Introduction to Nine Premium Coffee Regions of Ethiopia: Flavor and Taste Differences Between Yirgacheffe and Sidamo Coffee Beans

Ethiopia has the world's most diversified coffee cultivation systems, including forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and plantation coffee systems. In Ethiopia, 90% of coffee comes from gardens, forests, and semi-forests. However, large-scale corporate cultivation is indeed extremely rare in Ethiopia. Perhaps this is why so many specialty coffees are produced!

Forest Coffee

Refers to wild coffee in primary forests, protected by the local government and harvested by dedicated personnel.

Semi-Forest Coffee

Refers to farmers who regularly enter the forest to prune shade trees or coffee branches and leaves to increase light transmission and yield. Even so, the annual yield is not high.

Garden Coffee

Refers to small farmers growing coffee mixed with other cash crops in their own gardens. Most are planted under ensete banana plants, which creates their unique landscape. This is Ethiopia's main production method.

Plantation Coffee

Refers to current state-owned enterprises specialized in high-efficiency mass cultivation.

These four major cultivation systems are distributed across Ethiopia's nine major regions: Djimmah, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harrar, Limu, Illubabor, Keffa (Lekempti), Tepi, and Bebeka. Overall, each region's coffee has its distinctive characteristics. Basically, beans from the western Tepi, Bebeka, Illubabor and northwestern Lake Tana areas are noticeably larger, with stronger wild flavors but lower fruit acidity. The central Limu, and south-central Yirgacheffe, Sidamo have rich fruit flavors, floral aromas and acidic notes, with relatively stable quality. Eastern Harrar combines both the wild flavors of the west and the fruit flavors of the south-central regions, though quality varies greatly.

The genetic complexity of Ethiopia's ancient heirloom varieties is extremely high, combined with diverse processing methods including natural, washed, and semi-washed, resulting in complex and varied flavor profiles. Calling it the "King's Flavor" may not be an exaggeration.

Ethiopia's Nine Premium Coffee Regions

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe (Premium Region): Altitude 1700~2400m | Garden Coffee System

FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe is affiliated with the Sidamo region but was separated due to its unique flavor characteristics. Besides Yirgacheffe town, it includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena/Abaya. Therefore, in the new Yirgacheffe grading system, Yirgacheffe A, Wenago A, Kochere A, and Gelena/Abaya A are more expensive than their B-grade counterparts. In addition to washed and natural processing, semi-washed Yirgacheffe has recently been introduced and is worth trying.

Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping comparisons, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region typically exhibit bright citrus acidity and delicate white floral aromas. The aftertaste carries almond flavors and tea-like sweetness.

Representative Coffee Bean - FrontStreet Coffee "FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative Coffee Bean"
Region: Yirgacheffe, Gedeo zone
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Citrus, black tea, caramel, almond, green tea

Representative Coffee Bean - FrontStreet Coffee "FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Coffee Bean"
Region: Yirgacheffe, Ardentlande processing station
Altitude: 2300m
Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Citrus, berries, fruit fermentation aroma, honey, creamy texture

Sidamo (Premium Region): Altitude 1,400~2,200m | Garden Coffee System

Flavors are similar to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. Finely washed or natural FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo also has floral and citrus aromas, with quality comparable to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. The varieties in these two regions are similar, with medium-sized beans but also dwarf small-grain varieties that farmers often sell separately. Common varieties include Kurmie (poor disease resistance), Wolisho (tall and robust), and Deiga (medium-sized trees). These three varieties are the main components of premium natural series Biloya and Aricha.

Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping comparisons, compared to Yirgacheffe region coffee beans, Sidamo region coffee has stronger body and fullness. Along with bright citrus acidity, it carries a full-bodied berry juice sensation - very juicy!

Representative Coffee Bean - FrontStreet Coffee "FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo Horse Champion Coffee Bean"
Region: Sidamo Hambella
Processing station: Buku Abel processing station
Altitude: 2250-2350m
Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Citrus, strawberry, passion fruit, fermentation aroma, black tea

Limu (Premium Region): Altitude 1200~2000m | Garden, Forest, Semi-Forest, Plantation Coffee Systems

Production is relatively low, mainly exported to European and American markets. It's difficult to purchase in Taiwan, but very popular in Europe and America. It has three processing methods: washed, natural, and semi-washed. Limu's body viscosity is noticeably lower, and its floral and citrus expressions are inferior to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, but it adds grassy notes and brown sugar aromas with bright fruit acidity.

Harrar (Premium Region): Altitude 1,500~2400m | Garden Coffee System

Harrar exclusively favors natural processing. It's an ancient eastern city, but coffee is not grown within the city itself. So-called Harrar coffee refers to coffee produced in the Harrar Jirgo highlands of the greater Harrar region. Due to annual rainfall of only 1,000mm, all coffee uses natural processing methods. In terms of flavor, Harrar coffee is famous for its special "mixed aromas," typical of ancient early flavors. It ranks alongside FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe as the "Twin Stars."

If Harrar's defective beans can be sorted cleanly, it's easy to detect berry aromas with a pleasant fermented mixed flavor. However, due to various factors, Harrar coffee quality has been unstable in recent years, and the grading system is unreliable, so cupping or tasting is essential before purchasing.

Djimmah (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1350~1850m | Forest/Semi-Forest System

Djimmah is the capital of the Kaffa forest or Kaffa province. The English spelling is quite varied - maps mostly show "Jimma," but coffee gunny sacks are labeled "Djimmah." This is Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, accounting for 1/3 of exports. The Kaffa forest is famous for original wild varieties. Djimmah serves as the collection center for this Kaffa region. Farmers are accustomed to transporting harvested forest coffee to Djimmah, where hundreds or thousands of varieties are mixed together and sold as commercial beans, causing many delicious varieties' aromas to be masked.

