Sidamo Nectar Coffee Region Introduction How to Brew Sidamo Coffee

Aroma Profile

Dry Aroma

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

Wet Aroma

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

Tasting Notes

The entry is like sweet, juicy honey peach, with sweet pineapple acidity. The mid-palate reveals dense aromas of cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple, and dried fruits that fill the mouth. The finish carries lychee and plum flavors with a dried-fruit-like viscosity. The whole cup is like a tropical fruit storm — elegant yet dominant, dropping you into an ocean of floral nectar, exactly as the name suggests.

Brewing Method

Hand-poured Sidamo: 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 halfway before continuing. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Details

Sidamo Natural G1

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Guji
Roast Level: Medium-light roast
Processing Method: Natural
Variety: Local heirloom varieties
Area: Shakicha
Flavor Notes: Cranberry, sweet orange, plum, blueberry

Regional Information

Shakicha stands unique within Guji in the Sidamo valley, and it is also a region distant from most coffee-producing areas of Sidamo province. Another famous local industry is gold mining, and factors like labor, land, and ethnicity have made this region unstable at times. Yet the coffee from this area is quite exceptional — Ninety Plus's legendary bean Nekisse also comes from this region.

"Nectar" originally means the nectar of Shakicha. If you search the Coffee Review website with "Guji" as a keyword, you will find more than ten articles with scores above 92 points, including several at 94 and 95.

Shakisso, located in Guji in the Oromia region in the south, borders Sidamo and Gedeo. This area has many old mining pits used for gold mining in the past, so the coffee-growing area is dotted with holes — making walking between cultivation areas rather dangerous. Shakisso is a unique producing area within Guji/Sidamo, and even within Sidamo it is remote, far from most coffee origins. Another famous local product is gold. Factors like miners, land, and ethnicity also made the region unstable in 2006. The biggest problem the area faces now is the need for manpower to maintain the growing areas and harvest the coffee. Local small farmers began growing organic coffee in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized producers, because they know how to grow forest coffee in highland areas.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this fruit-storm Sidamo leaves you hungry for more Ethiopian naturals, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Plan natural is the perfect companion: only sound, fully ripe cherries are sun-dried for two weeks until the moisture drops to 12%, with the hardened pulp and parchment scraped off and defect beans removed at every stage — yielding an impeccably clean, intensely fruity cup of peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. For a deeper, richer take, the FrontStreet Flower Queen (Hua Kui) from the Hambella region of Guji, Sidamo dries whole cherries on raised beds for 21 days with constant turning and repeated hand-sorting, producing a medium-light roast with faint fermented winey aroma, florals, citrus, and mango, thick honeyed sweetness, cocoa, and a long-lasting finish. And if you prefer something floral and delicate, the FrontStreet Kaffa Forest coffee — wild coffee grown under shade at 1400-2100 meters — offers white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, and a green-tea-like body. Brew them all on a V60 with a 15g dose at 1:15 and 91-93°C water to let those Ethiopian fruit and floral notes shine.