Ethiopia Guji Shakisso Region Single-Origin Coffee Bean Classification, Pricing, Green Beans, and Roasting Curve

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Ethiopia Guji Shakisso Region: Single Origin Bean Grading, Pricing, Green Beans, and Roasting Profile

Ethiopia's administrative divisions are organized into four levels, ordered from largest to smallest: Region, Zone, woreda, kebele. Most green coffee bean names follow this naming convention. This Guji/Shakisso is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region and administratively belongs to Oromia Region/Guji Zone/Shakisso woreda, making it a regional coffee production area. Just as Yirgacheffe became an independent production area after gaining fame, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and distinctive cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes translated as Shakiso) is the micro-region within the Guji area that attracts the most attention from the international coffee market. With an average altitude above 1,800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature variations, the region possesses all the terroir conditions necessary for producing premium specialty coffee. Local coffee production almost entirely comes from individual smallholder farmers. During harvest season, they pick fully ripe red cherries from their own farms and deliver them to local regional processing stations for post-harvest processing, after which the coffee goes through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) bidding system for export.

In recent years, besides the long-favored Yirgacheffe, many potential-producing regions have been discovered. International specialty coffee buyers have started looking for regions beyond Yirgacheffe, such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, and others. Because the coffee produced in Guji/Shakisso indeed shows significant uniqueness, it naturally gains market attention. It's particularly worth mentioning that the renowned coffee brand Ninety Plus launched its legendary bean "Nekisse" at the end of 2009, with the original meaning being "Nectar from Shakisso" - both its green bean source and name come from Shakisso.

Africa's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is adjacent to the famous Kaffa Forest, an area entirely covered by wild coffee forests with diverse and numerous coffee varieties—at least over 1,000 types. Currently, scholars and experts universally recognize it as the birthplace of Arabica varieties and a treasure trove of global coffee genetics. Generally, coffee varieties from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region are referred to as Heirloom, which doesn't actually refer to a single specific variety. "Heirloom" in Chinese means "family treasure," signifying native varieties from the birthplace of coffee—a gift from nature to humanity. These green beans vary significantly in size, appearance, and shape, unseen in other production regions, which is also a unique characteristic of Africa's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe region coffee. Shakisso is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region, administratively belonging to Oromia Region→Guji Zone→Shakisso woreda, making it coffee from regional sources. Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after gaining fame and became an independent production region, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso is the most attention-attracting micro-region within the Guji area, geographically located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude above 1,800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature variations, giving the region all the terroir conditions necessary for producing premium specialty coffee. Local coffee production sources almost entirely belong to individual smallholder farmers. During harvest season, they pick fully ripe red cherries from nearby areas and deliver them to processing stations, placing them on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation degree. After removing pulp, moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. After post-processing and resting are completed, export is handled through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) bidding system.

Previously, we introduced Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe, which became the target of international specialty coffee enthusiasts due to its special floral aromas and lemon-citrus notes, consequently driving the growth of Ethiopia's domestic market. With everyone rushing to get it, the price of Yirgacheffe naturally became increasingly expensive (how can us budget-conscious folks afford this!). Therefore, in response, everyone started looking for lesser-known but equally flavorful and high-quality hidden gems, and the Guji region was discovered this way—today let's talk about the Guji region!

Product Information

Factory: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Guangzhou City
Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Washed

Country: Ethiopia
Grade: G1
Region: Guji Zone, Shakisso area
Roast Level: Light roast
Processing Method: Washed

Coffee processed with the washed method is less likely to carry wild flavors, possessing pure and refreshing characteristics, suitable for City to Full City roast levels. Some exceptionally high-quality Ethiopian washed coffee beans can sometimes exhibit distinct rising lemon, citrus essential oils, jasmine floral notes, honey flavors, with more noticeable acidity and lighter body.

Hand-pour Sidamo. 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (small Fuji ghost tooth grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water, steam for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

"Ethiopian Sidamo" is a single-origin type, Arabica coffee grown in Ethiopia's Sidamo province. Like most African coffees, Ethiopian Sidamo is characterized by small gray beans, but its distinctive features are rich, spicy, wine-like or chocolate-like flavors and floral aromas. The most characteristic flavors found in all Sidamo coffees are lemon and citrus, with bright, crisp acidity. Sidamo coffee includes Yirgacheffe and Guji coffees, both of which are of excellent quality.

