What Brand of Coffee Beans is Best - Sidamo Hambella Natural Process Guji with Round Acidity and Juicy Characteristics

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FrontStreet Coffee: An Introduction to Sidamo Flower Queen Coffee

Ethiopian coffee comes mainly from eight major producing regions: Lekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimmah, Harar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe.

Ethiopian coffee is held in high regard, and nowhere more so than Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. Sidama province lies in southern Ethiopia, with Arsi province to the north, Bale province to the east, and the Gamu Gofa provincial administrative region to the west.

Ethiopian administrative divisions run four levels deep, from largest to smallest: Region, Zone, woreda, and kebele — and most green coffee names follow this convention. Flower Queen, for instance, sits southeast of Yirgacheffe in the Sidamo region, administratively under Oromia Region → Guji Zone → Shakisso woreda → Hambella.

Sidamo encompasses more coffee varieties than Yirgacheffe, and the reason is simple: Sidamo is a province, while Yirgacheffe is part of it. Sidamo coffee is grown at roughly 2,100 meters — slightly lower than Yirgacheffe — yet the region has produced many famous lots such as Flower Queen, Candle Mango, and Honey Kiss. These share a common profile: strong florals, high sweetness, medium acidity, low bitterness, and flavors leaning toward mature fruit. Natural-processed Sidamo Flower Queen, for example, shows jasmine and blueberry notes — unmistakably ripe-fruit territory.

Guji Zone, blessed with both a superb location and a superb cup profile, was established as an independent producing region by the ECX (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange) in 2010. Shakisso is the most attractive micro-region within Guji, lying southeast of Yirgacheffe at an average altitude of over 1,800 meters.

The Flower Queen Producing Region

Guji, Shakisso, Hambella

Today there are about 20 processing stations of various sizes in the Hambella area. One Ethiopian green coffee company has operated four natural-processing stations there since 2016 through cooperative partnerships, and during the 2017/18 harvest season it ran a series of studies on natural processing using the area's high-quality varieties.

The four estate processing stations in Hambella's core producing area are the "Dire" Church Processing Station, the "Mansa" Mountain Pond Processing Station, the "Bobea" Red Flag Processing Station, and the "Goro Baessa" Mountain Spring Processing Station. Goro Baessa is a small mountain-ringed village at 2,280 meters, and December is harvest time. During those weeks the slopes glow with bright red, fully mature cherries, neatly spread on African drying beds across the village — this is where "Flower Queen" is processed.

Knowledge Expansion

Coffee originated in Ethiopia. As a country downstream of the Nile, it enjoys abundant water while sitting in the tropics with generous sunshine. Perhaps that is heaven's blessing on the people here — Ethiopian coffee quality is exceptionally high, and even the original stock of the world's most expensive coffee variety, "Geisha," came from here.

In Brief

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

New to Ethiopian coffee? Start with FrontStreet Coffee's classic washed Yirgacheffe everyday lot. Known for white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish — all at an approachable price — it's the natural first step into specialty coffee.

For a step up, the FrontStreet Guodingding Cooperative lot comes from a village cooperative in the Worka area at Yirgacheffe's southeastern edge, once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union and now prized as a single-origin lot for its traceability. It follows traditional washed processing and shows clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance — often called the last unspoiled corner of Yirgacheffe.

If you prefer the natural side of the region — in the spirit of Flower Queen — try FrontStreet's Red Cherry coffee. Only fully ripe, defect-free cherries are picked, first sorted at the station, then dried whole on raised beds, turned every 2–3 hours in the early days to prevent uneven fermentation. After three to five weeks of sun-drying, the dried pulp is milled off. Because the fruit dries with the pulp on, the cup keeps classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit: citrus acidity, berry juiciness, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness. Brew with 15g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio, 90–91°C in a V60, and pour in three stages.