Sidamo Shakiso Bean Characteristics and Brewing Methods

Introduction to the Production Area

Shakisso lies in the Guji zone of the West Arsi region, in the southern part of the Oromia region, bordering Sidama and Gedeo. The area is full of pits left over from gold mining, which is why this coffee-growing region is pockmarked with holes, making it genuinely dangerous to walk through the cultivation areas. Shakisso is a distinctive corner of Guji/West Arsi, and even within West Arsi it is remote, far from most coffee-producing regions; the region's other famous product is gold. Miners, land and ethnicity also made the area unstable in 2006. As a result, the biggest problem the area faces today is the manpower needed to maintain the cultivation areas and harvest the coffee.

Local smallholders here began growing organic coffee in 2001 and worked closely with medium-sized producers, because they are familiar with how to grow forest coffee in highland areas. It is one of the micro-regions with very distinct regional character in West Arsi. Coffee from this area has considerable uniqueness, and its coffee has repeatedly drawn market attention. The name of Ninety Plus's legendary bean (nekisse) means "Nectar from Shakisso," and both its production area and its name come from Shakisso.

Flavor Description

Lemon and citrus, bright and crisp acidity, lemon, citrus, white grape juice, blackcurrant, with Earl Grey tea notes in the finish.

Coffee Bean Grading System

Coffee beans from Indonesia and Africa use this defect-based grading system. Indonesian beans are mainly divided into six levels, G1-G6. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2; for natural beans, G1 and G3.

What does this mean? As follows:

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

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

For pour-over West Arsi: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji Royal grinder with ghost teeth at 3.5), V60 dripper, 91-93°C water temperature. First pour 30g of water, let it bloom for 27 seconds, pour to 105g and stop, wait until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Important Notes:

a) Both washed and natural beans can reach Gr-1, provided they have "zero" defects and a Premium Cup. Whether washed or natural, Gr-1 is the rating reserved for the very best specialty coffees, or Cup of Excellence coffees.

b) The lowest grade for natural Yirgacheffe and West Arsi beans is Gr-4.

c) Within the same grade, say Limu Gr-2, there can be both good and bad lots, depending on the sorting level and investment of the exporter.

d) Given the current "zero" defect requirement, Gr-1 beans (washed and natural alike) are extremely rare, because processing costs are very high and very few suppliers will go that far.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Content: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Degree: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Level: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Washed

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G1

Region: Shakisso region, Guji zone

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Washed coffee is less likely to carry wild flavors, giving it a pure, refreshing character, suited to City to Full City roast levels. Some exceptional Ethiopian washed beans reveal clear notes of uplifting lemon, citrus essential oils, jasmine flowers and honey, with more noticeable acidity and a lighter body.

"Ethiopian Sidamo" is a single-origin Arabica grown in the Sidamo province of Ethiopia. Like most African coffees, Ethiopian Sidamo has small gray-green beans, but its distinctive features are rich, spicy, wine-like or chocolate-like flavors and floral notes. The most characteristic flavors found in all Sidamo coffees are lemon and citrus, with bright and crisp acidity. Sidamo coffee includes Yirgacheffe and Guji, both of excellent quality.

Variety: Local native Heirloom

Producer: Local smallholders

Flavor: White grape juice, citrus, Earl Grey tea notes

Sidamo

Sidamo coffee flavors are very diverse, because different soil compositions, regional microclimates and countless native coffee varieties create obvious differences in character from town to town. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture is the main industry and the coffee-growing areas sit around the Great Rift Valley.

Recommended related reading on Sidamo Shakisso beans:

How Sidamo Shakisso coffee came to be, and how Sidamo bean grades are divided

What Sidamo Shakisso coffee brands are available, and Sidamo coffee brewing steps

An introduction to the Sidamo Shakisso coffee region, and how to brew Sidamo coffee

Is Sidamo Shakisso coffee good, and how is Sidamo coffee prepared

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Ethiopia's light, fruit-driven side alongside this Sidamo, begin with FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yirgacheffe. Its clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity are the textbook introduction to the country's terroir, and the friendly price makes it an easy everyday pour. If you want a single washing station that shows real precision, our Gotiti Cooperative coffee comes from the Yirgacheffe area and, being pulped before drying, lets its citrus, lemon and elegant white-floral notes ring especially clear.

For more fruit and more sweetness, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry layers tropical fruit, berry-juice sweetness and honeyed sugar over a creamy texture, while the Natural Hambella Flower Queen from the Guji area of Sidamo bursts with strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and lychee-like aromas and almost no bitterness. And if you love the wilder, forest-grown expression of Ethiopian coffee, our Kafa Forest lot, grown in shade between 1,400 and 2,100 meters, brings white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot with a green-tea mouthfeel.