Sidamo Honey Coffee Brands and Brewing Steps

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Flavor Description

Pronounced wild ginger and bergamot notes, with blackcurrant undertones. The finish carries a sweet, raisin-like quality, and the overall flavor profile is reminiscent of Earl Grey tea.

Ethiopian Coffee Grading System

Ethiopian coffee beans are graded using a defect-based classification system (the same approach used for Indonesian beans, which are primarily divided into 6 levels: G1-G6). Ethiopia also adopts this method: washed coffee's highest grades are G1 and G2, while natural-processed coffee's highest grades are G1 and G3.

Washed: Grade-1; Grade-2 (G1>G2)

Natural: Grade-1 and Grade-3—Grade-5 (G1>G3>G4>G5)

Pour-Over Recipe

The recipe for a perfect pour-over: 15g of coffee, ground to medium-fine (Fuji grinder at setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour up to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to halfway, continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g. Discard the tail end. Coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Details

Region: Ethiopia, Oromia

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Altitude: 2000m

Processing: Washed

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, FrontStreet Coffee Contact: 020-38364473 Shelf Life: 90 days Net Weight: 227g Packaging: Bulk coffee beans Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans Sugar Content: Sugar-free Origin: Ethiopia Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopia's Coffee Cultivation

Ethiopia is home to every kind of coffee cultivation, from sprawling wild coffee forests and semi-developed land to traditionally managed small plots and modern plantations. Roughly 50% of the coffee grows at altitudes above 1,500 meters. Based on these four different production models, Ethiopia can be divided into nine major coffee-producing regions: five specialty coffee zones - Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limu, and Lekempti - plus four commercial coffee regions: Djimmah, Illubabor, Tepi, and Bebeka. Each region uses either natural or washed processing, and the processing technique has a direct effect on the flavor profile. Currently, natural processing accounts for about 80% of output and washed processing about 20%.

Processing Method

This micro-batch coffee is processed with great care: first, 100% red cherries are hand-selected. Then, using Agared equipment, the pulp and skin are removed. The parchment coffee, with its mucilage intact, ferments in fermentation tanks for 36 hours, followed by 4 hours of soaking. The beans are then dried on 30x1.8 meter raised beds before hulling. After manual sorting to achieve G1 grade, the coffee is packed in GrainPro bags inside outer jute sacks.

Oromia: The Birthplace of Coffee

The Oromia region is one of the world's cradles of coffee. The indigenous Oromo people were among the first in the world to use coffee as food, a practice dating back to the 5th century AD. Oromia lies roughly between 3°-15°N latitude and 33°-40°E longitude, and the region is world-renowned for its pristine plant species and biodiversity. This is where coffee was born. For the local Oromo people, coffee is not just a beverage - it is food, an important part of their trade, their "stimulant," and a traditional tool for maintaining peace.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is a world-famous specialty coffee origin and the birthplace of coffee itself, home to countless native varieties - a treasure land that keeps coffee lovers loyal to its flavors. For an accessible introduction, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the top pick: you get a clear jasmine floral aroma and bright citrus acidity - the classic "Yirgacheffe character" baristas always talk about. Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia where spring-like temperatures, mist, and cool humidity let thousands of coffee trees flourish, creating the region's unique interplay of florals and fruit acidity. The cup is light and elegant with a tea-like quality, like a clean, refreshing lemon tea.

FrontStreet's natural Red Cherry Project coffee shows what natural processing can do. Unlike washed coffee, natural lots are first culled of broken or moldy cherries, then dried in the sun for two full weeks so the sugars and essence of the fruit pulp soak into the bean. Once the moisture drops to 12%, the hardened pulp, mucilage, and parchment are scraped off with a huller, and the beans go through density and color checks, defect removal, and a final hand-sorting pass by workers. Layer after layer of screening means every bean is specialty grade - impeccably clean with a rich, captivating fruit aroma. FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Project natural coffee tastes of peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.

For something wilder, try FrontStreet's Kaffa Forest coffee. Unlike the garden-farming model where farmers grow coffee behind their homes, the Kaffa Forest is best known for wild coffee: the trees all grow under shade at 1,400-2,100 meters, where the untouched ecosystem, microclimate, red soil, and abundant rainfall create ideal growing conditions. Roasted medium-light, FrontStreet's Kaffa Forest beans grind up with a distinct white-floral aroma; the first sip brings bright lemon acidity with sweet orange and bergamot, a gentle melon-and-nut sweetness in the finish, and a texture like green tea.