Sidamo Coffee Origin Green Bean Processing Methods Grade Regions Flavor Description

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Ethiopian coffee is represented by the bright lemon acidity and floral aromas of Yirgacheffe coffee. Some people even consider Yirgacheffe as the representative coffee of Ethiopia itself. Ethiopian coffees are basically named after their producing regions. For example, the well-known Yirgacheffe region produces Yirgacheffe coffee, and the Sidamo region produces Sidamo coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's introductory Ethiopian coffee bean is Yirgacheffe coffee.

Although both coffee-producing regions are in Ethiopia, their processing methods are completely different. Yirgacheffe coffee beans use the washed processing method, while coffee beans from the Sidamo region use the natural processing method. When it comes to representing natural-processed coffee beans from the Sidamo region, "Hana Asacha" stands out. Whether in terms of popularity or flavor performance, "Hana Asacha" coffee beans can be considered the leader among natural-processed Ethiopian coffee beans.

Geographical Location of Sidamo Region

Geographically, the Sidamo region is located in the highland plateau area of southern Ethiopia, near Lake Hawassa of the East African Rift Valley, bordering Kenya. Due to its high altitude, suitable rainfall, fertile soil, and countless native tree species, it is extremely suitable for coffee cultivation. Coffee trees here mostly grow at altitudes between 1,550-2,200 meters. High altitude means slower maturation of coffee cherries, resulting in more complex and intense aromatic structures. The harvest season here is also later than in other regions of Ethiopia.

Historical complexities have caused the Sidamo region to intermix with other administrative districts, making it one of the most complex and difficult-to-understand origins in the world. Compared to other regions, Sidamo covers not only a large area but also a quite extensive one. The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) has divided it into 5 areas based on geographical indications: A, B, C, D, and E. These five areas each govern multiple sub-regions, containing over 50 cooperatives and more than 200 washing stations. Under the influence of different altitudes, humidity, soil, microclimates, and other factors, subtle differences exist in coffee flavors between villages.

Historical Development

In the last century, Yirgacheffe originally belonged to the Sidamo region and was labeled as "Large Sidamo Coffee" when exported. However, due to its outstanding flavor that gained worldwide attention early on, it率先脱离了西达摩的分类，从而独立出来. Additionally, with support from the Ethiopian government, this town's coffee was successfully registered globally as the "Yirgacheffe®" flavor trademark in 2007.

Similarly, around 2008 when the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange ECX was established, Guji coffee was also classified under the "Sidamo A" category in auction classifications. Later, as more and more smaller origins from here, with their excellent flavor performance, made their way into the top ranks of international green bean competitions like COE, Guji's reputation grew. Consequently, in 2015, ECX separated it out to become a new category representative.

Guji Region

The Guji region was originally under the administration of the Sidamo region. Due to its relatively remote location and underdeveloped infrastructure, the rise and fame of Guji coffee came relatively late. Initially, its reputation was not as prominent as regions like Yirgacheffe and Harar. Later, due to the excellent flavor of its coffee beans, it was separated out to become a new producing region. This area has fertile black soil with an average altitude of over 1,800 meters. Unique geographical features have created terroir conditions highly favorable for coffee tree growth.

Moreover, compared to other traditional producing regions, Guji is definitely considered a remote area in Ethiopia. Not only is transportation inconvenient here with high mountains and dense forests, but it was also isolated from the outside world in the past. The people here originally made a living from pastoralism. Later, large quantities of mineral resources were discovered underground, leading to the rise of the mining industry. It wasn't until recent years, as more and more international buyers recognized Guji's high-quality coffee, that the coffee industry developed rapidly, becoming a new important part of the Guji region.

Unlike Yirgacheffe, as a rising star, the Guji region, due to its relatively late coffee industry development, has advantages such as high altitude, rich mineral soil, and sufficient available land resources, providing favorable conditions for establishing large-scale washing stations and natural processing facilities. Additionally, the protection of original forests here is more complete, providing good guarantees for water and soil conservation as well as flavor uniqueness.

When FrontStreet Coffee observes the Guji coffee distribution map, the well-known sub-regions include Ana Sora, Hambela, Shakiso, Uraga, and Rogicha. The "Hana Asacha" mentioned by FrontStreet Coffee above comes from Hambela and uses natural processing.

Hambela

Unlike traditional producing regions such as Yirgacheffe, Hambela is actually a coffee farm belonging to the locally renowned METAD Agricultural Development PLC. It is both an independent coffee farm and the main processing station for nearby planting areas, processing coffee planted in the vicinity and selling it as an independent batch. As an Ethiopian native coffee export company, METAD was founded by Aman Adinew in 2013. The coffee is produced from the Guji Zone and Hambela Estate in the Gedeo Zone, Gedeb District of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), and the Oromia Region.

