Sidamo Guji Region Chire Ameli Cooperative | Washed Ameli Sidamo G1 Coffee Flavor Profile

Ch'ire Ameli Cooperative in Guji Zone, Sidamo | What Is the Flavor Profile of Washed Ameli Sidamo G1?

The Ch'ire Ameli Mill was established in 2010 and serves as the washing station of the Ch'ire Ameli Cooperative. The cooperative counts 800 smallholder farmer members, and most remarkably, it took third place in Ethiopia's Taste of Harvest cupping competition in 2015. The African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, unites all coffee-producing African countries to drive improvements in specialty coffee quality. Each year after harvest, parallel competitions are held in the different member countries, with world coffee experts invited to judge the cupping. For African producing countries that lack a national specialty coffee organization, the AFCA's Taste of Harvest competition is the clearest window into the current state of African specialty coffee.

The Guji zone of the Sidamo region, along the Mora Mora River in southern Ethiopia, has long been recognized as a prime forest-coffee area. Administratively, Guji belongs to the Oromia region of southern Ethiopia, home to the Gujii Oromo people. Coffee cultivation has always been central to the highland culture of Oromia. Across the zone, many small farms pool their harvested cherries for processing and export. Here the washing station is Ch'ire Ameli in the Nensebo woreda of Guji, where more than 800 smallholder farmers deliver their cherries.

After extremely strict selection, the cherries are washed and then sun-dried on traditional raised African beds. When orders come in, the coffee is hulled, bagged, and shipped for export.

Coffee Details

Origin: Guji Zone, Sidamo Region

Variety: Typica & Heirloom (local indigenous varieties)

Producer: Ch'ire Ameli Cooperative

Altitude: Average 2,100 meters

Grade: Washed G1

Annual Rainfall: 1,400-1,800mm

Soil: Red-brown

Certification: N/A

Flavor Profile: Rose, citrus, elegant acidity, honey peach, caramel - gentle, clean, and balanced, with a lingering, lively, and layered fruity sweetness. The ripe berry notes appear especially soft and rich.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 setting 3.5

Brewing Method: 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio with 15g of grounds. First pour 25g of water for a 25-second bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause until the water level drops to half before continuing. Pour slowly up to 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: The three-stage pour cleanly separates the front, middle, and back sections of the flavor. Since the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing mid-brew helps extend extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Cooperative coffee like Ch'ire Ameli is the backbone of Ethiopian specialty, and FrontStreet Coffee's shelf reflects it. The FrontStreet Worka (Guodingding) Cooperative - founded in 2012 by some 300 farming families in the Worka area at Yirgacheffe's southeastern tip, after splitting from the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU)'s Worka cooperative - pulps its cherries before drying, giving a citrus-and-lemon cup with elegant white florals, bright and delicate throughout. Alongside it sit the FrontStreet Worka Cooperative and Konga Cooperative selections, the FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe with its jasmine and citrus clarity, and the FrontStreet Red Cherry natural for a fruit-forward natural expression of the same terroir.