How is Sidamo Nectar Coffee Made and How Are Sidamo Coffee Bean Grades Classified

Sidamo Natural G1

Country: Sidamo

Grade: G1

Origin: Guji

Roast Level: Medium-light roast

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Region: Shakicha

Flavor Notes: Cranberry, sweet orange, plum, blueberry

Shakisso occupies a singular place in Guji, Sidamo - a region far removed from most of the province's other coffee-growing areas. It is also famous for another industry: gold mining, and labor, land, and ethnic issues have made the area turbulent. Yet the coffee from here is quite exceptional - Ninety Plus's legendary Nekisse also originates from this region.

Nectar, meaning the nectar of Shakiso flowers: search "Guji" on the Coffee Review website and you will find more than ten reviews scoring 92 points or above, with several instances of high scores of 94 and 95 points.

Shakisso sits in the Guji zone of the Oromia region in the south, bordering Sidama and Gedeo. The area is dotted with mine pits - originally dug for gold - so the coffee-growing land is full of holes, making walks between the plots genuinely hazardous. Shakisso is a unique production area within Guji/Sidamo, remote even from most of Sidamo's own coffee regions; its other famous product is gold. Miners, land, and ethnic tensions also made the region turbulent in 2006, and the biggest challenge now is finding the manpower to maintain the growing areas and harvest the coffee. Local smallholders began growing organic coffee here in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized coffee producers, since they know best how to grow forest coffee in the highlands.

Aroma and Flavor Profile

Dry Aroma: Sweet cherry, raisins, preserved fruits, preserved plums, dried pineapple, strawberry

Wet Aroma: Cherry, cranberry, sweet orange, plum, blueberry, honey peach, lychee

Slurping: The entry is like sweet, juicy peaches with sweet pineapple acidity. The midsection floods the mouth with intense aromas of cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple, and dried fruits. The finish brings lychee and plum flavors with a dried-fruit viscosity. The whole coffee is like a tropical fruit storm - elegant yet dominant - dropping you into an ocean of nectar, exactly as its name suggests.

Brewing Method

For pour-over Sidamo: Use 15g of coffee, ground to medium-fine (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 to half before pouring again, slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Origin: Ethiopia

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is one of the world's most celebrated specialty coffee origins - and as the birthplace of coffee, it hosts countless native varieties, a treasure land that keeps coffee lovers faithfully coming back for its flavors.

FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe: the ideal entry point to Ethiopian specialty coffee, with clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in southern Ethiopia, spring-like year-round, misty, cool, and humid, where thousands of coffee trees thrive. Its floral-and-fruit-acid character is light, elegant, and tea-like - like a refreshing, clean lemon tea.

FrontStreet Guodingding Cooperative: Ethiopian coffee is largely garden-grown, with each smallholder delivering cherries to village-based washing stations to be sold under the team's name - hence the many cooperative coffees like FrontStreet Guodingding, Worka, and Konga. In 2012, Guodingding's roughly 300 member farmers split from the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union and formed their own independent cooperative. Because the pulp is removed before drying, the coffee's inherent aromas come through with unusual clarity: citrus and lemon tones, elegant white florals, and a bright, delicate profile.

FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry: in natural processing, damaged or moldy cherries are discarded first, then the rest dry in the sun for about two weeks so the pulp's sugars and essence fully soak into the beans. At 12% moisture, the hardened pulp, mucilage, and parchment are scraped away, and the beans pass density and color checks plus hand sorting. FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Project natural shows peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.

FrontStreet Natural Guji (Hua Kui): from the Hambella district of Guji, Sidamo - a 200-hectare farm using traditional natural processing. Ripe cherries dry on raised beds for 21 days, turned constantly for even drying, with moldy or defective beans hand-sorted out every three to five days. Dried whole with pulp and skin on, a medium-light roast reveals light fermented wine notes, florals, citrus, and mango in a much richer, more complex cup - honey sweetness, a cocoa undertone with a touch of spice, thick body, and a lasting finish.

FrontStreet Sidamo Natural Hamaxiu 74158: from the Hambella washing station, a regular winner in Ethiopian green bean competitions, growing JARC's 74-series disease-resistant varieties. The small-beaned 74158 is intensely fragrant - sweet notes of perfume lemon, strawberry, and star fruit, with vivid strawberry, star fruit, and green grape sweetness on entry followed by gentle florals.

FrontStreet Kaffa Forest Coffee: unlike the garden-grown model, Kaffa Forest is best known for wild coffee, with trees growing under shade at 1,400-2,100 meters in a pristine ecosystem of microclimates, red soils, and abundant rainfall. A medium-light roast gives distinct white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot flavors, and a green-tea-like finish with subtle melon and nut notes.