Guji Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia | Washed Shakiso Gigessa G1 Faysel Abdosh

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Flavor Profile of Ethiopia Guji Zone, Oromia | Washed Shakisso Gigesa G1 Faysel Abdosh

The Gigesa Processing Station is located in Danbi Uddo town, Shakisso, established by Faysel Abdosh in 2014. It is a relatively new station — at the time, only in its third year of production. Faysel Abdosh also owns a coffee export company, putting him at the forefront of Ethiopia's specialty coffee trends. This station is the crystallization of his experience and knowledge as an exporter, put into practice at the producer level — proof of the pursuit of excellence that specialty coffee professionals aspire to, always rolling up their sleeves and picking up tools. Its operational standards and coffee quality sit at the very front of the pack, which is why Nordic Approach took to it immediately upon its founding.

The Guji region has been a particular focus for us, and its rise in recent years confirms that Guji's ascent is one of the important recent trends in Ethiopia. Beyond beans from larger sub-regions like Hambella and Shakisso, exceptional lots from individual stations — even single estates — have emerged, surpassing what the traditional Yirgacheffe region offers. In innovative processing, too, we were fortunate this year to cup several honey-processed batches; apart from Gesha Village, all came from Guji. If you want to grasp where Ethiopia is heading, Guji is an essential stop.

In recent years, Ethiopia's most attention-grabbing region has been Yirgacheffe. Compared with Yirgacheffe, Guji-Shakisso is lesser known. But after Yirgacheffe prices soared in 2015, international specialty buyers began hunting in neighboring regions — Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, and more. Many promising regions and producers were discovered as a result, such as the recently introduced Limu Gera and Jimma Agaro Yukro, both high-quality specialty beans.

Guji-Shakisso coffee has a distinctive character, and its production consistently captures market attention. The legendary bean "Nekisse," launched by Ninety Plus in late 2009, originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso" — both its origin and its name come from Shakisso. Another coffee, "Derar Ela" from Level Up, also from Shakisso, won wide acclaim from Taiwan's coffee industry last year and scored an outstanding 95 points in Coffee Review's April 2014 issue.

Coffee Origin Details

Region: Oromia Region

Zone: Guji Zone

Woreda: Shakisso Woreda

Processing Station: Gigesa

Producer: Faysel Abdosh and approximately 850 neighboring smallholder farmers

Altitude: 1,900 – 2,100 meters

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Annual Rainfall: approximately 1,500 - 2,000 mm

Processing Method: washed, dried on African raised beds

Process: 36-48 hours traditional fermentation, washing, clean-water soaking, approximately 12 days of sun-drying on raised beds

Flavor Profile

Intense florals weave together with orange peel and dried grapefruit aromas. On entry, delicate floral notes and sweet peach emerge, accompanied by orange and lemon peel. Lychee surfaces subtly in the middle section, and the finish carries strong, persistent coffee-blossom notes.

On a vast cupping table, this coffee stood out with its penetrating coffee-flower/white-flower and spice notes. That distinct personality is exactly the kind of coffee we love — and not surprisingly, it is also frequently selected by Nordic roasters like Nordic Approach.

Ethiopia's administrative divisions run four levels, largest to smallest: Region, Zone, Woreda, Kebele. Most green coffee names follow this convention. Today's Guji-Shakisso lies southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region — administratively Oromia Region → Guji Zone → Shakisso Woreda — a coffee identified by its regional origin.

Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known and then independent, Guji was established as its own region by ECX in 2010 thanks to its superior geography and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes written Shakiso) is Guji's most talked-about micro-region, located southeast of Yirgacheffe with an average altitude above 1,800 meters. Fertile black Vertisol soil and significant day-night temperature swings create ideal terroir for high-quality specialty coffee. Production here is almost entirely smallholder farmers: during harvest they pick ripe red cherries from trees nearby and deliver them to the station, where the cherries go onto well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation. After pulping, moisture is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. Once processing and resting are complete, the coffee is exported through ECX's (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) bidding system, where local exporters and international buyers compete for the lots they want.

FrontStreet Coffee 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, 15g of coffee. First pour: 25g of water, 25-second bloom. Second pour: up to 120g, then pause. Once the water level drops to halfway, continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time: approximately 2:00.

Analysis: the three-stage pour clearly distinguishes the front, middle, and back-end flavors. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains fast, pausing during the pour helps extend the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Guji's floral, fruit-laced cup has won you over, explore more of the region through FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui (Flower Queen). It comes from Hambella in Guji, Sidamo — a 200-hectare farm using traditional natural processing, with ripe cherries sun-dried on raised beds for 21 days, turned constantly and hand-sorted every three to five days. Roasted medium-light, it shows a faint fermented winey note, florals, citrus, and mango, with a thick, complex body, honeyed sweetness, cocoa undertones, and a long finish.

For brewing, treat Guji lots gently: use a V60 with water at 90-91°C, 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, ground to fine granulated sugar (80% pass on a #20 sieve; EK43s at setting 10). Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to about 125g within the first minute, then add the remaining 100g (to about 225g) once the level drops to two-thirds of the bed, finishing around 1:35 — drawdown complete at 2:00-2:10. That's the sweet spot for washed Ethiopian florals and naturals alike.