How Sidamo Natural Process Guji Coffee is Made and Guji Coffee Bean Grading System

Brewing Method

Pour-over Sidamo: 15g of coffee, a medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder 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. When the water level drops halfway, slowly pour to 225g. Avoid the tail. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Information

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Shakisso region, Guji Zone

Altitude: 1800-2000 meters

Processing Method: Natural

Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Mellow and aromatic
Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Level: Light roast

Shakisso coffee is remarkably distinctive, and the coffee produced there has consistently drawn market attention. The legendary Ninety Plus bean "Nekisse" originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso," with both its growing region and its name derived from the town.

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Sidamo coffee flavors are remarkably diverse. Different soil compositions, regional microclimates and countless native varieties create clear differences between the coffees of each town and area. The Sidamo region lies in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates the economy, and its coffee-growing areas cluster around the Great Rift Valley.

Shakisso, in the Guji zone of Oromia in the south, borders Sidamo and Gedeo. The area contains numerous pits from former gold mining, leaving many holes across the coffee-growing land, which makes walking between the plots extremely dangerous. Shakisso is a distinctive area within Guji and Sidamo, and even within Sidamo it is remote from most other coffee origins, with gold mining as another famous local product. Miners, land and ethnic tensions also made the region unstable in 2006. The biggest challenge the area faces today is therefore the manpower needed to maintain the plots and harvest the coffee. Local smallholders began growing organic coffee here in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized producers who know how to grow forest coffee in highland areas.

Flavor: Lemon, mango, blueberry, wine-like aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This Shakiso lot comes from Guji, and FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Queen is grown in Hambella, in the same Guji zone, then dried whole on raised beds for 21 days to concentrate winey berry, floral and citrus notes in a thick, honey-sweet body. For a washed counterpart to the natural style described above, FrontStreet Coffee's Guodingding cooperative, in the Worka area of Yirgacheffe, offers clean citrus, lemon acidity and white florals. If you enjoy the tropical, fruit-forward character of Guji naturals, either one is an excellent place to start.