The Correct Way to Drink Sidama Nectar | Sidama Coffee Bean Prices

About Shakisso Coffee

Shakisso lies in the Guji zone of the Oromia region, bordering Sidama and Gedeo to the south. The area contains numerous mining pits that were historically worked for gold, leaving holes scattered across the coffee-growing land and making it hazardous to walk through the cultivation areas. Shakisso stands out as a distinctive growing region within Guji and Sidamo—even within Sidamo, it remains remote from most coffee-producing locations. Gold mining is another notable local industry, and factors such as miners, land disputes and ethnic tensions contributed to regional instability in 2006. As a result the area now faces its greatest challenge: finding enough labor to maintain the cultivation areas and harvest the coffee. Local smallholders began growing organic coffee in 2001, working closely with medium-sized producers who have expertise in cultivating forest coffee in highland regions.

Tasting Notes

Dry Aroma

Sweet cherry, raisins, preserved fruits, preserved plums, dried pineapple, strawberry

Wet Aroma

Cherry, cranberry, sweet orange, plum, blueberry, honey peach, lychee

Cupping Notes

The entry is sweet and juicy peach with a sweet pineapple acidity. The midsection opens into dense cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple and dried fruit aromas that fill the palate. The finish brings lychee and plum with a dried-fruit viscosity. The whole experience lands like a tropical fruit storm—elegant yet dominant, as if falling into an ocean of nectar, exactly as the name suggests.

Brewing Method

For pour-over Sidamo: use 15g of coffee ground to a medium-fine consistency (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 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 down the coffee bed before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g in total, avoiding the final tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Origin: Ethiopia

Coffee Details

Sidamo Natural G1

Country: Sidamo
Grade: G1
Region: Guji
Roast Level: Medium-light
Processing Method: Natural
Variety: Local heirloom varieties
Sub-region: Shakisso Shakicha
Flavor Profile: Cranberry, sweet orange, plum, blueberry

Shakisso is unique within the Guji region of Sidamo, an area distant from most coffee-producing zones in the province. Gold mining is another prominent local industry, and labor, land and ethnic factors have contributed to regional instability. The coffee from this area is exceptional all the same—Ninety Plus' legendary Nekisse bean also originates here.

Nectar originally meant the nectar of Shakisso. Searching the Coffee Review website with "Guji" as a keyword returns over ten reviews scoring 92 points or higher, several of them reaching 94 and 95 points.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and home to countless native varieties, and FrontStreet Coffee's easiest entry into that world is FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe. It delivers clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity—Yirgacheffe is a town in southern Ethiopia that stays spring-like year-round, wrapped in mist and cool humidity. Thousands of coffee trees thrive there, giving the region its signature blend of florals and fruit acidity, a light, elegant, tea-like cup that drinks like clean lemon tea.

Ethiopian coffee is mostly grown in garden plots, with each smallholder delivering cherries to a village-based processing station and selling under the production team's name, which is why so many cooperatives appear on labels—FrontStreet Guodingding, FrontStreet Worka and FrontStreet Konga among them. Guodingding Cooperative sits in the Worka region at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge and was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU alliance. As demand for traceability grew, individual single-origin lots were discovered by coffee hunters around the world, and in 2012 Guodingding, with roughly 300 member farmers, became an independent cooperative. Because the pulp is stripped before drying, FrontStreet Guodingding shows its inherent aromatics more clearly, with citrus and lemon along with elegant white florals—a bright, refined cup.

FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry takes the natural route: defective and moldy cherries are removed first, then the fruit dries in the sun for two weeks until the sugars and essence have soaked into the bean and moisture drops to 12%. At that point the hardened pulp, mucilage and parchment are scraped away mechanically, and the beans are checked for density and color, with defects eliminated and any missed flaws picked out by hand. That layered sorting leaves a clean, distinctive, richly fruity coffee—peach, cocoa, honey and lemon.

FrontStreet Sun-Dried Hua Kui comes from Hambella in Sidamo Guji. The farm covers 200 hectares and uses traditional natural processing: to prevent mold or earthy off-flavors, workers dry the ripe cherries on raised beds for 21 days, turning them constantly for even drying and culling flawed or moldy beans by hand every three to five days. Once the skin has dried hard it is removed by huller, and after the green beans are obtained the farmers sort one final time. Because the fruit and skin stay on through the whole dry, a medium-light roast gives off a light fermented wine aroma with florals, citrus and mango—a dense, complex cup with honey sweetness, cocoa and a touch of spice, a thick body and a lasting finish.

Also in Sidamo, FrontStreet Hamasho is a regular on Ethiopian green bean competition lists thanks to its quality and distinctive flavor, and it has drawn wide attention from coffee lovers. The Hamasho station focuses on the JARC 74-series disease-resistant varieties, and 74158 has smallish beans with pronounced floral and fruity notes. FrontStreet Hamasho 74158 has a heady aroma of perfumed lemon, strawberry and starfruit, entering with clear strawberry, starfruit and green grape sweetness before a soft floral note gradually surfaces.

Finally, FrontStreet Kaffa Forest is unlike the garden-plot model most people picture. Kaffa Forest is best known for wild coffee, with trees growing from 1400 to 2100 meters in shaded conditions; its untouched ecosystem, microclimates, red soil and plentiful rainfall give the trees an excellent environment. Roasted medium-light, FrontStreet Kaffa Forest shows clear white florals once ground, enters with bright lemon acidity and sweet orange and bergamot, and finishes with a light melon-and-nut sweetness and a green-tea-like body.