs eight permanent staff and 250 seasonal workers. During harvest, freshly picked coffee cherry is delivered daily by some 500 independent outgrowers from the nearby kebele to a collection point in Addis.
The majority of the families that contribute to this lot farm organically on tiny plots of land, which average just 2 hectares in size. Coffee is their main cash crop and grows alongside food crops of corn, grain and bananas, under the shade of native Birbira, Wanza, and Acacia trees. The average elevation of the farms in this region is very high – around 1,900–2,050m above sea level – and this, combined region’s cool temperatures, is ideal for the slow ripening of coffee cherries, leading to denser beans and a sweeter, more complex cup profile.