Variety: Local native Heirloom
Producer: Local smallholder farmers
Flavor: White grape juice, citrus, Earl Grey tea sensation

Sidamo

Sidamo's coffee flavors are very diverse due to different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties, resulting in significant differences and characteristics in coffee produced by each town area. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia. Agriculture dominates the local industry, with coffee growing areas surrounding the East African Rift Valley.

Factory Area Introduction

Shakisso/Shakiso is located in the Guji zone of Sidamo, in the southern part of the Oromia region, adjacent to Sidamo and Gedeo. This area has many mines that were previously used for gold mining, so this coffee growing area has many pits. This makes walking through coffee growing areas dangerous. Shakisso is a unique production area within Guji/Sidamo, and even within Sidamo it's a remote region far from most coffee-producing areas. Another famous local product is gold mines. Factors like miners, land, and ethnicity also made the region unstable in 2006. Therefore, the biggest problem this area faces now is the need for manpower to maintain growing areas and harvest coffee.

Local smallholder farmers began growing organic coffee in 2001 and worked closely with medium-sized coffee producers because they know how to grow forest coffee in highland areas. It is one of the micro-regions in the Sidamo region with strong regional characteristics. Coffee from this area has considerable uniqueness, and the coffee produced has repeatedly gained market attention. Ninety Plus's legendary bean "Nekisse" originally meant "nectar from Shakisso"—its production area and name both come from Shakisso.

Flavor Description: Lemon and citrus, bright and crisp acidity, lemon, citrus, white grape juice, blackcurrant, Earl Grey tea finish

Indonesian and African coffee beans use this grading method based on defective bean ratios. Indonesian beans are mainly divided into 6 levels, namely G1-G6. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2; the highest grades for natural beans are G1 and G3.

What does this mean? As follows:

Washed: Grade-1; Grade-2 (G1 > G2)
Natural: Grade-1 and Grade-3—Grade-5 (G1 > G3 > G4 > G5)

Points to Note:

a) Both washed and natural have Gr-1, with the condition being "zero" defects and Premium Cup. Whether washed or natural, Gr-1 is a rating for the best of the best in specialty coffee or Cup of Excellence coffee.

b) The lowest grade for natural Yirgacheffe and Sidamo is Gr-4.

c) Beans of the same grade, such as Limu Gr-2, can be good or bad, depending on the exporter's sorting level and investment.

d) Given the current "zero" defect requirement, Gr-1 beans (both washed and natural) are extremely rare because processing costs are very high, and few suppliers will produce them.

The Guji region is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region and is the highest altitude area in all Ethiopia, with an average altitude exceeding 1,800 meters. Significant day-night temperature variations allow coffee beans to develop more completely with more pronounced sweetness; fewer pests allow coffee farmers to adopt fully organic growing methods, combined with fertile black soil, giving Guji all the terroir conditions necessary for producing premium specialty coffee. During harvest season, smallholder farmers pick fully ripe red cherries from nearby areas and deliver them to processing stations, placing them on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation degree. After removing pulp, moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. Truly a perfect combination of timing, location, and people. Under the past ECX trading system, Guji was just a production area under Sidamo's A flavor profile (Figure 1), an unknown minor player, but because its flavor was too unique and eye-catching, ECX had to separate Guji as an independent flavor profile (Figure 2).

Due to the shortcomings of traditional natural processing, the washed method emerged accordingly. harvested cherries have most of their pulp separated from the beans using a depulper, then the parchment beans are guided to a clean water tank and soaked in water for fermentation to completely remove remaining pulp layers. In the past (about five years ago), the washed method was often the preferred choice for high-quality coffee bean processing. Through water processing, underripe and defective beans are selected out due to buoyancy, and the fermentation process is easier to control, so the flavor doesn't have the miscellaneous notes of natural beans but instead presents distinct fruit acidity, slightly stronger complexity, and cleaner cup characteristics (without any negative flavors like astringency or sharpness). However, because it's too "clean," flavor richness is also slightly weaker.

The reason the Guji region can stand out and become a new highlight in the eyes of specialty coffee enthusiasts, besides its inherent geographical advantages, quality farmers, and ECX's classification changes, the Shakisso micro-region also deserves significant credit! Shakisso coffee belongs to the Guji region, and its flavor is of course quite unique. In April 2014, it achieved an impressive score of 95 points in Coffee Review, making the already market-attentioned Guji region even more prominent in market potential. Calling Guji the rising star of Ethiopian coffee is no exaggeration!

Ethiopia

Population: 93,877,000

Ethiopia's regional names have the highest recognition in the coffee world and are currently the country with the most regional names used as coffee names. This is true today and will remain predictable in the future. Additionally, the potential of original species and wild Arabica genetics will also be a major advantage for Ethiopian coffee.

