The Story and Legend of Ethiopian Washed Sidamo G1 Shakisso Specialty Coffee Beans

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Plantation Introduction

Shakisso is located in the Guji zone of Sidamo, in the southern part of the Oromia region, adjacent to Sidama and Gedeo. The area has many pits left over from gold mining, which is why the coffee-growing area is riddled with holes and walking through the plots is quite dangerous. Shakisso is a distinctive producing area within Guji/Sidamo, and even within Sidamo it is a remote region far from most coffee-growing areas. Its other famous local product is gold. Factors such as miners, land, and ethnic groups also made the region unstable in 2006. The biggest problem it faces now is the manpower needed to maintain the plots and harvest the coffee.

Local small farmers here began growing organic coffee in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized coffee producers, because they are familiar with growing forest coffee in highland areas. It is one of the micro-regions with very distinctive character within the Sidamo producing area. Coffee from this region is remarkably unique and has repeatedly drawn market attention. The name of Ninety Plus's legendary bean (nekisse) comes from the nectar of Shakisso, and both its producing area and its name originate from Shakisso.

Pour-over Sidamo

15g of coffee grounds, medium-fine grind (small Fuji ghost-tooth blade setting 3.5), V60 dripper, 91-93°C water. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds, pour to 105g and stop, wait until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf life: 90 days
Net weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Raw/Roasted degree: Roasted coffee beans
Contains sugar: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee type: Other
Roast level: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Washed

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Guji Zone, Shakisso Region
Roast level: Light roast
Processing method: Washed

Washed-processed coffee is less likely to show wild flavors. It is characterized by purity and freshness, and suits City to Full City roast levels. Some exceptionally high-quality Ethiopian washed beans show distinct, uplifting lemon, citrus essential oils, jasmine florals, and honey, with more prominent acidity and a thinner body.

"Ethiopian Sidamo" is a single-origin type: Arabica coffee grown in Ethiopia's Sidamo province. Like most African coffees, Ethiopian Sidamo is characterized by small gray beans, but its distinctive features are rich, spice-, wine-, or chocolate-like flavors with floral notes. The most characteristic flavors found across all Sidamo coffees are lemon and citrus, with bright, crisp acidity. Sidamo coffee includes Yirgachefe and Guji coffee, both of excellent quality.

Variety: Local indigenous Heirloom
Producer: Local small farmers
Flavor: White grape juice, citrus, an Earl Grey tea sensation

Sidamo

Sidamo's coffee flavors are very diverse, thanks to different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless indigenous coffee varieties, which give the coffee from each town area significant differences and character. The Sidamo producing area lies in southern Ethiopia. Its economy is primarily agricultural, with coffee-growing areas around the Great Rift Valley.

Flavor description: Lemon and citrus, bright and crisp acidity, with lemon, citrus, white grape juice, blackcurrant, and an Earl Grey tea sensation in the finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If clean, bright washed Ethiopian coffee is what you are looking for, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Gedingding is a fine place to start. It comes from the Gedingding cooperative in the Woka area of Yirgacheffe - a cooperative that became independent in 2012 with about 300 member farmers - and because the fruit is stripped before drying, its inherent aromas come through with unusual clarity: citrus and lemon notes with an elegant white floral overtone and a green-tea-like finish. Pour-over, siphon, French press, or a drip machine all suit it.

For a fruitier, more aromatic washed cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Hamasho 74158 is worth seeking out. It comes from the Hamasho processing station in Sidamo, which made its name on the Ethiopian green-bean competition circuit, and it is built mainly on the disease-resistant 74 series released by JARC, with the small 74158 beans giving especially prominent floral and fruity aromas: perfume lemon, strawberry, and starfruit on the nose, then clear strawberry, starfruit, and green grape sweetness on the palate before a gentle floral note emerges.