What Does Sidamo Natural Guji Taste Like & How to Brew Sidamo Coffee

Coffee Origin & Producer Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Ingredients: House-roasted coffee beans
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Package Type: Bulk packaging
Taste Profile: Aromatic and mellow
Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee Type: Other specialty varieties
Roast Level: Light roast

About Shakisso Coffee

Shakisso coffee possesses remarkable uniqueness, and its produced coffee has consistently garnered market attention. The legendary Ninety Plus bean (Nekisse) originally means "Nectar from Shakisso," with both its growing region and name derived from Shakisso.

Variety: Local indigenous Heirloom

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

The coffee flavors of Sidamo are exceptionally diverse due to different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless indigenous coffee varieties, resulting in distinct differences and characteristics in coffee produced by each town and region. The Sidamo growing region is located in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates the industry, and coffee cultivation areas surround the Great Rift Valley.

Shakisso, located in Guji, Oromia region in the south, borders Sidamo and Gedeo. This area contains numerous mine pits, originally used for gold mining, so the coffee cultivation area has many holes. This makes walking through coffee cultivation areas dangerous. Shakisso is a distinctive growing region within Guji/Sidamo, a remote area even within Sidamo, far from most coffee-producing locations. Another famous local product is gold mines. Factors such as miners, land disputes, and ethnic tensions also made the region unstable in 2006. Therefore, the biggest challenge facing this area now is the need for human resources to maintain cultivation areas and harvest coffee. Local smallholder farmers began growing organic coffee in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized coffee producers who are knowledgeable about high-altitude forest coffee cultivation.

Flavor Profile: Lemon, mango, blueberry, wine-like aromatics

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Sidamo: Use 15g of coffee grounds with a medium-fine grind size (Fuji Ryo 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 to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Origin Details

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Shakisso growing region, Guji Zone
Altitude: 1800-2000 meters
Processing Method: Natural process

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and, thanks to its countless native varieties, one of the most rewarding origins for specialty coffee drinkers. If this Shakisso natural appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Queen (Huakui) from the Hambella region of Guji, Sidamo is a natural companion: grown on a 200-hectare farm using the traditional natural process, with cherries dried on raised beds for 21 days and hand-sorted every three to five days. A medium-light roast brings light fermented wine notes, florals, citrus, and mango, with honey sweetness, cocoa undertones, a touch of spice, and a full, long-lasting finish.

For the washed side of Ethiopia, the classic FrontStreet Coffee washed Yirgacheffe offers clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity with a light, tea-like body, while the Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Project natural — fully ripe cherries dried whole for two weeks, with defective fruit removed before drying and defect beans hand-picked afterward — delivers peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. Between these and the Shakisso natural's lemon, mango, blueberry, and winey aromatics, you can taste just how varied Ethiopia's micro-regions can be.