Coffee culture

Ethiopian Washed Sidamo G2 Specialty Coffee Bean: Flavor, Mouthfeel, and Aroma Characteristics

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/28, Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo features clear fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbal notes. The washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The gentle and pleasant entry creates a strong contrast with the bright lemon acidity that follows, offering a unique, full-bodied mouthfeel with a distinctive and pleasant aftertaste. The slowly rising finish contains a unique sweetness. The raw coffee beans have a slight grayish tint.

Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo boasts clear fruit acidity and a smooth mouthfeel with delicate floral and herbal notes. Washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The gentle, pleasant entry contrasts with the bright lemon acidity that follows, creating a strong sensory impact. Its unique full-bodied aftertaste is distinctive and appealing, with a slowly rising finish that contains a special sweetness. The green coffee beans are slightly grayish, varying in size from coarse to fine. The acidity is both soft and intense, with an appropriate richness and a sweet, spicy flavor. It is one of the garden coffees from the southern highlands of Ethiopia.

Factory Name: Coffee Workshop
Factory Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Content: 227g
Packaging Method: Bulk coffee beans
Degree of Roasting: Roasted coffee beans
Contains Sugar: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Level: Light roast

Sidamo G2 Washed

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G2

Region: Sidamo

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local native varieties

Flavor Notes: Honey, citrus, lemon

Ethiopian Coffee Heritage

Today, large quantities of wild Arabica coffee trees still grow in many parts of Ethiopia, typically cultivated at altitudes between 4,200-6,800 feet. There is now a gradual trend toward small-scale cultivation, often with banana trees planted simultaneously for shade. Due to limited agricultural technology, there is minimal use of herbicides and pesticides. Coffee is Ethiopia's primary economic crop and the country's largest agricultural export and important industry, accounting for 60% of Ethiopia's total export value and sustaining the livelihoods of many small farms. Other crops include sugarcane, bananas, and cotton. Coffee is also Ethiopia's largest and most important commodity export after petroleum, and Africa's largest Arabica export, with a total value of approximately $300 million in 1997. In terms of total production, 94% comes from small farms and 6% from government institutions. Because many farms are scattered and also grow other crops, accurate statistics have been difficult to compile, but the country's official statistics indicate that the total coffee cultivation area is at least 400,000 hectares. The Ethiopian government encourages local farmers to improve quality and productivity to help coffee farmers expand commercial scale and increase production and exports.

During harvest time, farmers pick vibrant red fruits daily, with every two days' harvest forming a unit of coffee fruit that is sent or sold to washing stations for processing. Coffee fruits that do not go through washing stations typically undergo about 12 hours of natural fermentation, followed by sun-drying to dry and remove the husk. Regardless, farmers with slightly more means always try to send their coffee to washing stations for processing to earn the "washed processed" designation and fetch better prices. At washing stations, coffee cherries undergo about 12 hours of soaking and fermentation to soften the pulp, then pass through water channels with stirring to separate the pulp from coffee beans, with the pulp being discharged through gates.

Today, Ethiopia's washing stations are increasing in number and development. Small farmers sell their harvested coffee fruits to processing plants, which remove the husks before reselling through auction systems. The coffee then travels to the Red Sea port of Eritrea's Assab and Djibouti port near the Gulf of Aden. Although coffee is the country's most important agricultural export, its domestic consumption is also staggering, at approximately 1,500,000 bags (60kg each), accounting for 50% of total production. Wild coffee grows in the tropical rainforests of the southwestern highlands and is mostly hand-picked. However, for this reason, many local people maliciously destroy naturally formed rainforest areas - either cutting or burning them - to reach difficult, rugged mountain areas, seriously affecting ecological balance.

Whether washed or natural, all exported coffee is sent to auction exports in the capital Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa in Harar province. The Dire Dawa auction center typically exports natural Harar from the region. At the auction house, coffee information from different farms can be seen daily to facilitate traders' purchases. Ethiopian government officials also enter and exit this center daily to inspect and grade the coffee. Each time, 3 kilograms of green beans are randomly sampled from the same shipment for inspection.

Sidamo Region Characteristics

The Sidamo growing region, at elevations of 1,400-2,200 meters, is a renowned specialty coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya. Washed Sidamo beans appear light green, are not large in size, and have an oblong shape with full fruit. Their average quality is excellent, with a rich aromatic mellow flavor. A single drop leaves an endless aftertaste, possessing a wild beauty. Sidamo's coffee flavors are extremely diverse, with different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties creating obvious differences and characteristics in coffee produced by various towns.

From 2010-2012, it consistently achieved high scores of 92-94 from the authoritative American coffee evaluation website CR, demonstrating the extraordinary quality of green beans from this region. The area features towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, with diverse terrain. The local geology consists of nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil with depths of nearly two meters, with surface soil appearing dark brown or brown. The region's greatest advantage lies in maintaining soil fertility through the cycling of organic matter, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or remaining plant roots as fertilizer.

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