Ethiopia West Arsi Daye Bensa G1 Washed

Tasting Note:  Floral | Citrus | Honey | Green Tea

 Size:  200g/1kg

Brewing Recommendation: Filter Brews / Modern Espresso 

Citrus is the first thing you'll meet in this washed Grade 1 Ethiopian coffee from West Arsi: a clean cup where zesty citrus sits up front, backed by floral lift, a little honey sweetness and a green-tea finish. It's grown from Heirloom varieties high up at 1,900-2,220m and prepared by the respected exporter Daye Bensa.

The people behind it

We roast it; the story behind it belongs to Daye Bensa, the Sidama-based export house founded in 1996 by brothers Asefa and Mulugeta Dukamo. They've been exporting since 2006 and built a serious reputation along the way, with multiple Cup of Excellence placements to their name. Those wins are for other Sidama lots rather than this one, but they tell you the kind of care these hands bring. Sourcing cherry from thousands of smallholder farmers across a string of washing stations and running their own dry mills, they reached beyond their home district into West Arsi for this lot.

West Arsi, the high-altitude neighbour

West Arsi is one of Ethiopia's emerging coffee zones, historically counted as part of neighbouring Sidama and grown by smallholders on small garden plots of roughly two hectares each. It sits high, which is exactly what you want for a cup this bright and articulate.

In the cup

Expect citrus front and centre, the way a squeeze of limau wakes up everything around it, then floral and tea-like notes drifting in behind, a thread of honeyed sweetness, and a clean green-tea close. The washed preparation keeps everything tidy and transparent, so nothing muddies that citrus.

Grab a bag online, dial in a pour-over, and let that citrus do the talking; bright is exactly how this one wants to be brewed.