How are Sidamo Coffee Beans? Flavor Description, Characteristics, and Origin Information

Few African coffees match the vivid fruit and floral intensity of Ethiopia's Guji and Hambella regions. This article looks at one celebrated natural-processed lot and how to brew it.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Sidamo Guji Natural

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Coffee Information

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Guji Zone

Altitude: 2250-2350 meters

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local Heirloom

Producer: Local small farmers

Flavor Notes: Passion fruit, rose floral, strawberry jam

Sidamo coffee flavors are incredibly diverse, because different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties create significant differences and characteristics in the coffee produced by each town area. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture is the main industry, and coffee growing areas are situated around the Great Rift Valley.

Hambella Region

Hambella is located in Ethiopia's largest coffee producing region, Guji, and is administratively under the Oromia Regional State. Hambella's west faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore region across the mountains, with the two production areas separated by a 3200-meter-high, approximately 30-kilometer-wide plateau. To the southeast, north, and east, it borders Guji's sub-regions of Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar is Ethiopia's highest-altitude main region).

Currently there are about 20 processing plants of various scales in the Hambella region. DW Company has four estate processing plants in Hambella's core Dimtu region: "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with an annual coffee production of approximately 1100 tons.

Among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural-processed coffee from the "Buku Abel" estate and processing plant is called "Champion."

Awards and Recognition

Cupping Notes: Passion fruit, rose floral, strawberry jam, berry acidity and sweetness, peach flesh, black tea finish

2016/2017

Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition - Champion

2016/2017 harvest season Ethiopia Coffee Competition - Champion

2017 Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition - Runner-up

2017 Africa Coffee Competition - Runner-up

Processing Details

The Champion processing plant is located in Buku Abel village at 2200 meters altitude. From the very start of cultivation, it was chosen for a privileged "family environment": fertile, humus-rich reddish-brown soil, with shade protection from "Enset" trees, allowing Champion coffee to receive sufficient sunlight and develop rich flavors without consuming excessive nutrients, so more essence is retained within the cherries. During the harvest and processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create Champion's distinctive flavors. Natural processing begins only once the sugar content of harvested red cherries reaches above 30. During the first two days of natural processing, moisture content is carefully managed so the fructose in the red cherries can fully begin fermenting. Meanwhile, the high-altitude location lets the processing plant's nighttime temperature drop to around 12°C, preventing over-fermentation odors from excess heat. When temperatures are higher at noon, shade is provided promptly to prevent sun damage to the red cherries. Only fully red, completely mature cherries are selected, all hand-picked, dried on African raised beds, with a specified cherry layer thickness and continuous turning every 24 hours to ensure even drying and ventilation and to control the fermentation degree more precisely.

Brewing Instructions

For pour-over brewing of FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo Natural Champion: use 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji's ghost tooth grinder at 3.5 setting), 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. Wait until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

At night, thick plastic sheets are used for covering to prevent sudden rainfall. This allows the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green coffee beans drops to around 13%, natural processing is stopped. The beans are packed in jute bags and stored in warehouse conditions of 12-22°C and 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of green bean resting and further dehydration. When the green bean moisture content reaches around 10%, they are transported to processing plants for hulling, screening, and sale.

Complete Coffee Details

Coffee Origin: Africa, Ethiopia

Coffee Estate: Guji, Hambella Wamena region, Dimtu city, Buku Abel estate

Coffee Variety: Heirloom, Ethiopia native varieties

Production Altitude: 2250-2350 meters

Quality Grade: G1

Processing Method: Natural (African raised beds)

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the passion fruit, rose, and strawberry-jam intensity of this Buku Abel natural appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee has a direct match. FrontStreet Natural Huakui comes from the Hambella Buku Abel processing plant in Sidamo's Guji zone and is the natural-processed lot that won the 2017 Ethiopia Taste of Harvest competition, offering cream strawberry, guava, dried mango, black tea, and citrus over a full, persistent body.

For a complementary washed Ethiopian cup, FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe brings white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like body, while FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry adds citrus acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy mouthfeel for those who want a natural-process Yirgacheffe alongside the Sidamo.