Ethiopian Coffee | Sidamo | Peach Sweetheart/Peach Cocoa Batch 191 | Single Origin Coffee Bean Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee Single Origin Pick: Ethiopia Natural Sidamo 2018 Crop Flower Queen | Ethiopia Natural Sidamo 90+ Candle Mung

Ethiopia Natural Sidamo G1 Peach Heart / Peach Cocoa — Batch 191

Ethiopia Sidamo Natural Twakok G1, lot #191

Coffee Details

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Oromia Region, Sidama Zone

Altitude: 1,900 – 2,100 meters

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Annual Rainfall: Approximately 1,650 – 1,900 mm

Processing Method: Natural processing on African raised beds

The Story Behind the Name "Twakok"

Twakok began life in Ethiopia as Tafac Kok: "Tafac" means sweet, and "Kok" means peach. When we cupped the sample of this lot, its sweet peach character captivated us immediately, so we christened it "Peach Heart" and asked Ethiopian friends to render the name in the country's own language. After a light adaptation it became Twakok, with "Peach Cocoa" as the companion name — a perfect shorthand for its sweet, charming honey-peach flavor.

Flavor Description

A sweet, captivating peach note carries through the entire cup. The dry aroma offers subtle winey tones alongside peach, strawberry, florals, passion fruit, and mango.

On the palate you find bright peach, strawberry, and mango, with white florals layered over bergamot, orange juice, and passion fruit aromatics.

Principal notes: Peach, white flowers, strawberry, mango, bergamot

About the Sidamo Region

Sidamo coffee grows on the Ethiopian Plateau at elevations of 4,600-7,200 feet in Ethiopia's far south (Sidamo Province). It borders Kenya, lies southeast of Jimma and directly south of the capital, and has earned its reputation as one of southern Ethiopia's premier specialty regions. The coffees typically show pronounced sweetness, which is why so many drinkers favor them; annual production runs to roughly 225,000 bags of 60 kg each.

Sidamo's flavor diversity is remarkable. Different soils, microclimates, and countless native heirloom varieties create an extraordinarily rich palette. The landscape itself is varied — towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains. The underlying geology is fertile, free-draining volcanic soil reaching depths of nearly two meters, with topsoil that is dark brown or brown. The region's greatest asset is its tradition of recycling organic matter: fallen leaves from surrounding trees and plant residues serve as fertilizer, keeping the soil fertility perpetually renewed.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Alongside this Twakok lot, FrontStreet Coffee roasts several other Ethiopian naturals worth seeking out. The Flower Queen comes from the Hambella area of Guji within Sidamo, from a farm covering 200 hectares. To keep the drying fruit from molding or picking up earthy odors, workers spread the ripe cherries on raised beds to sun-dry for 21 days, turning them constantly for even drying, and hand-sort out defective or moldy beans every three to five days. Once the dried husk hardens it is milled off, and the green beans receive one final hand-sorting. Roasted medium-light, it shows a gentle fermented wine note, florals, citrus, and mango — a noticeably richer, more complex cup with honey sweetness, a cocoa undertone touched with spice, a thick body, and a long finish.

The Red Cherry natural is another standout: defective or moldy cherries are removed first, then the fruit sun-dries for about two weeks until the sugars and essence of the pulp have migrated into the bean and moisture falls to 12%. The hardened pulp, mucilage, and pods are then stripped away, and the beans pass density and color checks plus a final visual hand-sort. The result is a remarkably clean cup with an intense fruit aroma — peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.

For a washed option, the Hamasho lots from Sidamo feature the compact-beaned 74158 variety from the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) 74-series disease-resistant cultivars, prized for vivid floral and fruit notes: perfume-lemon, strawberry, and starfruit on the nose, with sweet strawberry, starfruit, and green grape on the palate followed by a gentle floral lift. Whatever you choose, these heirloom lots reward a careful pour-over — expect the floral, fruit-forward brightness that makes Ethiopian naturals so beloved.