Ethiopian Sidamo Natural Process Guji Specialty Coffee Beans: Cultivation, Geographic Location, Climate, and Altitude Overview

Product Information

Brand: FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qianjie Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf life: 90 days
Net weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Mellow and aromatic
Coffee bean state: Roasted beans
Sugar content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee variety: Other
Roast level: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Origin Details

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Shakisso region, Guji Zone

Altitude: 1800-2000 meters

Processing method: Natural process

Shakisso coffee is remarkably distinctive, and its production has consistently drawn market attention. The legendary Ninety Plus bean Nekisse takes its name and origin from here, meaning "Nectar from Shakisso."

Coffee Details

Variety: Local native heirloom

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Sidamo's coffee flavors are exceptionally diverse. Different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties give each town and area its own distinct character. The Sidamo region lies in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates the economy and coffee-growing areas ring the Great Rift Valley.

Shakisso sits in Guji, in the southern Oromia region, bordering Sidamo and Gedeo. The area contains numerous pits left over from historical gold mining, leaving many holes across the coffee-growing land and making it dangerous to walk between plots. Shakisso stands as a unique region within Guji and Sidamo; even within Sidamo, it remains remote and far from most coffee-producing locations. Gold is the district's other famous product, and disputes over miners, land, and ethnicity caused instability here in 2006. As a result, the greatest challenge the area now faces is the manpower needed to maintain plantations and bring in the harvest. Local smallholders began growing organic coffee in 2001, working closely with medium-sized producers who know how to cultivate forest coffee in highland conditions.

Flavor Profile

Flavor notes: lemon, mango, blueberry, wine-like aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Shakisso's natural-process Ethiopian character, with its lemon, mango, and blueberry notes, is exactly the profile FrontStreet Coffee's natural Ethiopian lots are built around. FrontStreet's natural Flower Queen from Hambella, Guji, is the clearest example: ripe cherries are dried on raised beds for 21 days, turned constantly, and hand-sorted every three to five days, then roasted medium-light to bring out a gentle fermented wine note, florals, citrus, and mango with honeyed sweetness, a cocoa edge, and a thick, lingering body.

For a more everyday natural, FrontStreet's Natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe dries whole cherries for roughly two weeks until moisture falls to 12%, then hulls, density- and color-sorts, and hand-picks them. Because the fruit stays on through drying, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe citrus acidity alongside a berry-juice quality, honey sweetness, and creamy smoothness.

If you prefer the washed side of Ethiopia, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe is the most accessible entry point: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a light, tea-like body. Grown in the southern highlands around 1,700-2,100 meters, with the trees above 1,800 meters, it makes one of the highest-grown coffees in the world.