Sidamo G2 Coffee Flavor Profile and Sidamo G2 Characteristics

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Raw/Roasted: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: 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 indigenous varieties

Flavor Notes: Honey, citrus, lemon

Hand-Pour Brewing Instructions

To hand-pour Sidamo: use 15g of coffee grounds, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost tooth burr grinder setting 3.5), a V60 dripper, and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops halfway before continuing the pour. Slowly pour until you reach 225g total, discarding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopian Coffee Industry Overview

Today Ethiopia's washed processing stations are growing in number and sophistication. Small farmers sell their harvested cherries to processing plants, where they are hulled and then resold through the auction system. From there the coffee is shipped out through 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, domestic consumption is astonishing too: roughly 1,500,000 bags of 60kg a year, accounting for 50% of total production. Wild coffee grows in the tropical rainforests of the southwestern highlands and is mostly hand-picked. Unfortunately, to reach difficult, rugged mountain areas, many locals maliciously destroy naturally formed rainforest through logging or burning, seriously upsetting the ecological balance.

Whether washed or natural, all exported coffee is sent to Addis Ababa (the capital) and to the DIRE DAWA auction in Harar province for export. The DIRE DAWA auction center typically exports natural Harar coffee from that region. At the auction house, information on coffee from different farms can be seen daily, making it easier for traders to buy. Several Ethiopian government officials pass in and out of this center every day for inspection and grade determination, randomly sampling 3kg of green beans from the same shipment each time for inspection.

Large numbers of wild Arabica coffee trees still grow in many parts of Ethiopia, at average altitudes between 4,200-6,800 feet. Small-scale cultivation is now on the rise, generally with banana trees planted alongside for shade. Because of a lack of agricultural technology, herbicides and pesticides are used less. Coffee is Ethiopia's main agricultural crop, its largest agricultural export, and a vital industry. It accounts for 60% of Ethiopia's total export value and sustains many small farms. Other crops include sugar cane, bananas, and cotton. Coffee is also the country's largest and most important commodity export crop after petroleum, and Africa's largest Arabica export; in 1997 its total value was approximately $300 million. 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 figures have been hard to compile, but the country's official statistics put the total coffee cultivation area at at least 400,000 hectares or more. The Ethiopian government encourages local farmers to improve quality and productivity so that coffee farmers can expand their commercial scale and increase capacity and exports.

Sidamo Region Characteristics

The Sidamo region, at altitudes of 1,400-2,200 meters, is a famous specialty coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya. Washed Sidamo appears light green with small, oval beans. They are full-bodied with consistently good quality, an aromatic, mellow aroma, and an endless aftertaste that carries a wild beauty. Sidamo's flavors are extremely diverse, with different soil types, microclimates, and countless native varieties creating distinct differences among the coffees of different towns. From 2010-2012 it scored 92-94 from the authoritative American coffee evaluation site CR for three straight years, a sign of the extraordinary green beans this region produces. The area has towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, a diverse topography, and its geology is fertile, well-drained volcanic soil nearly two meters deep, with topsoil that appears dark brown or brown. Its greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through the circulation of organic matter, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or residual plant roots as fertilizer.

Flavor Profile

Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo has clear fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbaceous aromas. Washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The mild, pleasant entry contrasts with the bright lemon acidity that follows, creating a strong taste impact. The mouthfeel is unique and mellow, with a distinctive, pleasant aftertaste, and the slowly rising finish holds its own sweetness. The green beans are slightly grayish, slightly coarse in places and fine in others. The acidity balances gentle and intense qualities, the body density is right, and it carries sweet and spicy notes, making it one of the garden coffees of the Ethiopian southern highlands.

Harvesting and Processing

Farmers harvest vibrant red cherries daily, and every two days' harvest forms one unit of cherries that is sent or sold to washing stations for processing. Cherries not processed at a washing station typically undergo about 12 hours of natural fermentation, then are sun-dried and hulled. Even so, farmers with the means always try to send their cherries to washing stations to earn the "washed processed" designation and sell at better prices. At the washing stations, cherries undergo about 12 hours of soaking and fermentation to soften the pulp, then pass through water channels while being stirred to separate the pulp from the beans. The pulp is discharged through gates along with the flow of water.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the clean, bright character of washed Sidamo, the FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the easiest place to start in Ethiopia. It shows the clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity that coffee people describe as the signature of Yirgacheffe, a small town in southern Ethiopia where spring-like weather, drifting mist, and cool damp air have let thousands of coffee trees thrive. The cup is light and elegant, interweaving floral and fruity acidity with a tea-like body, and it drinks like a clean, refreshing glass of lemon tea.

For something closer to the cooperative structure described above, try the FrontStreet Gudina Cooperative coffee. In Ethiopia most coffee follows the garden model, with each smallholder sending harvested cherries to a village-level station that sells the finished coffee under the production team's name, which is why cooperatives of every size appear on the market. Gudina, on the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe in the Worka area, began as part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (YCFCU); as demand for traceability grew, it became an independent single-origin in its own right. Because the pulp is stripped before drying, the coffee's inherent aromatics come through more clearly, showing citrus and lemon notes alongside elegant white florals, with a bright, delicate overall profile.

To see how washed and natural differ side by side from the same country, reach for the FrontStreet Kaffa Forest. Unlike the backyard garden model, Kaffa Forest represents wild coffee: the trees grow under shade at 1,400-2,100 meters, where a pristine environment, microclimates, red soil, and abundant rainfall give them excellent conditions. Medium-light roasted, its ground aroma shows distinct white florals, the entry brings bright lemon acidity with sweet orange and bergamot, and the finish carries a faint melon and nuttiness against a green-tea-like body.