Ethiopia Washed Sidamo G2 Premium Coffee Beans: Varieties, Brand Recommendations, and Estates

Ethiopian Coffee: Origins and Cultivation

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Today, large numbers 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, generally interplanting banana trees 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. It sustains the livelihoods of many small farms, along with other crops such as sugarcane, bananas, and cotton. It is also Ethiopia's largest and most important commodity export after oil, 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 show 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, increase production capacity, and exports.

Sidamo: Ethiopia's Premium Coffee Region

The Sidamo growing region, situated 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-bodied fruit. The average quality is excellent, with a rich, mellow aroma that offers an endless aftertaste and a wild beauty. Sidamo's coffee flavors are extremely diverse, with different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties creating distinct differences and characteristics in coffees 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 nature of raw beans from this region. The area features towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, with diverse topography. The local geology consists of fertile, 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 recycling of organic matter, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or residual plant roots as fertilizer.

Distinctive Characteristics of Sidamo Coffee

Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo has clear fruit acidity, a smooth texture, and delicate floral and grassy aromas. Washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The initial entry is mild and pleasant, creating a strong taste contrast with the bright lemon acidity that follows. The texture is uniquely rich and mellow, with a distinctive and pleasant sweetness that slowly rises in the aftertaste, containing a special sweetness. The raw coffee beans are slightly grayish, with some areas appearing coarse while others are fine. The acidity balances both soft and intense qualities, the body density is appropriately balanced, and it features sweet, spicy aromas, making it one of the garden coffees from the southern Ethiopian highlands.

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Sidamo: Use 15g of coffee ground to medium-fine consistency (3.5 grind on Fujiyama's serrated burr grinder), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the final tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with extraction time of 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Address: 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Content: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Light roast
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia

Coffee Details

Sidamo G2 Washed

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G2
Region: Sidamo
Roast Level: Light roast
Processing Method: Washed

Processing Methods

Farmers harvest bright red fruits daily, with every two days of harvest forming one unit of coffee fruit that is sent or sold to washing stations for processing. Coffee fruits that don't go through washing stations typically undergo about 12 hours of natural fermentation, then are sun-dried for drying and hulling. Regardless, farmers with some means always try to send their coffee to washing stations for processing in order to command better prices under the "washed processing" designation. At washing stations, coffee cherries undergo about 12 hours of soaking and fermentation to soften the pulp, then pass through water channels with agitation to separate the pulp from the coffee beans. The pulp is discharged through gates.

Today, Ethiopia's washing stations are showing a growing trend of development. Small farmers sell their harvested coffee fruits to processing plants, which hull them and then resell them through auction systems. From there, they are transferred to the Eritrean port of Assab on the Red Sea and the port of Djibouti near the Gulf of Aden. Although coffee is the country's most important agricultural export, its domestic consumption is also astonishing, approximately 1,500,000 bags/60kg, accounting for 50% of total production. Wild coffee grows in the tropical rainforests of the southwestern plateau and is mostly hand-picked. However, because of this, many local people maliciously destroy the naturally formed rainforest areas - either cutting or burning them - to reach difficult, rugged mountain areas, seriously affecting the ecological balance. Whether washed or sun-dried raw coffee beans, all exported coffee is sent to the capital Addis Ababa and DIRE DAWA in Harar province for auction and export. The DIRE DAWA auction center typically exports sun-dried Harar from the region. At the auction house, coffee information from different farms can be seen daily to facilitate trader purchases. Several Ethiopian government officials also enter and exit this center daily to inspect and grade. Each time, 3kg of raw beans are randomly sampled from the same shipment for inspection.

Variety: Local native varieties

Flavor Profile: Honey, citrus, lemon

Important Notice :

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