High Bed Natural Processing - Sidamo High Bed Natural Process Coffee Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Ethiopia Sidamo Natural Introduction

This coffee comes from the renowned Sidamo region of Ethiopia, in Africa. It once scored 95 points on the professional cupping website Coffee Review in the United States. It is a high-shelf natural processed coffee from the Yidu processing plant in Sidamo.

Coffee from the Yidu plant has uniform bean size and gives off a rich fruity aroma. Local farmers pick cherries at moderate ripeness by hand for high-shelf natural processing. Across the 15-17 day natural drying period, workers turn the cherries on the raised beds every two hours to ensure even drying, after which the coffee is hulled and packed.

The approach at the Yidu plant differs from other natural processing in Ethiopia. Yidu hand-selects defective beans before drying, not after processing is finished. Even after the green beans are obtained, the plant carries out another round of manual defect selection, so Yidu's green beans undergo one more defect-sorting step than those from other plants. Raised beds are also used during drying, which not only increases air circulation but also keeps the cherries from taking on undesirable flavors while they dry.

Ethiopia Sidamo Natural

Region: Sidamo, Yidu processing plant

Variety: Local native varieties

Altitude: 1,800 m

Processing method: High-shelf natural processing

Flavor notes: Tropical fruits, berries, cream

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the fruit-forward character of a natural Ethiopian is what you are after, FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry brings the style in a particularly clean form. Broken or moldy cherries are discarded first, then the fruit is dried directly in the sun for two weeks. Once the sugars and essence of the fruit have seeped fully into the beans and the moisture content has dropped to 12%, the hardened pulp, mucilage and parchment are scraped away. The beans are then checked for density and color, defects are removed, and workers pick out any remaining flaws by eye. The result is a cup with a clean, refined quality and a rich, captivating fruit fragrance, showing peach, cocoa, honey and lemon.

For a bigger and more layered natural, FrontStreet Sun-Dried Huakui comes from the Hambella area of Guji in Sidamo, where a 200-hectare farm follows traditional natural processing. To keep the cherries from molding or picking up earthy odors, workers spread ripe fruit on raised beds for 21 days, turning it constantly so it dries evenly, and every three to five days they hand-remove defective or moldy beans. Once the skins have dried hard they are removed with a huller, and the growers sort once more for the best possible cup. Because the fruit and skin stay on throughout drying, a medium-light roast yields soft wine-like fermentation, florals, citrus and mango, with honey sweetness, cocoa and a touch of spice, a full body and a lasting finish.

For a more delicate expression from the same region, FrontStreet Sidamo Hamasho comes from the Hamasho processing station, which has become a regular on Ethiopian green bean competition winning lists. Its coffees are mainly disease-resistant JARC 74-series varieties; 74158 has smaller beans and stands out for floral and fruit aromas. Expect sweet scents of perfume lemon, strawberry and star fruit, then clear strawberry, star fruit and green grape sweetness on the palate, with delicate florals gradually emerging.

And if you want to taste the wild side of Ethiopia, FrontStreet Ethiopia Wild Forest Kaffa is grown in the forests of Kaffa, where coffee trees flourish between 1,400 and 2,100 meters under natural shade. Medium-light roasted, it shows a pronounced white floral aroma, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, a faint melon and nut sweetness in the aftertaste, and a green tea-like body.