Sidamo 90+ Coffee Bean Varieties, Flavor Characteristics, and Candied Processing Method Story

FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Ethiopian Coffee Selection

FrontStreet Coffee has introduced many coffee beans from Ethiopia's Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gedeb, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry, FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo Natural Flower Queen, and more. There's also FrontStreet Coffee's 90+ Candlelight, which comes from the Sidamo region. The production process of this FrontStreet Coffee 90+ Candlelight coffee bean is extremely strict.

Understanding the 90+ Premium Coffee Series

You might wonder what 90+ means. 90+ refers to a premium coffee series of 13 flavor profiles, from Ninety Plus Coffee, an American specialty coffee trader. Their pursuit of ultimate flavor is astounding, and within just five or six years of establishment, they've made coffee professionals worldwide recognize this name. Ninety Plus, literally translated as 90+, means this young coffee company sells green coffee beans with cupping scores above 90 points. To put it simply, after the strict deduction scoring system with over ten requirements in cupping rules, achieving 90 points is no less difficult than becoming the top regional scorer in today's college entrance exams.

The Story Behind Drima Zede (Candlelight)

Drima Zede means "Best Approach" in the local dialect. According to information provided by the original manufacturer, this FrontStreet Coffee 90+ Candlelight coffee bean is a specialized product series developed based on 90+'s years of experience. The traditional natural process makes it difficult to obtain pure flavor, but with 90+'s technical support, Drima Zede uses only hand-picked, fully ripe coffee cherries. The natural drying process involves constant stirring to ensure uniformity. The final result is coffee beans with exceptionally transparent and pure flavor, significant temperature variations between hot and cold, and captivating aromas of fruit, flowers, and oak barrels.

Heirloom Varieties and Ethiopian Coffee Heritage

This FrontStreet Coffee 90+ Candlelight coffee bean, like other Ethiopian coffees, belongs to local heirloom varieties. Ethiopia has so many varieties that it's like a natural gene bank for Arabica. On one hand, the numerous varieties make classification difficult, and on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, for protection considerations, is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties, so they are collectively called Heirloom varieties.

Comparative Tasting: FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian Selections

FrontStreet Coffee also offers its Flower Queen coffee bean, which also comes from the Sidamo region and uses natural processing. So what are the flavor differences between these two Ethiopian coffee beans? FrontStreet Coffee conducted experiments with these two coffee beans.

Visual and Processing Differences

FrontStreet Coffee first observed the appearance of these two coffee beans. The Flower Queen coffee beans are shorter and rounder, with a slightly yellowish color, while the 90+ Candlelight beans are more slender, with a slightly greenish-gray color. FrontStreet Coffee uses light slow-roasting to highlight the rich floral and fruity characteristics of Ethiopian beans.

Professional Cupping Analysis

After roasting, FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8 to 24 hours. We use 200ml standard cupping bowls, with a grind size that achieves 70%-75% retention on a #20 standard sieve, using 11.3g of coffee, water temperature of 94°C. First, we grind and smell the dry aroma, then add water to fill the bowl to confirm the wet aroma. After 4 minutes, we break the crust and remove the grounds for flavor evaluation. The two Ethiopian coffees taste similar but still have slight differences. Compared to the 90+ Candlelight, the Flower Queen is more refreshing with a juice-like mouthfeel and more prominent citrus and acidity. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the 90+ Candlelight leans towards smoothness, with more prominent nectarine and berry flavors, better sweet-tart balance, and more tropical fruit flavors when cooled.

Pour-Over Brewing Method

Next, we conducted pour-over brewing to compare the flavors of the Flower Queen and the 90+ Candlelight. FrontStreet Coffee's brewing method uses a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, with water temperature of 90°C. For the filter choice, they first considered the Hario V60 #01 dripper.

Three-Stage Pour-Over Technique

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a three-stage water flow method for brewing coffee. This is a very simple pour-over method that everyone can learn at home to brew a delicious cup. First, prepare all the necessary coffee equipment, then follow these steps.

Step 1: First, use 30g of water for the bloom. When pouring, don't use too much water flow, as it will scatter the coffee grounds and prevent proper blooming. Pouring the 30g of water should take exactly 10 seconds, then wait 20 seconds. When the total time reaches 30 seconds, proceed to the second step.

Step 2: Then use a small water flow to slowly pour in circles from the center outward until reaching 125g. At this point, the total time should be about one minute.

Step 3: After the coffee bed settles, pour again until the total water volume reaches 225g, which should take about two minutes. At this point, stop pouring. Next, wait for all the coffee liquid to flow from the dripper into the lower pot, then remove the dripper. But we're not done yet! The final step is to swirl the server to ensure even concentration mixing, and then you can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee!

Flavor Profile Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian Sidamo Natural Flower Queen offers distinct citrus, a juice-like mouthfeel, slight fermentation notes, becomes more refreshing when cooled, with sugarcane-like sweetness, passion fruit, and medium-high acidity. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian 90+ Candlelight has more prominent berry and jam fruit notes, nectarine, cream, smoothness, balanced sweet-tart, tropical fruits, medium-high acidity, medium sweetness, and moderate aftertaste.

The Legacy of Ethiopian Coffee

As is well known, Ethiopian coffee has always been synonymous with specialty coffee and is among the world's finest coffees. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee. Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are recognized specialty coffee regions, producing coffee beans with very distinctive characteristics. Washed Yirgacheffe region beans, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Washed Gedeb, have bright, clean characteristics, fresh fruit flavors, floral notes, and a clear texture. Natural processed Sidamo region coffee beans, such as the Sidamo Natural Flower Queen, have richer mouthfeel and more intense aromas — each with their own merits.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this comparison has whetted your appetite for Yirgacheffe, the classic starting point is FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe house bean: white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish at an approachable price — the first bean many people drink when entering specialty coffee. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in southern Sidamo at roughly 1700-2100 meters, with coffee planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest growing regions in the world; its fame grew so great that in 2010 the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange formally separated it from Sidamo as its own designation.

For a step up in traceability, try the washed Idido (Guodingding) Cooperative coffee from the Worka area at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge — traditionally washed, with no harsh bitterness, just clean citrus, lemon acidity, and jasmine fragrance. If you prefer naturals, the Red Cherry Project beans are made from fully ripe cherries dried whole on raised beds for three to five weeks, turned every 2-3 hours at the start to prevent uneven fermentation, yielding citrus acidity, berry-like juiciness, honeyed sweetness, and creamy smoothness. For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests a V60, 15g of coffee at 1:15, 90-91°C water, and a grind around fine-granulated sugar (80% passing a #20 sieve).