Where Does Sidamo Coffee Come From? Characteristics of Sidamo Guji Coffee - A Fruit Tea with Coffee Essence

FrontStreet Coffee - An Introduction to Sidamo Ardi Coffee

If rich, mellow Mandheling is a reserved, steady gentleman, then Sidamo is like a romantic flower fairy hiding among the blossoms.

Why do we say that?

Because Sidamo grows in the famous specialty coffee region of southern Ethiopia. The coffee is organically cultivated and every bean is hand-picked by workers, which secures both flavor and quality.

A light sip reveals clear fruit acidity, a smooth texture and a delicate floral aroma. Acidity and sweetness balance perfectly - elegant and serene, like a little fairy naturally scented while wandering among the flowers.

The 90+ American specialty beans sourced by 90+ are all exceptional, each deserving to be called a pinnacle of specialty coffee. They are also named differently from ordinary specialty beans: each is named for its flavor. Sidamo, for instance, can be called 90+ Ardi, which means "Best Approach" in the local dialect.

The natural processing method makes pure flavors hard to achieve, so with 90+ technical support only the ripest cherries are selected by hand. You can sense the rich aroma before the first sip. Fruit flavors blend with a smooth, viscous texture, and the finish lingers with maple and Earl Grey tea notes - a deep orange, romantic coffee.

A processing method simply describes how the fruit pulp is removed after harvest to reach the seeds (with parchment still attached). Natural processing, as the name suggests, dries the whole fruit - skin and pulp - in the sun before removal. Because it skips complex steps, it needs no large-scale facilities, and drying with the fruit intact amplifies sweetness, florals and wine-like aromas.

It has real drawbacks, though. Naturally processed quality is heavily weather-dependent: too little sun leaves the beans insufficiently dried, too much causes over-fermentation, and weak supervision or turning can swing the flavor. So while the natural method can create remarkable flavors, its success rate is low. Green bean suppliers must attempt it again and again to find an exceptional lot among many plain ones.

Flavor Profile

White floral notes, maple, citrus, fruit tea

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Sidamo's delicate floral-and-fruit-tea profile has a natural opposite in Sumatra, and the FrontStreet PWN Indonesia Golden Mandheling makes that contrast easy to taste. From PWN (Pwani Coffee Company), it is selected from 18-mesh-and-larger beans with fewer than three defects per 300-gram green sample, meeting the top G1 grade, then hand-sorted three times. You get caramel sweetness, brighter fruit acidity and a rich, wild spice note - a clean yet powerful cup.

For the classic wet-hulled Sumatran character, choose the FrontStreet Lindong Mandheling. Roasted medium-dark around the Lindong area of Lake Toba, it is low in acidity yet full of body, with clove and woody aromas, spice and mint top notes, and a long, heavy bittersweet finish.