Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Aldi G1 Rich Tropical Fruit Aroma Juice

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Ardi G1 Introduction

The Region

Sidamo sits in southern Ethiopia, spread across an altitude range of 1,400–2,200 meters. Its year splits into distinct dry and wet seasons with two rainy periods, which allows two harvests a year. Coffee here is typically grown on a small scale, with farmers tending coffee alongside other crops in their home gardens — a pattern that makes better economic sense for them. Set beside the citrus-driven cups of Yirgacheffe, the ripe berry flavors of Sidamo come across as gentler and rounder.

The coffee takes its name from Ardi, the nickname of the female hominin fossil ARA-VP-6/500 found in 1992. Ardi predates Lucy, the oldest known Australopithecus, making her an even earlier ancestor. The name comes from the Afar language and means "ground," though it was originally taken to mean "root."

Flavor Profile

Naturally processed Sidamo beans look yellowish-green. Beyond the citrus aroma that washed beans show, they carry a much richer fruit character. That fruit aroma comes from the two weeks of natural processing, when the beans dry and ferment still wrapped in pulp. The fermented fruit acidity that results is the most distinctive hallmark of natural beans.

Expect fresh strawberry and blueberry-toned fermented berry aroma, joined by the sweet fragrance of jackfruit, mango and ripe banana. White grape acidity lifts the cup, and the mouthfeel is elegant and refreshing, like black tea. Through the middle and finish, a subtle brandy-like note appears, closing on cinnamon chocolate and nuts with a smooth, flowing texture.

Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Ardi G1

Origin: Michicha and Kelenso Moconissa towns, Guji micro-region, Sidamo

Variety: Heirloom

Altitude: 1,800–2,000 m

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Tropical fruit, berries, fermented wine aroma, jackfruit

Worth knowing: The Arabica line was most likely first discovered in southern Sudan, but it was only after it spread to Ethiopia that it truly flourished.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation for one reason: to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month we hold three coffee promotion events with deep discounts, because our mission for the past 6 years has been to let more people enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia is where coffee began, and these two FrontStreet offerings show the country's natural and washed sides side by side.

FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry — a natural-process Yirgacheffe made from fully ripe cherries only, the classic expression of the style described above. The fruit is screened on arrival at the mill, then spread on raised beds where it is turned every two to three hours during the first days to prevent uneven heating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of sun drying, the dried fruit is machine-stripped and the beans rest in storage. Because the fruit stays on through drying, the cup keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit from the natural process: citrus acidity, a juicy berry texture, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness.

FrontStreet Gedingding Cooperative — a washed counterpart from the Woka area on the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, once part of the Woka cooperative under the YCFCU and later recognized as a single-origin lot in its own right. It stays with the most traditional washed processing, which is why it carries no bitterness in the traditional sense. Instead you get clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance — the kind of cup that wins people over on the first sip.