Characteristics of Sidamo Honey Beans and How to Drink Sidamo Honey Coffee

Ethiopia holds a remarkable range of coffee cultivation systems: vast wild coffee forests, semi-developed land, traditionally managed small plots, and modern plantations, all side by side. Roughly 50 percent of the coffee grows above 1500 meters. From those four production patterns, Ethiopia divides into nine major coffee regions, including five specialty zones, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limu, and Lekempti, and four general commercial bean areas, Djimah, Illubabor, Tepi, and Bebeka. Each region works with natural or washed processing, and the choice shapes the flavor. At present natural processing accounts for about 80 percent of the crop and washed for about 20 percent.

Processing Method

The fruit for this micro-lot is first hand sorted to 100 percent Red Cherry, then an Agared machine removes skin and pulp. The beans, still carrying their mucilage, ferment in tanks for 36 hours, followed by 4 hours of soaking. They are then laid out on 30 by 1.8 meter drying beds to dry before hulling, and after hand sorting to reach G1 grade they are packed into GrainPro bags and then into jute bags.

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the world's coffee birthplaces. The indigenous Oromo people were among the first anywhere to use coffee as food, as far back as the 5th century AD. Oromia lies roughly between 3 and 15 degrees north latitude and 33 and 40 degrees east longitude. The region is world-renowned for the primitiveness and diversity of its plant species, and it is where coffee was born. For the local Oromo, coffee is not only drink and food but also an important part of trade, a daily stimulant, and a tool for keeping peace.

Flavor Description

Pronounced wild ginger flower and bergamot notes, with blackcurrant underneath. The finish carries a raisin-like sweetness, and the whole profile recalls Earl Grey tea.

Pour-over Instructions

15g of coffee grounds, a medium-fine grind on a Fuji Royal grinder at setting 3.5, a V60 dripper, and water at 91 to 93 degrees Celsius. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g, then pause until the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway, and pour slowly until the total reaches 225g. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopian Coffee Grading System

Ethiopian coffee uses a defect-based grading system, similar to Indonesian beans, which divide mainly into 6 grades, G1 to G6. Ethiopia follows the same approach. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2, while the highest grades for natural beans are G1 and G3.

Washed: Grade 1; Grade 2 (G1 > G2)

Natural: Grade 1 and Grade 3 to Grade 5 (G1 > G3 > G4 > G5)

Product Information

Region: Ethiopia, Oromia

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Altitude: 2000m

Processing Method: Washed

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Coffee beans (roasted)
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Degree: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Anyone new to the Ethiopian profile should start with FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe, the house daily-drinker. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and its friendly price has made it the first specialty coffee for a great many drinkers. Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia inside the Sidama zone, at about 1700 to 2100 meters, with the trees planted above 1800 meters, placing it among the highest growing regions in the world. The area has been wetland since ancient times, and the name Yirgacheffe has become shorthand for the recognizable white florals and lemon-citrus acidity of Ethiopian specialty coffee. In 2010 the name grew so strong that the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from Sidama, which is how it became a household name.

The town of Yirgacheffe actually breaks into many smaller zones and villages, several of them home to experienced cooperatives. The standout is FrontStreet Washed Guodingding Cooperative, in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. It began as part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union, and as demand for traceable green coffee grew, coffee hunters around the world singled it out as a micro-region of its own. It follows the most traditional washed process, and drinkers often call it the last unspoiled corner of Yirgacheffe. FrontStreet Guodingding carries none of the classic bitter profile: it brings clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity and jasmine perfume.

For a fruitier cup, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry takes the same Yirgacheffe origin and applies a fully ripe cherry natural process, picking only fully mature fruit with no defects. The cherries pass a first round of sorting at the mill, then dry directly on raised beds, turned every 2 to 3 hours during the first days so uneven heat does not push them into over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of drying, workers strip the outer pulp by machine according to weather and temperature and move the coffee into storage. Because the fruit dries against the bean, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe profile and gains tropical fruit: citrus acidity, berry juice, honey sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.