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The Historical Culture and Stories of Ethiopia Guji Shakisso Single-Origin Premium Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional Barista Exchange - Follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style) The Historical Culture and Stories of Ethiopia Guji Shakisso Region's Premium Single-Origin Coffee Beans Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after rising to fame and subsequently became an independent region, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and exceptional cup profile. Shakisso (Sh

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The History, Culture, and Stories of Ethiopian Guji Shakisso's Premium Single-Origin Coffee

Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after gaining fame and became an independent region, Guji was established as an independent region by the ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes translated as Shakiso) is the most attention-grabbing micro-region within the Guji region. Geographically located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude of over 1800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature differences, the area possesses all the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. Local coffee production sources are almost entirely individual smallholder farmers. During the harvest season, they pick fully ripe red coffee cherries from nearby trees and deliver them to processing stations, where they are placed on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation. After removing the pulp, the moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. When post-processing and resting are completed, export is handled through the bidding system of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), where local exporters or international buyers follow this system to compete for their preferred green coffee beans.

In recent years, the most attention-grabbing region in Ethiopia has undoubtedly been Yirgacheffe. Compared to Yirgacheffe, Guji-Shakisso is less known, but following the trend of soaring prices for Yirgacheffe in 2015, international specialty buyers turned to search for other neighboring regions such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, etc. Many promising regions and producers were subsequently discovered, including Limu Gera and Jimma Agaro Yukro, both of which are high-quality specialty coffee varieties.

The coffee from Guji-Shakisso is quite distinctive, and the coffee produced has repeatedly gained market attention. Ninty Plus' legendary coffee variety "Nekisse," launched in late 2009, originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso," with both its origin region and naming derived from Shakisso. Another variety, "Derar Ela," also from the Shakisso region and launched by Level Up, received high 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 distinctive and varied flavor profiles for coffee produced in each town. Shakisso is located in the Guji region of Sidamo, southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude of over 1800 meters, fertile black soil, and significant day-night temperature differences, providing all the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. The coffee from Guji-Shakisso is quite distinctive and has repeatedly gained market attention, achieving a high score of 94 points in Coffee Review's 2016 coffee evaluation.

Regional Information

Region: Sidamo/Guji/Shakisso

Altitude: 1850-2000 meters

Variety: Local indigenous varieties

Processing Method: Traditional washed

Grade: ECX G1

Flavor Notes: Melon, cocoa, lemon, citrus, balanced earl grey tea sensation, light floral notes.

Ethiopia's administrative divisions are organized into four levels, arranged from largest to smallest as Region, Zone, woreda, kebele. Most green coffee bean names follow this naming convention. This Guji/Shakisso coffee is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region and administratively belongs to Oromia Region/Guji Zone/Shakisso woreda, making it a regional coffee-producing area. Just as Yirgacheffe became an independent region after gaining fame, Guji was established as an independent region by the ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes translated as Shakiso) is the micro-region within the Guji area that has garnered the most attention from the international coffee market. With an average altitude of over 1800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature differences, the area possesses all the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. Local coffee production comes almost entirely from individual smallholder farmers. During the harvest season, they pick fully ripe red cherries from their own farms and deliver them to local regional processing stations. After completing post-processing, export is handled through the bidding system of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX).

In recent years, besides the long-favored Yirgacheffe, many promising regions have been discovered. International specialty coffee buyers have turned to search for regions beyond Yirgacheffe, such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, etc. Because the coffee produced by Guji/Shakisso truly possesses significant distinctiveness, it naturally gained market attention. It's particularly worth mentioning that the renowned coffee brand Ninty Plus launched their legendary coffee variety "Nekisse" in late 2009, which originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso," with both its green bean source and naming derived from Shakisso.

Africa, Ethiopia - near the famous Kaffa Forest in Yirgacheffe, the entire area is wild coffee forest with numerous and complex coffee varieties, at least 1000 types. Currently recognized by scholars and experts as the birthplace of Arabica varieties, it's also a treasure trove of global coffee genetics. Generally, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee varieties are referred to as Heirloom, which doesn't actually refer to a single specific variety. Heirloom translates to "传家宝" (family heirloom) in Chinese, meaning indigenous varieties from the birthplace of coffee, a treasure bestowed by heaven. The green beans vary significantly in size, appearance, and shape, unseen in other producing regions, which is also a unique characteristic of African Ethiopian Yirgacheffe region coffee. Shakisso is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region, administratively belonging to Oromia Region→Guji Zone→Shakisso woreda, making it a regionally sourced green coffee. Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after gaining fame and became an independent region, Guji was established as an independent region by the ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso is the most attention-grabbing micro-region within the Guji area, geographically located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude of over 1800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature differences, providing all the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. Local coffee production comes almost entirely from individual smallholder farmers. During the harvest season, they pick fully ripe red cherries from nearby trees and deliver them to processing stations, where they are placed on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation. After removing the pulp, the moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. When post-processing and resting are completed, export is handled through the bidding system of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX).

The Rise of Guji Region

Previously, we introduced Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, which became the target of international specialty coffee enthusiasts due to its special floral notes and lemon-citrus tones, consequently driving increased demand in Ethiopia's domestic market. With everyone rushing to purchase it, the price of Yirgacheffe naturally became increasingly expensive (how can ordinary people afford this!). Therefore, in response, everyone began searching for lesser-known but equally high-quality hidden gem coffees, and the Guji region was discovered in this way - today let's talk about the Guji region!