SIDAMO

Sidamo, along with two other regions—Harrar and Yirgacheffe—registered trademarks through the Ethiopian government in 2004, increasing recognition for both the region's reputation and its distinctly characterized coffee beans. Sidamo uses both washed and natural processing methods, gaining popularity among consumers who prefer fruity, strong aromatic profiles. After Italy withdrew from Ethiopia in 1942, locals began calling themselves Sidama. Therefore, both Sidamo and Sidama are common names for coffee beans from this region. This area also grows some of the highest quality coffee beans in Ethiopia.

Altitude: 1400-2200m
Harvest: October—January
Variety: Heirloom

LIMU

Even without the fame of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, Limu still produces amazing coffee. Most of this area consists of smallholder farmers, but there are also some large government-owned estates.

Altitude: 1400-2200m
Harvest: November—January
Variety: Heirloom

HARRAR

This region consists of small towns surrounding Harrar and is the oldest production area. Coffee from this region is extremely special and doesn't require additional irrigation. Harrar has long enjoyed an extremely high reputation. Although natural processing can adjust its original earthy, woody notes to bright blueberry flavors. The coffee beans are so special and memorable that those who have worked in this coffee industry have broadened their horizons due to the flavor diversity of the beans.

Altitude: 1500-2100m
Harvest: November—February
Variety: Heirloom

Ethiopia Natural Guji Shakisso G1

Ethiopia Natural Guji Shakisso G1

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Guji Zone, Shakisso woreda
Producer: Local regional smallholder farmers
Processing Method: Natural processing
Variety: Ethiopian native Heirloom
Altitude: 1,800 – 2,000 meters
Soil: Dark and red clay soil
Packaging: Bulk 5KG vacuum packaging, full jute bag 30KG packaging

Flavor Brief: Passion fruit and blueberry jam, ripe tropical fruits, cherry chocolate cake, full body, rich sweetness.

Ethiopia's administrative divisions are organized into four levels, ordered from largest to smallest: Region, Zone, woreda, kebele. Most green coffee bean names follow this naming convention. The Guji-Shakisso introduced this time is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region and administratively belongs to Oromia Region→Guji Zone→Shakisso woreda, making it coffee from regional sources.

Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after gaining fame and became an independent production region, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes translated as Shakiso) is the most attention-attracting micro-region within the Guji area, geographically located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude above 1,800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature variations, giving the region all the terroir conditions necessary for producing premium specialty coffee. Local coffee production sources almost entirely belong to individual smallholder farmers. During harvest season, they pick fully ripe red cherries from nearby areas and deliver them to processing stations, placing them on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation degree. After removing pulp, moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. After post-processing and resting are completed, export is handled through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) bidding system, where local exporters or international buyers then follow this system to compete for desired green coffee beans.

In recent years, the most attention-grabbing region in Ethiopia has been Yirgacheffe. Guji-Shakisso is less well-known than Yirgacheffe, but with the trend of Yirgacheffe's overall price surge in 2015, international specialty buyers turned to other neighboring regions, such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, etc. Many potential-producing regions and producers were subsequently discovered, such as the recently launched Limu Gera, Jimma Agaro Yukro, and others—all excellent specialty bean selections.

Guji-Shakisso's coffee actually has considerable uniqueness, and the coffee produced has repeatedly gained market attention. Ninety Plus launched its legendary bean "Nekisse" at the end of 2009, originally meaning "Nectar from Shakisso"—both its production region source and name come from Shakisso. Another "Derar Ela" launched by Level Up, also from the Shakisso region, received repeated praise from Taiwanese industry professionals last year and achieved an excellent score of 95 points in Coffee Review's April 2014 evaluation.

Sidamo is located in southern Ethiopia. The region's diverse landscape creates unique and varied coffee flavors produced by each town. Shakisso is located in the Guji zone of Sidamo, southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude above 1,800 meters, fertile black soil, and significant day-night temperature variations, giving the region all the terroir conditions necessary for producing premium specialty coffee. Guji-Shakisso's coffee has considerable uniqueness and the coffee produced has repeatedly gained market attention, achieving a high score of 94 points in Coffee Review's 2016 coffee evaluation.

Region: Sidamo/Guji/Shakisso
Altitude: 1850—2000 meters
Variety: Local native varieties
Processing Method: Traditional washed
Grade: ECX G1
Flavor Description: Melon, cocoa, lemon, citrus, balanced Earl Grey tea sensation, light floral notes.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473