GERA Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Flavor Profile and Ethiopian Coffee Origin Flavor Introduction

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Coffee Information

Name: FrontStreet Coffee Guji - Shakisso Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans GERA

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Sidamo/Sidama, Guji Zone

Micro-region: Shakisso

Altitude: 1,850 - 2,000 meters

Variety: Ethiopia's native heirloom varieties

Producer: Smallholder member farmers (approximately 700)

Annual Rainfall: Approximately 1,800 - 2,000 mm

Processing Method: Washed

Flavor Profile

The coffee presents distinct and rich floral aromas, with refined lemon peel notes in the wet aroma. Upon sipping, it reveals flavors of lemon, kumquat, and honey, followed by grapefruit and sweet orange in the mid-to-late stages. The wine-like acidity is clear and refined, with an overall flavor profile that is clean, bright, and remarkably fruit-forward.

Regional Background

Ethiopia's administrative divisions are organized into four levels, from largest to smallest: Region, Zone, Woreda, and Kebele. Most coffee bean names follow this naming convention. The FrontStreet Coffee Guji - Shakisso featured here is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region. Administratively, it belongs to the Oromia Region → Guji Zone → Shakisso Woreda, making it a regionally sourced coffee bean.

Similar to how Yirgacheffe gained widespread recognition and became an independent region, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes spelled Shakiso) is the most attention-grabbing micro-region within Guji. Geographically situated southeast of Yirgacheffe, it boasts an average altitude of over 1,800 meters, fertile black soil (Vertisol), and significant day-night temperature variations, providing ideal terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

Local coffee production almost entirely consists of individual smallholder farmers. During harvest season, they pick fully ripe red coffee cherries from nearby trees and deliver them to processing stations. The cherries are placed on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation degree. After pulp removal, the moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. When post-processing and resting are complete, the coffee is exported through the ECX (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) bidding system, where local exporters and international buyers compete to find their desired coffee beans.

In recent years, Yirgacheffe has been Ethiopia's most attention-grabbing region. Compared to Yirgacheffe, Guji - Shakisso is lesser known, but when Yirgacheffe's overall prices soared in 2015, international specialty buyers began seeking other neighboring regions such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, and others. Many potential regions and producers were subsequently discovered, including the previously introduced FrontStreet Coffee Limu - FrontStreet Coffee Gera and FrontStreet Coffee Jimma - Yukro, both of which are exceptional specialty coffee selections.

Shakisso's Distinctive Character

Shakisso (sometimes also spelled Shakiso) is located in the Guji region within Sidamo. A search on the Coffee Review website using "Guji" as a keyword reveals dozens of reviews scoring above 92 points, with several achieving high scores of 94-95 points. The renowned Ardi also originates from the Guji region.

Shakisso is a distinctive region within Guji/Sidamo, situated far from most coffee-producing areas even within Sidamo. The region is also famous for its gold mines, and factors such as labor, land, and ethnic tensions made the area unstable in 2006. Coffee from this region is quite distinctive and has repeatedly garnered market attention. Ninety Plus' legendary bean "Nekisse" originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso" - both the region and its name are derived from Shakisso.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473