What Variety is Specialty Coffee Sidra? Why is it Called a "Contaminated" Geisha? Did it Originate in Ecuador or Colombia?

Introduction to Sidra Coffee

Sidra, over the past two years, its discussion heat has been no less than that of Geisha. It has appeared on the pour-over menus of many coffee shops. After Geisha ascended to the throne of the coffee world in 2004, countless coffee varieties have sought to challenge Geisha, one after another, attempting to dethrone it. Sidra is one of them.

Sidra's Distinctive Character

However, Sidra is absolutely different from these other beans that want to dethrone Geisha! Why is that? Because it might have a "blood relationship" with Geisha!

Origin and Characteristics

The name "Sidra" is a transliteration of "Sidra," which means "apple juice or cider" in Spanish. The Sidra plant has a relatively thick trunk, growing up to four meters in height. Its leaves are slender, flowers have five petals, it has excellent yield, and the fruit size is similar to the plant itself - larger than most Arabica varieties. It is suitable for cultivation at altitudes of 1600-1800 meters.

However, since it belongs to the Arabica species, its disease resistance is naturally quite poor. It's worth mentioning that its pest resistance is pretty good. Therefore, in the absence of disasters, its yield is quite considerable! Nowadays, most of the Sidra we can find on the market comes from Colombia, which makes many people mistakenly believe that Sidra originated from Colombia. But just like Geisha, its place of rise is not its place of origin. The birthplace of Sidra is actually Ecuador!

The Hybrid Origin Story

In early years, Nestlé established a coffee breeding center in Pichincha province, Ecuador. The main purpose of this center was research and development - cultivating excellent coffee varieties. Therefore, they used local Ecuadorian Typica, Bourbon, and Ethiopian native varieties for crossbreeding. However, this project ended without conclusion, and these hybrid beans developed during the experimental period were thus abandoned until discovered and cultivated by coffee farmers. Sidra was one of them. In other words, Sidra is an experimental hybrid variety! Subsequent extensive genetic testing has confirmed this view! Teacher Han Huaizong wrote in "The Fourth Wave · Specialty Coffee Studies": According to WCR's (World Coffee Research) testing of Sidra, they found its genes are very close to Ethiopian native varieties. This testing almost indicates that Sidra comes from Nestlé's coffee breeding center; not only that, but it also overturned the speculations of Ecuadorian coffee farmers. Because before the identification results were released, Ecuadorian coffee farmers always thought Sidra was a hybrid of Typica and Bourbon.

Genetic Discoveries and Relationships

In 2021, Dr. Shao Changping also conducted identification on Sidra, but he identified two different forms of Sidra (pointed and round). Unexpectedly, the experimental results produced several astonishing discoveries! Dr. Shao Changping's identification showed that the pointed Sidra's genes are very close to Geisha or Ethiopian native variety genes. This means Sidra is very likely a hybrid variety of Geisha. But people don't like Geisha with impure bloodlines, just as wizards don't like wizards with "Muggle" blood. Therefore, Sidra gained a similar title - "Contaminated Geisha." Although its bloodline is not pure, it excellently preserves Geisha's charm, with rich and full floral and fruit aromas!

The genetic identification results of round Sidra are not so ambiguous. According to the results, it is very likely a hybrid of Typica and Geisha! This means that round Sidra is not a variant of pointed Sidra, but a different mixed variety! Wow, so Sidra also has "siblings"!

Sidra's Rise to Fame

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, most of the Sidra we can see on the market today comes from Colombia. This is largely due to Sidra winning championships in Colombia for three consecutive years: 2019, 2021, and 2022! Especially the Sidra from Diviso Estate in 2022. After winning the championship, people rushed to experience its flavor, and the result was that one person after another was shocked by its fruity charm. Therefore, to this day, Sidra's popularity remains high!

FrontStreet Coffee was also one of those captivated by it. Whether in cupping, pour-over, or cold brew, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Diviso Estate Sidra can express bright and full grape and passion fruit acidity, with honey-like sweetness in the aftertaste, and a hint of elegant jasmine fragrance - very comfortable~ FrontStreet Coffee would like to share something interesting: because Sidra uses the direct translation of "Sidra," different coffee merchants inevitably use different characters to directly translate Sidra, such as "Xi Zhua." This leads to some friends, without careful inspection, reading it as "watermelon" (Xigua). So when they came to FrontStreet Coffee, they asked: "Boss, do you have watermelon here?"

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