Sidamo Coffee Beans: Is Sidamo a Small Coffee Bean? Sidamo Coffee Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee: Introducing Ethiopia Sidamo Nectar

Sidamo is a renowned specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, and its coffees are astonishingly diverse - high growing altitudes and abundant rainfall are among the conditions behind that extraordinary quality. From 2010 to 2012, Sidamo beans consistently scored 92-94 with CR, the authoritative American coffee review site.

Characteristics

Look closely at Sidamo green beans and you'll notice a slight grayish tint. The beans are small and uniform, with relatively thin flesh, a light green body edged in yellowish-green, and low moisture content. The cup's acidity blends softness with intensity, the body is moderate, and the aromatics are sweet and gently spiced. Unlike many African coffees, Sidamo shows clear fruit acidity, a smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbal notes. Natural-processed Sidamo leans floral, with faint earthy undertones.

Creamy Chocolate Aroma

This natural-processed Sidamo Nectar, once brewed, releases rich creamy chocolate aromas in the wet fragrance. The initial bitterness is light and fades quickly, while the aftertaste is full and lingering, sweet with honey and toffee notes.

Ethiopia Sidamo Nectar

Altitude: 1800-2100m

Variety: Local indigenous varieties

Grade: G1

Processing Method: Natural

Flavor Notes: Citrus, creamy chocolate, roasted almonds

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research establishment that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three discounted coffee events each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to offer the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends - that has been our mission for the past six years!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Most Ethiopian coffee is grown in a garden-style farming model: each smallholder delivers harvested cherries to a processing station organized at the village level, and the coffee is then sold in the name of the production team - which is why you see cooperatives of every size, such as FrontStreet's Guji Ding Ding, Worka, and Konga cooperatives. Guji Ding Ding, in the Worka area at the southeastern tip of Yirgacheffe, was once part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU); as the world's coffee hunters chased traceability and carved out one "single origin" after another, its roughly 300 member farmers established the independent Guji Ding Ding Cooperative in 2012. Because the fruit is pulped before drying, the coffee's own character comes through with unusual clarity: citrus and lemon tones, elegant white florals, and a bright, delicate cup.

If you love what natural processing adds, FrontStreet Coffee's natural lots are worth seeking out. The FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry natural is sorted berry by berry - damaged or moldy fruit removed first - then sun-dried for two weeks until the pulp's sugars and essence soak into the bean and moisture falls to 12%, after which the hardened pulp, mucilage, and husk are stripped away and the beans pass density and color checks plus final hand-sorting, giving sweet, clean flavors of peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. And FrontStreet's natural Huakui from Hambella, Guji, dries its cherries on raised beds for 21 days with constant turning and hand-sorting every three to five days; roasted medium-light it offers light fermented wine aromas, florals, citrus, and mango, with honeyed sweetness, cocoa, a hint of spice, and a thick, long-lasting body.