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Sidamo Washed Coffee Flavor Sidamo Guji Growing Area Introduction Sidamo Shakisso Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange For more coffee bean information please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style) People who like to drink coffee have mostly drunk Ethiopian coffee beans The main producing areas within Ethiopia include Yirgacheffe Sidamo Kochere Harar Guji etc Among them Sidamo is famous for its elegant delicate and varied floral and fruity aromas Sidamo is located in southern Ethiopia

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The Rich Flavors of Ethiopian Coffee

Coffee enthusiasts have likely tasted Ethiopian coffee beans. Ethiopia's main growing regions include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Kochere, Harar, and Guji. Among these, Sidamo is renowned for its elegant, delicate, and diverse floral and fruity aromas.

Sidamo: Ethiopia's Southern Coffee Region

Sidamo is a coffee-growing region in southern Ethiopia, situated at elevations ranging from 4,600 to 7,200 feet (1,400-2,194 meters). Located in the southernmost part of the Ethiopian Highlands, it borders Kenya. One might assume that the African highlands would be water-scarce, leading to predominantly natural-processed beans. However, local processing stations actually offer both washed and natural-processed beans.

The Diversity of Sidamo Coffee

Sidamo's coffee is incredibly diverse. The region features towering mountains, plateaus, valleys, and plains with varied topography. Abundant rainfall and fertile soil cultivate excellent coffee beans. Among these, the washed-processed coffee beans stand out for their clean, pure character with high fruit acidity and rich body.

Guji: Ethiopia's Premier Coffee Region

Guji is part of Oromia, Ethiopia's largest coffee-growing region, named after the Oromo tribal people.

The Guji region borders the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP), which includes the Gedeo zone (where Yirgacheffe is located) and the Sidama zone.

Ethiopia is the country with the richest coffee genetic diversity on Earth, with wild native varieties found in its forests. Coffee cherries here are grown at impressive altitudes, reaching as high as 1,900-2,380 meters. Abundant rainfall, fertile soil, and Ethiopia's complex ancient native varieties create perfect conditions. The result is dense fruits with concentrated flavors, combined with controlled, slow, and careful processing methods that achieve cupping scores as high as 88 points!

Guji: A Rising Star in Coffee Production

The Guji region has garnered significant attention in recent years, demonstrating remarkable achievements in both flavor expression and quality. Consequently, it has gradually emerged as an independent region separate from Sidamo. Besides its well-known natural and washed processed beans such as Hambela and Shakiso, the region has also established its own processing stations and even estates.

Shakisso: The Unique Coffee Region

Shakisso, located in Guji, southern Oromia region, borders Sidamo and Gedeo. This area contains numerous mining pits, originally used for gold extraction, creating many holes in the coffee-growing areas. This makes walking through the coffee plantations particularly dangerous.

Shakisso stands as a distinctive region within Guji/Sidamo. Even within Sidamo, it remains a remote area far from most coffee-producing regions, with gold mining being another famous local product. Factors such as miners, land disputes, and ethnic tensions caused instability in the region during 2006. Therefore, the greatest challenge this area faces today is the need for manpower to maintain the plantations and harvest coffee.

Local small-scale farmers began growing organic coffee in 2001, working closely with medium-sized coffee producers who understand how to cultivate forest coffee in highland areas.

Traditional Processing Methods

Coffee is processed using both traditional local methods: washed and natural processing. Most coffee-growing regions easily exceed altitudes of 2,000 meters, producing coffee with exceptionally rich flavor profiles.

The region is predominantly home to small-scale farmers with only one to two hectares of land. They cultivate coffee naturally without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, carefully handpicking fully ripe, bright red coffee cherries.

Flavor Profile and Brewing Recommendations

The washed Sidamo from this region offers distinct notes of peach, blueberry, and jasmine, accompanied by lemon peel, citrus, and bergamot. The finish is rich, delicate, and lingering. FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing with water at 90-92°C for approximately two minutes and ten seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com