Ethiopian Coffee Bean Regions: Characteristics and Differences Between Sidamo and Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

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Exploring Ethiopia's Renowned Coffee Regions: Sidamo and Yirgacheffe

Ethiopia's renowned coffee regions include Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe was originally a small town within the Sidamo region, but due to its distinctive citrus and lemon acidity, it was separated from the FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo coffee region to become an independent region. So what exactly are the flavor differences between them? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will guide all coffee enthusiasts to explore together.

Sidamo Coffee Region

FrontStreet Coffee often says that to understand a coffee bean, you must start with three factors: its region, variety, and processing method. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce these three main factors to all coffee enthusiasts.

The Sidamo coffee region is located in southern Ethiopia, with an altitude ranging from 1400-2000m. Agriculture dominates the local industry, with coffee primarily cultivated around the East African Rift Valley. Due to the diverse soil types and microclimates in Sidamo, combined with Ethiopia's countless indigenous coffee varieties, Sidamo's coffee flavors are extremely diverse. Coffee produced in each town within Sidamo also shows distinct differences and characteristics.

Among the most famous coffee regions within Sidamo are the Guji and Arsi regions. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee's store offers coffee beans from both these regions for coffee enthusiasts to choose from.

Sidamo Coffee Bean Processing Methods

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, 70% of Ethiopia's regions use the natural processing method, and Sidamo is no exception. Most coffee cherries are processed using the natural method. Coffee beans processed through natural methods exhibit more aromatic flavors than washed processed coffee beans, with fermented notes. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Sidamo region's coffee beans have rich fruit flavors and a smooth mouthfeel.

Natural Processing Method Steps:

1. First, ripe coffee cherries must be harvested, followed by manual selection to remove defective, overripe, or insect-damaged cherries, keeping only the good beans. This is also the main reason why the coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee's store have relatively uniform and attractive appearance.
2. The selected good cherries are sent to drying areas for processing. Different coffee regions use different drying racks, which may include waterproof tarps, raised beds, or concrete floors. The drying time averages 27-30 days until the coffee moisture content reduces to 11% to complete the drying process.

3. This step is also crucial. After drying, the coffee cherries are sent to specialized processing plants for hulling, and sometimes even polishing, to remove the fruit pulp and other parts, yielding what we commonly recognize as coffee beans.
4. The hulled green coffee beans undergo another screening to remove poor-quality beans again. This is because over-dried coffee beans are more fragile and may break into fragments during hulling, while under-dried coffee beans contain too much moisture, making them susceptible to bacterial growth and mold. Therefore, after another screening, they are sent to warehouses for storage, packaging, and export.

Yirgacheffe Coffee Region

As mentioned above by FrontStreet Coffee, Sidamo region's coffee beans have extremely diverse flavors. Yirgacheffe was separated because the coffee beans grown there have unique flavors, and it has become the most famous coffee region in Africa based on flavor alone. When African coffee is mentioned, coffee enthusiasts will first think of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans.

Yirgacheffe has an altitude of 1800-2000m, also one of the highest average altitude regions in Ethiopia. The area itself is a wetland with abundant water resources. However, according to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, traditionally Yirgacheffe used the oldest natural processing method. It wasn't until 1972 that Ethiopia introduced Central and South American washing technology to improve coffee bean quality. This move amplified the inherent citrus and lemon aromas of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans, making the taste even fresher and brighter.

Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Processing Methods

For this reason, Yirgacheffe quickly became one of the world's representatives of specialty coffee. Since then, this region has primarily produced washed processed coffee beans until the 21st century when natural processing technology also improved. The technological advancement brought stunning natural processed beans to the specialty coffee market. At this time, a Yirgacheffe coffee trader named Bagshi, missing the flavors of traditional natural processed coffee, began improving natural processing and launched several outstanding natural processed coffee beans, restoring the status of natural processed coffee in the Yirgacheffe region. For instance, FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans are greatly loved by coffee enthusiasts.

Washed Processing Method Steps:

1. First, coffee farmers pour all harvested coffee cherries into water. This way, defective and flawed coffee beans will float to the surface, while quality coffee cherries sink to the bottom. This operation greatly reduces the time wasted in individual selection.
2. The selected coffee cherries are placed in a depulper to remove the outer skin and pulp. After removing these, a layer of mucilage remains on the coffee cherry surface, so large amounts of clean water are needed to wash away the sticky substances on the coffee cherry surface.

3. Next, fermentation is used to completely remove the mucilage. This process takes approximately 18 hours. However, after fermentation, fermentation bacteria adhere to the coffee cherry surface, requiring another thorough wash with large amounts of clean water. For this step, producing 1 kilogram of coffee beans consumes 40-50 kilograms of clean water. FrontStreet Coffee considers this a very large number, which is why drought-prone countries cannot adopt washed processing.
4. The cleaned coffee beans can then be dried. Some regions will dry them directly outdoors, while more developed regions send them to processing plants for machine drying, reducing the coffee moisture content to about 11%.
5. Finally, the dried coffee beans are stored and packaged for sale and export.

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, the differences between washed and natural processing also affect coffee bean flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will compare Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffee beans with the same processing method in the following section, helping coffee enthusiasts more intuitively understand the flavor differences between these two regions' coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's comparison this time uses coffee beans processed with the natural method. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the flavors and brewing data between these two coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aricha Coffee Beans

• Country: Ethiopia
• Region: Yirgacheffe
• Altitude: 1900-2100m
• Variety: Local Indigenous
• Processing: Natural
• Flavor: Light fermented wine aroma, sweet orange, spices, honey sweetness

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Buku Abel Coffee Beans

• Country: Ethiopia
• Region: Guji Hambella (formerly Sidamo)
• Altitude: 2250-2350m
• Variety: Local Indigenous
• Processing: Natural
• Flavor: Rose, cream strawberry, citrus, passion fruit, oolong tea

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee Buku Abel Roasting Profile:

Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat drum to 175°C, air damper at 3, flame power at 120. Raise to 140°C, air damper at 4. At 6'00", temperature reaches 151.7°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9'50", open air damper fully, reduce flame power to 80 at 188°C, first crack development time 1'40", drop at 196°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Aricha Coffee Bean Roasting Profile:

Yangjia 600g semi-direct flame, using fast roast mode. Heat drum to 200°C, air damper at 3. After 30 seconds, adjust flame power to 160°C, air damper unchanged. Adjust flame power once at 150°C, when bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust flame power to 120°C, air damper to 4. At 8 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for first crack sound. First crack begins at 8'49", reduce flame power to 70°C (be very careful when adjusting flame power, not so low that cracking stops), open air damper fully to 5. 1'48" after first crack, drop at 195°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions & Comparison

• Dripper: V60 #01
• Water Temperature: 90-91°C
• Dose: 15g
• Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% retention on #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique:

First pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g more (scale shows about 125g), completing in about 1 minute. When water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows about 225g), completing in about 1'40"-1'45". Drip completes between 2'00"-2'10", remove dripper, extraction complete.

FrontStreet Coffee Natural Buku Abel Brewing Flavor:

At high temperature, almond aroma appears. As it cools, berry sweetness and acidity emerge, with blackcurrant juice notes, honey aftertaste, and persistent sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Natural Yirgacheffe Aricha Brewing Flavor:

Extremely smooth entry, ripe fruit sweetness and acidity emerge, persistent sweetness, fermented fruit aroma.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473