Is Sidamo G2 Coffee Delicious? Sidamo Coffee Brewing Methods

Sidamo G2 Washed

Country: Ethiopia

Grade: G2

Region: Sidamo

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Local Indigenous Varieties

Flavor Notes: Honey, Citrus, Lemon

Hand-pour Sidamo. Use 15g of coffee grounds at a medium-fine grind size (Fuji ghost-tooth burr grinder at 3.5), a V60 dripper, and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and pause, wait until the water level drops halfway, then slowly pour to 225g in total. Discard the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Ethiopia's Coffee Processing Industry

Ethiopia's washed processing stations are multiplying and maturing. Smallholders sell their harvested cherries to processing plants, where the coffee is hulled and then resold through the auction system. From there it is trucked to the Eritrean port of Assab on the Red Sea and to the port of Djibouti near the Gulf of Aden. Coffee is the country's main agricultural export, yet domestic consumption is astonishing too — roughly 1,500,000 bags of 60kg a year, about 50% of total production. Wild coffee grows in the tropical rainforests of the southwestern highlands and is mostly hand-picked. Even so, many locals clear natural rainforest — cutting or burning it — to reach difficult mountain terrain, which seriously disrupts the ecological balance.

Whether washed or natural, all exported coffee is sent to the capital, Addis Ababa, and to Dire Dawa in Harar province for auction and export. The Dire Dawa auction center typically handles natural Harar from its region. At the auction, information on lots from different farms is posted daily so traders can make their purchases, and Ethiopian government officials move in and out of the center each day to inspect and grade the coffee. Every time, 3kg of green beans is randomly sampled from the same shipment for inspection.

Large quantities of wild Arabica varieties still grow across many parts of Ethiopia, at altitudes averaging 4,200-6,800 feet. Cultivation is gradually shifting toward small-scale plots, usually planted alongside banana trees for shade. Because of limited agricultural technology, herbicides and pesticides are used sparingly. Coffee is Ethiopia's leading cash crop and its biggest agricultural export, accounting for 60% of total export value and supporting many small farms. Other major exports include sugar, bananas, and cotton. It is the country's most important export crop after oil and Africa's largest Arabica export; in 1997 it was worth about $300 million in total. In terms of volume, 94% comes from small farms and 6% from government operations. Because so many farms are scattered and also grow other crops, accurate statistics have been hard to compile, but official figures put the total coffee area at 400,000 hectares or more. The Ethiopian government encourages farmers to improve quality and productivity so that growers can scale up commercially and expand production and exports.

Sidamo Coffee Region

The Sidamo region spans 1,400-2,200 meters and is a famous specialty coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya. Washed Sidamo shows light green, small, oval beans that are full and well-formed. Its average quality is excellent, aromatic and mellow, with an endless aftertaste from the first sip and a certain wild beauty. Sidamo's flavors are extremely diverse, as different soil types, microclimates, and countless indigenous varieties create distinct differences between the coffees of each town. From 2010 to 2012 it consistently scored a high 92-94 from the authoritative American coffee review site CR, a testament to the extraordinary quality of green beans from this region. The area combines towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains. Its geology is fertile, well-drained volcanic soil nearly two meters deep, with a surface layer that ranges from dark brown to brown. Its greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through the circulation of organic matter, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees and plant residues as fertilizer.

Flavor Characteristics

Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo has clear fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbaceous aromas. Washed Sidamo is elegant yet playful. The entry is mild and pleasant, building into a strong taste impression from the bright lemon acidity that follows. The mouthfeel is unique and mellow, with a distinctive, pleasing aftertaste. The slowly rising finish carries a singular sweetness. The green beans are slightly grayish, some large and some small, with both soft and bright acidity. The body is suitably rich, with sweet and spicy notes — one of the garden coffees of Ethiopia's southern highlands.

Harvesting and Processing

Farmers pick bright red cherries daily, and every two days' harvest becomes one unit of cherries sent or sold to washing stations. Cherries that never reach a washing station usually ferment naturally for about 12 hours, then are sun-dried and hulled. Even so, farmers with any means try to send their cherries to washing stations to earn a better price under the "washed processed" label. At the station, cherries soak and ferment for about 12 hours to soften the pulp, then travel along water channels while being stirred, separating the pulp from the beans. The pulp is discharged through gates.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is coffee's birthplace, and its range of flavors is unmatched. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the classic introduction: clear jasmine blossom, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a light, tea-like body that finishes clean. Its Gudingding co-op lot, from the Woka area at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge, adds extra citrus and lemon lift with delicate white florals, and remains one of the most forgiving single origins for anyone new to pour-over.

For a fruitier, more layered cup, try the natural lots. FrontStreet's sun-dried Red Cherry uses only fully ripe red cherries dried on raised beds, delivering peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. The sun-dried Hamesu from Sidamo is built on the compact 74158 variety and shows perfumed lemon, strawberry, and starfruit sweetness before a soft floral lift. Huakui, from the Hambella area of Guji Sidamo and dried on raised beds for 21 days, brings light fermentation wine, florals, citrus, and mango, with dense honeyed sweetness and a long finish.

If you like your coffee on the savory, savory-sweet side, FrontStreet's Kafa Forest coffee comes from wild trees shade-grown at 1,400-2,100 meters. Light-medium roasted, it shows clear white florals on the grind, bright lemon acidity in the cup, and sweet orange and bergamot, with a green-tea texture and a gentle melon-and-nut finish.