The Story and Heritage of Ethiopian Sidamo Sun-Dried Guji Premium Coffee Beans

The coffee flavors of Sidamo are extremely diverse. Different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties have created obvious differences and characteristics in the coffee produced from town to town. The Sidamo production area lies in southern Ethiopia. The industry here is dominated by agriculture, with coffee-growing areas around the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

Pour-over Sidamo Brewing Method

15g of coffee grounds, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth burr grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water, let it bloom for 27 seconds, pour up to 105g and pause, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before continuing to pour, slowly pour until reaching 225g total, discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Shakisso production area, Guji Zone

Altitude: 1800-2000 meters

Processing Method: Natural

Ingredients: In-house roasted Shelf Life: 90 days Net Weight: 227g Packaging: Bulk Taste: Mellow and aromatic Roast Level: Light roast Sugar Content: Sugar-free Coffee Type: Other specialty varieties

Coffee from Shakisso possesses remarkable uniqueness and has consistently drawn market attention. The legendary Ninety Plus bean "Nekisse" originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso," deriving both its production region and name from Shakisso.

Variety: Local native Heirloom

Producer: Local small farmers

Shakisso, in Guji, in the southern Oromia region, borders Sidamo and Gedeo. The area contains numerous mining pits originally used for gold extraction, leaving many holes across the coffee-growing region and making walking between plantations dangerous. Shakisso stands as a distinctive production area within Guji and Sidamo, remaining remote from most coffee-producing areas even within Sidamo. Gold mining is another famous local product. Factors such as miners, land disputes, and ethnic tensions led to regional instability in 2006. As a result the area now faces its greatest challenge: finding the manpower to tend the plantations and harvest the coffee. Local smallholders began cultivating organic coffee here in 2001, working closely with medium-sized producers skilled in high-altitude forest coffee.

Flavor Profile: Lemon, mango, blueberry, wine-like aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Shakisso's natural processing gives it the jammy, fruit-driven character that natural Ethiopian coffees are loved for, and FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Guji Hambella "Flower Queen" is a natural counterpart from the neighboring Guji region. Grown in Hambella and processed on African raised beds, it bursts with tropical fruit aromas such as strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, with full sweetness and very little bitterness, so juicy and smooth that many drinkers call it the least coffee-like coffee there is.

For another natural from the same Sidamo world, FrontStreet Coffee's Hamesha (Hamasho) natural is built mainly on the JARC 74-series disease-resistant varieties. Its 74158 lot has especially small beans and striking floral and fruity aromas, with inviting scents of perfume lemon, strawberry, and star fruit and clear strawberry, star fruit, and green grape sweetness on the palate, followed by a light floral note.

If you would like a natural with a more tropical and honeyed sweetness on the Yirgacheffe side, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe uses only fully ripe red cherries dried on raised beds, keeping the classic Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit, a berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.