Sidamo G2 Coffee Bean Characteristics and Brewing Methods

The Unique Characteristics of Sidamo Coffee

Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo shows clear fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbal aromas. Washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The first sip is mild and pleasant, then a bright lemon acidity delivers a strong flavor impact. The mouthfeel is unusually rich and mellow, with a distinctive, pleasing aftertaste and a special sweetness rising slowly in the finish. The green beans run slightly grayish, with some large and some small. The acidity is both gentle and intense, the body is well balanced, and sweet, spicy notes round it out, making it one of the garden coffees of Ethiopia's southern highlands.

Coffee Processing Methods

Farmers pick ripe red cherries daily. Every two days of harvest makes up one unit of coffee fruit that is sent or sold to a washing station for processing. Cherry that never reaches a washing station is typically fermented naturally for about 12 hours, then sun-dried and hulled. Even so, farmers with slightly more capacity always try to send their coffee to a washing station so it can command a better price under the "washed" designation. At the station, the cherries soak and ferment for about 12 hours to soften the pulp, then travel through water channels while being stirred so the pulp separates from the beans. The pulp is discharged through gates.

Coffee Details

Sidamo G2 Washed

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G2
Region: Sidamo
Roast Degree: Light roast
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Local native varieties
Flavor Notes: Honey, citrus, lemon

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Sidamo: use 15g of coffee ground to a medium-fine consistency (setting 3.5 on the Fuji ghost-tooth burr grinder), 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. Once the water level drops halfway, continue a slow pour to 225g and avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopian Coffee Industry

Ethiopia's washing stations are growing in number and sophistication. Small farmers sell their harvested cherry to processing stations, which hull the coffee and resell it through auction systems. From there it is moved to the port of Assab in Eritrea on the Red Sea and to Djibouti port near the Gulf of Aden. Although coffee is the country's main agricultural export, domestic consumption is astonishing too, at roughly 1,500,000 bags of 60kg each, or about 50% of total production. Wild coffee grows in the tropical rainforests of the southwestern plateau and is mostly hand-picked. Because of this, however, some locals destroy naturally formed rainforest through logging or burning to reach difficult mountain terrain, severely affecting the ecological balance.

Whether washed or natural, all exported coffee is sent to Addis Ababa, the capital, and to Dire Dawa in Harar province for auction export. The Dire Dawa auction center typically exports natural Harar from that region. At the auction house, daily information about coffee from different farms is available to help traders buy. Several Ethiopian government officials also pass through the center daily for inspection and grading. Each time, 3kg of raw beans are randomly sampled from the same shipment for inspection.

Coffee Cultivation in Ethiopia

Today, large quantities of wild Arabica coffee trees still grow across many parts of Ethiopia, planted at average elevations between 4,200 and 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 only minimally. Coffee is Ethiopia's main agricultural crop, the country's largest agricultural export, and an important industry, accounting for 60% of total export value and supporting the livelihoods of many small farms. Other exports include sugar, bananas, and cotton. Coffee is also Ethiopia's largest and most important commodity export after petroleum 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 hard to compile. Official Ethiopian statistics nonetheless put the total coffee cultivation area at no less than 400,000 hectares. The Ethiopian government encourages farmers to improve quality and productivity, helping them expand to a commercial scale and increase production capacity and exports.

Sidamo Region Details

The Sidamo growing region sits at 1,400-2,200 meters and is a famous specialty coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya. Washed Sidamo appears light green, with small, oval beans that are full and of good average quality. The aroma is fragrant and mellow, and a single drop leaves an endless aftertaste with a wild beauty. Sidamo's flavors are extremely diverse, and different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties create distinct differences among coffees from each town. From 2010 to 2012 it consistently scored 92-94 on the authoritative American coffee evaluation site CR, which shows just how extraordinary the raw beans from this region are.

The territory features towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, a remarkably varied topography. The local geology is nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil with a depth of nearly two meters. Surface soil looks dark brown or brown. The region's greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through the recycling of organic matter, using withered leaves from surrounding trees or plant residues as fertilizer.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you love the bright lemon acidity and clean floral character of a washed Sidamo, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Ethiopian lineup delivers the same clarity. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the classic entry point, showing bright jasmine florals and vivid citrus and lemon acidity over a light, elegant body with a tea-like finish. For a more terroir-driven cup, FrontStreet Gudina Cooperative, washed in the traditional style and roasted light to medium, brings out citrus and lemon notes with refined white florals, a clear, luminous cup. Both echo the honeyed, citrus, and lemon flavors typical of this Sidamo G2, and both drink beautifully as pour-over.