Is Sidamo Honey Coffee Delicious? Sidamo Coffee Brewing Methods

Ethiopian Coffee Cultivation

In Ethiopia you can find every kind of coffee cultivation: from vast wild coffee forests and semi-developed land to traditionally managed small plots and modern plantations. Roughly 50% of the coffee is grown above 1,500 meters. Based on these four production methods, Ethiopian coffee is divided into nine major regions, including five specialty regions, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limu and Lekempti, and four general commercial bean regions, Jimma, Illubabor, Tepi and Bebeka. Each region uses either natural or washed processing, and the method affects the flavour. Today natural processing accounts for about 80% and washed for about 20%.

Processing Method

This micro-batch starts with hand sorting to select 100% Red Cherry, after which an Agared depulper removes the skin and pulp. The mucilage-coated beans are then fermented in tanks for 36 hours, followed by 4 hours of soaking. They are then laid on 30 x 1.8 meter drying beds to dry before hulling. After manual screening to reach G1 grade, the beans are packed in GrainPro bags inside outer jute bags.

The Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the world's coffee origins. The indigenous Oromo people here were the first in the world to use coffee as food, as far back as the 5th century AD. Oromia lies roughly between 3° and 15° North latitude and 33° to 40° longitude. The region is world-renowned for its primitive plant species and its biodiversity, and it is where coffee was born. For the local Oromo, coffee is not only drink and food but also an important part of trade, a local stimulant and an important tool for keeping the peace.

Flavour Profile

Distinct wild ginger flower and bergamot notes, with blackcurrant undertones and a raisin-like sweetness in the aftertaste. The overall flavour recalls Earl Grey tea.

Ethiopian Coffee Grading

Ethiopian beans use a defect-based grading system. Indonesian beans are divided mainly into six grades, G1 to G6, and Ethiopia follows the same approach, where the highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2, while the highest grades for natural beans are G1 and G3.

Hand Brew Instructions

The secret to hand brewing. 15 g of grounds, medium-fine grind on a Fuji ghost-tooth grinder at setting 3.5, V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30 g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105 g and stop. When the water level in the bed drops to half, pour again. Slowly build to 225 g in total. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Grading System

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

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

Coffee Information

Region: Ethiopia, Oromia

Variety: Ethiopian native varieties

Altitude: 2,000 m

Processing Method: Washed

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227 g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Bean State: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Ethiopia

Roast Level: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia rewards a light hand, and the washed Yirgacheffe style is the classic way in. Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Sidama zone of southern Ethiopia, sitting at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee regions in the world. It was long treated as part of Sidamo until its fame grew so large that the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated the two in 2010, which is how Yirgacheffe became a name in its own right.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Daily Bean is the most familiar expression of the region: white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body, at an approachable price, and for many people it is the first specialty coffee they taste. For something still washed but more precise, FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Gotiti Cooperative comes from the Gotiti village team in the Woka area, whose washed process brings jasmine and bright citrus to the fore and, at a medium-light roast, releases green tea and honey notes.

If you want the sweeter, fruitier side of Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee Natural Red Cherry is a whole-cherry natural: only fully ripe fruit is picked and dried with the fruit still on the bean, so it keeps the region's citrus acidity while gaining tropical fruit, a berry-juice sweetness, honeyed sweetness and a creamy smoothness.