Sidamo Khashoggi Flavor Profile and Coffee Varieties Pricing

Hand-pour Queen. Use 15g of coffee grounds, a medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost tooth blade setting 3.5), 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. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then slowly pour until reaching 225g. Discard the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

At night, thick plastic covers are used to protect the cherries from sudden rain, which lets the red cherries ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green beans drops to around 13%, the natural processing is stopped. The beans are packed in jute bags and stored under natural conditions of 12-22°C and 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of resting and further dehydration. When moisture reaches around 10%, they are transported to the processing plant for hulling, screening, and sale.

Coffee Information

Coffee Producing Country: Africa, Ethiopia

Coffee Estate: Guji, Hambella Wamena region, Dimtu city, Buku Abel estate

Coffee Variety: Heirloom, Ethiopian native varieties

Production Altitude: 2250-2350M

Quality Grade: G1

Processing Method: Natural (African drying beds)

Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Guji Zone

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local Heirloom native varieties

Producer: Local small farmers

Flavor: Passion fruit, rose floral, strawberry jam

Sidamo coffee flavors are extremely diverse. Different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties create distinct differences and characteristics in coffee produced from each town area. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates, and its coffee growing areas are situated around the Great Rift Valley.

Hambella is located in Ethiopia's largest coffee producing region, Guji, and administratively belongs to the Oromia region. Hambella's western side faces Yirgacheffe's Kochere across the mountains, with a 3,200m high, 30km wide plateau separating the two producing regions. It borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions to the southeast, north, and south respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region, while Harrar is Ethiopia's highest-altitude main producing region.

Currently there are about 20 processing plants of various scales in the Hambella region. DW Company's Hambella core area of Dimtu has four estate processing plants, Buku Abel, Buku Saysay, Haro Soresa, and Tirtiro Goye, with annual coffee production of about 1,100 tons.

Among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural processed coffee from the Buku Abel estate and processing plant is called "Queen."

Awards

Cupping Notes: Passion fruit, rose floral, strawberry jam, berry sweetness and acidity, peach flesh, black tea finish

2016/2017

Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition - Champion

2016/2017 harvest season Ethiopia Coffee Competition - Champion

2017 Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition - Runner-up

2017 Africa Coffee Competition - Runner-up

The Queen processing plant is located in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2,200 meters. From the start it was chosen for its noble "family environment": rich humus reddish-brown soil, with shade protection from Enset trees, allowing the coffee to receive sufficient sunlight and develop rich flavors without consuming excessive nutrients, thereby preserving more of the essence within the cherries. During the harvest and processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create Queen's distinctive flavors. Natural processing only begins once the harvested red cherries reach a sugar content above 30. During the first two days the cherries are kept humid so their fruit sugars fully begin to ferment. Meanwhile, the high altitude lets the processing plant's nighttime temperature drop to around 12°C, preventing over-fermentation odors from heat. When midday temperatures rise, shade is provided promptly to prevent sun damage. Only fully red, completely mature cherries are selected, all hand-picked, dried on African raised beds, with a limited fruit layer thickness and continuous 24-hour timed turning to ensure even natural drying and ventilation and to control the fermentation degree more precisely.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Sidamo Natural Hua Kui brings this natural-processed character to the cup. This Ethiopian heirloom is a natural G1 from the Hambella area, dried on raised beds and roasted medium-light so it keeps a light fermented wine note, florals, citrus, and mango. The body is thick and complex, with honey sweetness and cocoa carrying a hint of spice, and a long finish. It is the natural choice for anyone who loves the ripe fruit intensity of Sidamo.

FrontStreet Hamasho 74158 is the washed, floral alternative. Hamasho is a Sidamo washing station that has become a regular on Ethiopian green bean award lists, and it focuses on the JARC 74-series disease-resistant varieties. The 74158 selection has smaller beans and stands out for floral and fruit character: a perfume-lemon aroma with strawberry and starfruit, an entry of clear strawberry, starfruit, and green grape sweetness, and soft floral notes unfolding behind it.

FrontStreet Kaffa Forest is the wild-coffee option. Unlike the garden model where farmers plant coffee in their own backyards, Kaffa Forest is known for wild coffee, with trees growing between 1,400 and 2,100 meters in shaded conditions. The original forest, microclimate, red soil, and ample rainfall give the trees an excellent environment. Roasted medium-light, it shows clear white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, and a green-tea-like body with a faint melon and nut sweetness in the finish.