Aman comes from a coffee family. His grandmother established coffee farms in Ethiopia's Harar and Sidamo regions in the last century. Aman himself also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). After leaving government service, to help modernize the local coffee industry, he began establishing his own enterprise METAD and cooperated with thousands of small farmers in Yirgacheffe and Guji.

The entire Hambela farm covers 200 hectares, located about 75 kilometers from Yirgacheffe, in Ethiopia's best coffee-central area. Its processing stations are already quite professional and well-established in terms of equipment, management, and scale. Additionally, fertile volcanic soil, natural organic farming, and relatively mature post-processing methods are key factors that have made coffee from here become a blockbuster in recent years.

Buku Abel

In fact, before this coffee bean was called "Hana Asacha," it only had an English name "Hambella," translated as "Hambela." To put it bluntly, what we call "Hana Asacha Coffee" is actually a traditional natural G1 coffee bean from the Hambela region, with "Buku Abel" processing station being its more precise traceability information, located in Dimtu town.

After "Hana Asacha" became famous overnight, to meet the surge in market demand, DW company established 5 independent green bean drying processing stations in Hambella Wamena Wereda, all located within the core producing area of Dimtu town. In addition to the original Buku Abel, four other small villages - Buku Saysay, Haro Soresa, Tirtiro Goye, and Seke Bokosa - also joined the production of natural-processed coffee beans. It is reported that at this time, the annual production of "Hana Asacha" under DW company had already reached tens of millions of tons.

Since the 2018 production season, Hana Asacha (natural G1 coffee beans) from the same growing origin and same processing station has already shown some flavor changes. FrontStreet Coffee discovered through cupping that although the 2018 and 2019 Hana Asacha had flavors similar to the 2017 Hana Asacha, they were inferior to the "first-generation Hana Asacha" in terms of body, aftertaste, and other mouthfeel aspects.

Therefore, to continue selling this natural-processed coffee from Hambela while making a certain distinction from the original version, domestic green bean trading companies calculated based on 2017 as a starting point and formulated X.0 suffixes for each subsequent year's batch. For example, the 2018 batch is called "Hana Asacha 2.0," the 2019 production is called "Hana Asacha 3.0 and 3.1"... Last year's release was "Hana Asacha 7.0," and so on. This way, we can identify which year's batch the Hana Asacha we purchased belongs to through this suffix.

Natural Processing - Green Bean Processing Method

Although washed coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region are very famous, Ethiopia is actually dominated by natural processing methods. Even now, natural processing in Ethiopia accounts for about 70% of national production. Natural processing is one of the oldest and most classic processing methods. The steps for natural processing are simpler compared to other methods. Coffee cherries are dried in the sun for several weeks until the coffee's moisture content drops to about 11%, then machines are used to remove the skin and pulp of the coffee cherries. Next, they are stored in warehouses waiting for export.

Sidamo mostly uses natural processing to handle coffee cherries. FrontStreet Coffee believes that natural processing of coffee beans produced in Sidamo can better reflect the region's clear fruit acidity and smooth mouthfeel characteristics. Natural processing is also called "natural drying method." This method involves placing coffee beans directly under the sun for exposure, with exposure days lasting 27-30 days. Moisture is reduced from 60% to about 12% to complete the process. FrontStreet Coffee feels it has the sweet and sour sensation of tropical fruits, preserves the natural richness of coffee beans, has rich flavor layers, and sometimes carries a slight fermented wine aroma.

Pour-over Recommendations for Hana Asacha Coffee Beans

Light-roasted coffee beans have a relatively hard texture. FrontStreet Coffee uses high-temperature water at 92°C-93°C to extract the floral and fruity aromas from the coffee. FrontStreet Coffee recommends a medium-fine grind size (78% pass rate through China standard #20 sieve). Too coarse a grind cannot extract the body substances, making the brewed coffee appear thin. Too fine a grind can easily lead to over-extraction at high water temperatures, making the brewed coffee prone to bitterness.

In terms of brewing ratio, FrontStreet Coffee believes that 1:15-1:16 are both acceptable. If you want a richer mouthfeel, use 1:15. If you want to more clearly perceive the floral and sweet sensations, you can use 1:16 to allow the flavors to spread out more.

Brewing Parameters:

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 92-93°C

Coffee Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (78% pass rate through #20 standard sieve)

Pouring Technique: Three-stage pouring

Three-stage Pouring Technique:

Use twice the amount of water as the coffee powder to wet the coffee bed, forming a dome and blooming for 30s. Then use a small water flow to pour in circles from inside to outside to 125g, and pause. When the coffee bed drops to half the height of the dripper, continue with the same fine water flow to pour the third stage to 225g. Wait until all the coffee liquid has filtered through, then remove the dripper. The total time should be about 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

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