Manufacturer: Dazhen 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: Shakisso region, Guji Zone

Roast Degree: Light roast

Processing Method: Washed

Washed processed coffee flavors are less likely to have wild characteristics, possessing pure and refreshing qualities, suitable for City to Full City roast levels. Some exceptionally high-quality Ethiopian washed coffee beans can sometimes reveal distinct uplifting lemon, citrus essential oils, jasmine floral notes, honey flavors, with more pronounced acidity and lighter body.

Hand-poured Sidamo: 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji Royal 3.5 setting), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour with 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops 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, spice-like, wine or chocolate-like flavors and floral notes. 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 exceptionally high quality.

Variety: Local indigenous Heirloom

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Flavor: White grape juice, citrus, earl grey tea sensation

Sidamo Region

Sidamo's coffee flavors are very diverse due to different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless indigenous coffee varieties, creating obvious differences and characteristics in coffee produced in each town area. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia. Agriculture dominates the local industry, with coffee growing areas located around the Great Rift Valley.

Processing Area Introduction

Shakisso/Shakiso is located in the Guji region of Sidamo, in the southern part of the Oromia region, adjacent to Sidamo and Gedeo. This area has many mines, originally used for gold mining, so this coffee growing area has many pits. This makes walking through coffee growing areas dangerous. Shakisso is a unique region within Guji/Sidamo, even within Sidamo it's a remote area far from most coffee-producing regions, and another famous local product is gold mines. Factors such as miners, land, and ethnicity also caused instability in the region in 2006. Therefore, the biggest problem facing this area now is the need for manpower to maintain growing areas and harvest coffee.

Local smallholder farmers began growing organic coffee in 2001 and work closely with medium-sized coffee producers because they are familiar with how to grow forest coffee in highland areas. It is one of the micro-regions with very regional characteristics in the Sidamo region. Coffee from this area has considerable distinctiveness, and the produced coffee has repeatedly gained market attention. Ninety Plus's legendary coffee (Nekisse) originally meant nectar from Shakisso, and its region and naming both come from Shakisso.

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

Coffee beans from Indonesia and Africa use this grading method based on defect bean ratios. Indonesian beans are mainly divided into 6 levels, G1-G6. The highest grades for washed beans are G1 and G2; the highest grades for natural processed 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)

Several points to note:

a) Regardless of whether washed or natural, both can be Gr-1 if they meet "zero defects" and Premium Cup criteria. 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 defects" requirement, Gr-1 beans (both washed and natural) are extremely rare because processing costs are very high, and few suppliers will do this.

The Guji region is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region and is the highest altitude area in all of Ethiopia, with an average altitude exceeding 1800 meters. Significant day-night temperature differences allow coffee beans to develop more completely with more pronounced sweetness; fewer pests enable coffee farmers to adopt completely organic cultivation methods, combined with fertile black soil, giving Guji all the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. During harvest season, smallholder farmers pick fully ripe red cherries from nearby trees and deliver them to processing stations, where they are placed on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation. After removing the pulp, moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12% - truly perfect timing, location, and people. Under the previous ECX trading system, Guji was just a sub-region under Sidamo's A flavor profile (Figure 1), an unknown minor player, but because its flavor was too unique and eye-catching, the ECX had to make Guji independent, becoming a distinctive flavor profile (Figure 2).

Washed Processing Method

In response to the drawbacks of traditional natural processing, the washed method emerged. Harvested cherries are processed through a pulper that separates most of the fruit flesh from the coffee beans, then the parchment beans are guided to a clean water tank and soaked in water for fermentation to completely remove remaining fruit pulp. In the past (about five years ago), the washed method was often the preferred choice for high-quality coffee processing. Through water processing, underripe beans and defective beans are selected out due to buoyancy differences, and the fermentation process is better controlled, so the flavor doesn't have the miscellaneous notes found in natural processed beans, instead presenting distinct fruit acidity, slightly stronger complexity, and cleaner cup characteristics (without any negative flavors like astringency or sharpness). However, because it's too "clean," the richness of flavor 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 (sometimes translated as Shakiso) has also made significant contributions! Shakisso coffee belongs to the Guji region, and its flavor is of course quite distinctive, achieving an impressive score of 95 points in Coffee Review's April 2014 evaluation, further enhancing the market potential of the already attention-grabbing Guji region. Saying that Guji is Ethiopia's rising star in coffee is no exaggeration!

Ethiopia Country Profile

Population: 93,877,000

Ethiopia's regional names have the highest recognition in the coffee world and currently have the most coffee varieties named after their regions of origin. This is true today and will likely remain so in the future. Additionally, the potential of original species and wild Arabica genetics will also be a major advantage for Ethiopian coffee.

SIDAMO Region

Sidamo, along with two other regions - Harrar and Yirgacheffe - were registered as trademarks by the Ethiopian government in 2004, enhancing recognition of the region's reputation and its distinctive coffee beans. Sidamo uses both washed and natural processing methods and is popular among consumers who enjoy fruity, intensely aromatic coffees. After Italy withdrew from Ethiopia in 1942, local people 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 Region

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

Altitude: 1400-2200m

Harvest: November-January

Variety: Heirloom

HARRAR Region

This region consists of small towns surrounding Harrar and is the oldest producing area. Coffee from this region is extremely special and grows in environments that don't require additional irrigation. Harrar has long enjoyed an excellent reputation, and while natural processing can transform the original muddy, woody earthy notes into bright blueberry flavors. The coffee beans are so special and memorable that they have opened the eyes of those who have worked in this coffee industry due to the diversity of bean flavors.

Altitude: 1500-2100m

Harvest: November-February

Variety: Heirloom