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's a relatively new processing station, currently in only its third year of production. Faysel Abdosh also owns a coffee export company, placing him at the forefront of Ethiopia's specialty coffee trends. This processing station represents the crystallization of Faysel Abdosh's experience and knowledge as a specialty coffee exporter, implemented at the producer level. It seems to validate the pursuit of excellence that specialty coffee professionals aspire to—always destined to roll up their sleeves and pick up tools. Consequently, this processing station's operational standards and coffee quality are at the forefront, which explains why it garnered favor from Nordic Approach immediately upon establishment.

The Guji region has been an area of particular focus for us, and its development in recent years confirms that the rise of Guji is indeed one of Ethiopia's important recent trends. Beyond beans from larger sub-regions like Hambella and Shakisso, exceptional beans from individual processing stations or even single estates have emerged, surpassing what's available from the traditional Yirgacheffe region. Furthermore, in innovative processing methods, we were fortunate this year to cup several honey-processed batches. Apart from Gesha Village, all were from the Guji region. To grasp Ethiopia's trends, Guji is undoubtedly an essential focus.

In recent years, Ethiopia's most attention-grabbing region has been Yirgacheffe. Compared to Yirgacheffe, Guji-Shakisso is less well-known. However, following the trend of soaring prices for Yirgacheffe in 2015, international specialty buyers began seeking other neighboring regions such as Sidamo, Limu, Jimma, etc. Many promising regions and producers were subsequently discovered, such as the Limu Gera and Jimma Agaro Yukro recently introduced—both high-quality specialty beans.

Guji-Shakisso coffee possesses distinctive characteristics, and its production has consistently captured market attention. The legendary bean "Nekisse" launched by Ninety Plus in late 2009 originally meant "Nectar from Shakisso," with both its origin region and name derived from Shakisso. Another coffee, "Derar Ela" from Level Up, also from the Shakisso region, received widespread acclaim from Taiwan's coffee industry last year and achieved an outstanding score of 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 small farmers

Altitude: 1,900 – 2,100 meters

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

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

Processing Method: Washed, African raised bed drying

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

Flavor Profile

Intense floral notes blend with aromas of orange peel and dried grapefruit. Upon entry, delicate floral notes and sweet peaches emerge, accompanied by orange and lemon peel. Lychee subtly appears in the middle section, while the finish features strong, persistent coffee flower notes.

From a vast cupping table, this distinctive coffee stood out with its penetrating coffee flower/white flower and spice notes. Its distinct personality represents the type of coffee I'm particularly fond of. Not surprisingly, this coffee is also frequently selected by Nordic roasters like Nordic Approach.

Ethiopia's administrative divisions are organized into four levels, arranged from largest to smallest: Region, Zone, Woreda, Kebele. Most green coffee names follow this naming convention. The Guji-Shakisso we're introducing today is located southeast of the renowned Yirgacheffe region. Administratively, it belongs to Oromia Region → Guji Zone → Shakisso Woreda, representing coffee with regional origins.

Similar to how Yirgacheffe became widely known after achieving fame and subsequently became an independent region, Guji was established as an independent region by ECX in 2010 due to its superior geographical location and cup profile. Shakisso (sometimes translated as Shakiso) is the most attention-grabbing micro-region within Guji. Geographically, it's located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with an average altitude above 1,800 meters. Fertile black soil (Vertisol) and significant day-night temperature variations provide the ideal terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee. Local coffee production almost entirely consists of individual small farmers. During harvest season, they pick ripe red cherries from nearby trees and deliver them to the processing station. The cherries are placed on well-ventilated African raised beds to control temperature and fermentation degree. After pulp removal, moisture content is reduced to between 11.5%-12%. Once post-processing and resting are complete, the coffee is exported through ECX's (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) bidding system, where local exporters or international buyers compete to find their preferred green coffee beans.

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 water, 25-second bloom. Second pour: up to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time: approximately 2:00 minutes.

Analysis: Using a three-stage pour method to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors. Because the V60 has many ribs and faster drainage, pausing during pouring helps extend extraction time.

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