Washed premium Djimmah, while lacking the citrus aroma and floral notes of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, has a very clean and transparent flavor profile similar to Central American specialty coffees. Commercial-grade premium Djimmah is common in Taiwan. With luck, you can buy high-quality, reasonably priced Djimmah that reveals lemon peel freshness, not inferior to FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo. Overall, Djimmah has better flavor than Brazilian commercial beans Santos, making it a good mid-to-low price blend component.

Illubabor (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1350~1850m | Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

This region is located in western Ethiopia, bordering Sudan. It's the westernmost coffee region. The coffee genetic complexity is second only to the Kaffa forest. Beans are noticeably larger than FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, with lower fruit acidity, good viscosity, and balanced flavor. Most coffee from this region is transported to Djimmah for mixing and rarely sold independently.

Keffa, Lekempti (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1500~1800m | Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

This region has both natural and washed beans. Bean appearance is similar to Harrar's long beans, with small quantities of premium grade beans popular in Europe and America. Most are acclaimed as "poor man's Harrar," with fruit acidity and fruit flavors superior to Illubabor, featuring bright flavors.

Tepi, Bebeka (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 500~1900m | Garden/Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

These two regions are very close. Tepi is north of Bebeka, with enterprise-managed coffee plantations. In recent years, garden systems have been promoted to increase farmer income, with annual production of about 3,000 tons. Both areas have wild coffee with low yields. Flavors are completely different from Harrar and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe, with low fruit acidity as the main characteristic, making them suitable for blend components. Both natural and washed processing methods are available.

Lake Tana Shore (Alternative Region): Altitude 1840m | Forest System

Monastery coffee, with surrounding forest coffee annual production of less than 10 tons. It's hardly a coffee region. The lakeside's numerous Eastern Orthodox monasteries, churches, religious murals, and myths create the world's most "divine" coffee.

European monks established the local coffee cultivation industry, later taken over by coffee communities or cooperatives in surrounding villages. There are no dedicated plantations here - coffee trees naturally scatter throughout forests and gardens. During harvest season, the Ethiopian Coffee Trading Corporation comes to town to purchase coffee beans collected by farmers.

In addition to Yirgacheffe town, it includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena/Abaya.

1. Cultivation System and Environment

The mountain villages of the Yirgacheffe region are cool and misty with spring-like seasons year-round. Summers have gentle breezes - cool but not hot, rainy but not humid. Winters don't suffer from frost damage, making it the ideal environment for growing Arabica. There are no large coffee plantations here. Coffee farmers mix coffee cultivation with other crops, generally planting under banana trees, creating unique landscapes.

2. Processing Methods

Ethiopia's traditional natural processing methods are relatively crude with heavy mixed flavors, which has been criticized. In 1959, the Yirgacheffe region introduced South American washed processing methods. Most regions generally use washed processing - after coffee cherries are pulped, they undergo fermentation and washing processes to remove the mucilage layer, then are dried.

Since 2006, some coffee processing stations in certain regions have adopted refined raised-bed natural drying methods. This labor-intensive raised-bed drying method prevents coffee cherries from contacting the ground, avoiding earthy mixed flavors during drying and creating exceptionally clean fruit flavors. After more than two weeks of natural drying, dark brown coffee cherries are professionally stored to await full flavor maturation. Before sales, the dried cherry pulp and parchment are removed, followed by elimination of unripe beans and over-fermented beans. Strict quality control greatly improves the quality of natural processed beans.

Representative Coffee Bean - FrontStreet Coffee "FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Kochere Coffee Bean"
Region: Yirgacheffe, Kochere Cooperative
Altitude: 1650-1800m
Variety: Ethiopian heirloom
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Lemon, floral, honey, oolong

FrontStreet Coffee Barista Brewing Tips

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee chooses freshly roasted FrontStreet Coffee Guodingding Cooperative coffee beans. Since coffee enters its optimal flavor period 4-7 days after roasting, and aroma accelerates evaporation while flavor and mouthfeel significantly diminish after this period, FrontStreet Coffee understands the importance of coffee freshness. Therefore, shipped coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days, so guests receive them at peak flavor for immediate brewing and tasting.

Based on FrontStreet Coffee's experience, since Ethiopian beans lean toward floral and fruit flavors, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters choose light roasting to preserve more floral aromas and fruit acidity. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee grows at higher altitudes with harder beans. Light roasting doesn't significantly alter the internal structure, so higher water temperature and finer grind are needed. FrontStreet Coffee uses V60 dripper brewing to better highlight the layers of sweet and sour flavors.

Brewing Parameters:
Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 92°C
Grind Size: 80% pass-through through #20 standard sieve
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Coffee Dose: 15g

Using three-stage extraction, pour the ground coffee into the filter paper and start with 30g of water from the center for a 30-second bloom. Pay attention to maintaining small water flow throughout, moving steadily from inside to outside. In the second stage, pour 95g of water, and when the coffee liquid has almost finished dripping, start the third stage with 100g until all coffee has filtered through. Remove the dripper. The total time should be around 2 minutes, with about 10 seconds variance.

The washed FrontStreet Coffee Guodingding has fresh white floral aromas, with bright lemon and berry acidity on entry. Citrus and green tea aromas persist, overall clean and transparent, with a honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473