What are the characteristics of Sidamo coffee beans - Introduction to Sidamo coffee taste and flavor

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Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, with numerous varieties, and each coffee region produces distinctly different flavors. Ethiopia is the world's sixth-largest coffee producer. According to reports, in 2018, 100 million people worldwide were directly or indirectly involved in the coffee industry, with Ethiopian coffee professionals accounting for 20% of this total. In 2017, the country produced approximately 470,000 tons of green coffee beans, exporting about 160,000 tons. This means that less than half of Ethiopia's coffee production is exported, with the remainder consumed domestically.

Coffee has been integrated into Ethiopian social structure for hundreds of years. Ethiopia has eight major coffee-producing regions: Lekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimmah, Harar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe.

Sidamo

When it comes to the Yirgacheffe region, one might think of Yirgacheffe coffee, while speaking of Sidamo inevitably brings to mind the "Horse Queen" coffee.

Sidamo is a renowned specialty coffee-producing region in Ethiopia. The excellent flavor of coffee is inseparably related to its growing environment. Sidamo grows on the southern Ethiopian highlands at altitudes between 4,600-7,200 feet (Sidamo province), bordering Kenya, southeast of Djima, and directly south of the capital. Its annual production is approximately 225,000 bags of 60kg each. The region's greatest advantage lies in maintaining soil fertility through organic matter recycling, using withered leaves from surrounding trees or plant root residues as fertilizer. This creates distinct differences and characteristics in the coffee produced by various towns.

The most famous coffee-growing areas in the Sidamo region are Guji and West Arsi.

Sidamo green coffee beans are slightly grayish, with some areas having large beans while others have small ones. They possess both soft and bright acidity, appropriate body intensity, sweet and spicy flavors, making them one of the garden coffees from the southern Ethiopian highlands. FrontStreet Coffee believes that unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo features clear fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral aromas.

Guji Region

When speaking of the Guji region, one will certainly think of "Horse Queen" coffee. The Guji region was formerly part of the Sidamo region but was established as an independent new region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010. The Guji region is located southeast of Yirgacheffe and features complex terrain changes including towering mountains, valleys, and plains. The area's geology consists of fertile black soil (Vertisol) with soil depth nearly two meters and an average altitude above 1,800 meters. The significant day-night temperature differences created by geographical characteristics provide the terroir conditions for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

The "Horse Queen" coffee bean comes from Hambella, located in Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, Guji, administratively belonging to the Oromia region. The western part of Hambella faces Yirgacheffe Kochere across mountains, with the two regions separated by highlands reaching 3,200 meters in altitude and about 30 kilometers in width. To the southeast, east, and north, it borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions respectively, making it the highest-altitude coffee sub-region in Ethiopia. FrontStreet Coffee believes that it is precisely because of such growing conditions that "Horse Queen" coffee achieves such excellent flavor!

Currently, there are nearly 20 processing plants of various scales in the Hambella region. In 2017, Ethiopia's DW green coffee company sent their coffee beans to the TOH (the Taste Of Harvest) green coffee competition hosted by the African Fine Coffee Association. A natural process batch from the "Buku Abel" processing plant won the TOH Ethiopia championship with its rich strawberry and cream aromas. That year, this batch of green beans was imported to China by Beijing green coffee trader Hongshun. In the same year, Li Jianfei used this bean to win second place in the 2017 World Brewers Cup China region competition. This Ethiopian bean stood out among many Geisha competition entries, thus earning the name "Horse Queen." (Geisha in Japanese refers to geisha, while "Horse Queen" means the leader among geishas, indicating this bean's outstanding quality.)

Coffee is an agricultural crop and is naturally affected by climate and environmental conditions, with flavors varying slightly each year. To distinguish these differences, they are named: Horse Queen 2.0, Horse Queen 3.0, Horse Queen 3.1, Horse Queen 4.0, Horse Queen 5.0, and Horse Queen 6.0.

West Arsi Coffee Region

West Arsi is another specialty coffee-producing region in Sidamo. West Arsi is located between the famous Yirgacheffe coffee-growing area and Hararge, at altitudes of 1,900-2,200m, situated in the western part of the Sidamo region. The area's name comes from a branch of the Oromo people who have long resided here. West Arsi consists of three woredas (Ethiopian third-level administrative divisions): Arsi, Bale, and East Shewa. Approximately 88.52% of West Arsi's population is Oromo, which is very important in coffee history because they were the first tribe in human history to drink coffee. Half of Ethiopia's coffee production comes from this region.

Coffee cultivation in the West Arsi region follows a smallholder model, with an average farm size of about 2-3 hectares per household. Even so, their farms are often slightly larger than the typical 1.5-2 hectares in most Ethiopian regions. Although current coffee cultivation techniques are still developing, coffee farming technology in the West Arsi region is developing rapidly compared to other regions. Coffee farmers don't need to hire temporary or full-time workers; instead, they select coffee with family help. This allows them better control over coffee quality, and processing stations typically pay extra fees for fully ripe red cherries, greatly motivating coffee farmers.

Natural Processing Method for Sidamo Coffee Beans

Coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region mostly use washed processing, while coffee beans from the Sidamo region primarily use natural processing methods. FrontStreet Coffee believes that natural processing gives Sidamo region coffee beans rich fruit aromas and smooth mouthfeel.

During the coffee harvest season, coffee farmers in the Sidamo region only pick mature red fruits, placing them one by one into baskets. The harvested coffee fruits are uniform in size, similar in maturity, and free from other impurities. During processing, defective coffee beans and immature or overripe coffee fruits are first manually sorted. Then the red coffee fruits are spread evenly on raised wooden frames or entire drying racks for sun drying, avoiding the risk of beans absorbing unwanted flavors from the ground.

During the drying process, the beans are constantly turned to ensure even drying and uniform water loss. Every three to five days, farmers manually remove defective and moldy beans. Once the fruit skin dries and becomes hard, hulling machines are used to remove the dried, hard fruit skin. After obtaining the green coffee beans, farmers perform one final sorting in pursuit of perfect flavor. Therefore, this natural process Sidamo can achieve the highest G1 grade.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

How should one brew such excellent coffee beans to bring out their delicious flavors? FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee bean freshness is a crucial factor, as fresh coffee beans allow maximum appreciation of the rich coffee flavors. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is also fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: pre-ground coffee beans don't require a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging helps mellow the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavors will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Horse Queen Brewing Parameters:

V60 dripper, water temperature 90°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, coffee dose 15g, grind size (80% pass-through rate on China No. 20 standard sieve)

Use a segmented extraction approach, blooming with twice the coffee dose in water (30g water for 30 seconds). The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, ensuring more stable subsequent extraction. Using a small water stream, pour in circles until reaching 125g, then continue pouring until 225g, then stop. Remove the dripper once the water has finished dripping through. Time from the start of pouring: 2'00". Next, pick up the entire coffee carafe and shake gently to mix before pouring into cups for tasting.

[FrontStreet Coffee 2025 New Crop Sidamo Horse Queen Coffee Flavor]: Floral, berries, citrus, sweet and sour plum notes, mango juice, honey, with a sweet black tea aftertaste.

[Natural Process West Arsi Coffee Flavor]: Berry juice-like mouthfeel at high temperatures, gradually revealing plum, nectarine, mango, and honey aftertaste as it cools.

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