Washed Sidamo LOT2 | Introduction to Wenxiu Gutu Cooperative, Sidamo Washed Flavor

Sidamo and Yirgacheffe: Ethiopia's Coffee Twins

Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are Ethiopia's coffee twins, each with its own strengths. As coffee evaluation has grown more refined, drinkers have learned to taste the difference between producing areas, and cooperatives and washing stations are often the key to a given flavor.

Diverse Coffee Flavors of Sidamo

Sidamo's flavors are extremely diverse. Different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties create obvious differences and distinct characteristics in the coffee from each town.

From 2010 to 2012, the region earned high ratings of 92-94 points from the authoritative American review Coffee Review for three consecutive years, a clear demonstration of the extraordinary value of green beans from this area. The landscape is dramatic, with towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains, giving it remarkably varied topography.

The geology here is nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil, with a profile nearly two meters deep and a surface layer that ranges from dark brown to brown.

The area's greatest advantage is that it maintains soil fertility through natural organic cycles, using the fallen leaves, debris, and plant residues of surrounding trees as natural fertilizer.

Wonsho Hunkute Cooperative

The Wonsho Hunkute Cooperative is known for farmers who grow coffee at high altitudes. It has performed exceptionally well in recent years, producing high-quality Sidamo native coffee with rich floral and tea flavors. The emergence of this flavor profile is inseparable from the high altitude here.

Hunkute is a cooperative in Sidamo with a very high altitude and very strong management. It opened its second coffee washing station in 2012 and has consistently produced quality coffee. The coffee is sold and marketed through the Sidamo Cooperative Union, which is also responsible for post-processing, grading, bagging, and export.

Varieties and Processing

The varieties are numerous local types. Farmers here grow local varieties known as Sedancho, and they also move coffee native to the forests onto smallholder plots for cultivation. These varieties are collectively known as Ethiopian heirlooms, an uncountable mix of local landraces and new selections bred from older strains.

Entire ripe cherries are sorted by hand into unripe and overripe before production. They are pulped with disc pulpers and graded by density within the pulper, then fermented underwater for 24-48 hours depending on the weather. Next they are graded by water flow in washing channels, which separates the coffee by density. Finally they are soaked in fresh, clean water for 12-24 hours before being moved to drying tables.

Washed Sidamo Flavor Profile

When washed Sidamo shows its tea-like quality, it is something special: not a taste on the tongue's taste buds, nor a tea aroma exactly, but a feeling, and before long brown sugar spreads across the whole palate.

The dry aroma of washed Sidamo carries floral, peach, and honeyed sweet fragrances. FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing with 90-92°C water for about two minutes and ten seconds, which lets you immediately experience delicate florals, honey, lemon, grapefruit and other fresh citrus fruit, black tea, and a sweet lychee aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this clean, tea-like washed Sidamo whets your appetite for Ethiopia, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe staple lot is the classic first step: white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, at a price that makes it the entry point for many new specialty drinkers. To explore a finer washed Ethiopian micro-region, FrontStreet Coffee's Gotiti Cooperative lot from the Worka area of Yirgacheffe is a superb choice, with fresh citrus and lemon brightness and jasmine fragrance rather than any bitterness.

For contrast, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry is made from fully ripe red cherries dried on raised beds and finished into a cup of citrus acidity, juicy berry, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy, smooth texture. Brew the washed lots at 90-91°C with 15g of coffee and a 1:15 ratio in a V60, and the delicate acidity and tea-like clarity of Ethiopian coffee come through most clearly.