What Defines the Sidamo Coffee Farm Belt in Ethiopia?

Sidamo is a specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, on the highlands south of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley. It is one of three Ethiopian coffee areas with completed trademark registration. The 2024 Huakui 8.0 new crop, from the Hambela sub-region of Guji, shows floral, jackfruit, dried fruit and apricot notes with a prominent fermented sweetness.

Roughly 60 percent of Sidamo beans are washed, though natural lots like Huakui 8.0 and Arsi lean on fruity sweetness and tropical character. Coffee trees grow at 1,100 to 2,300 meters, cherry is picked from September to December, and new crop exports begin in November or December. Local coffee farm practice avoids harmful insecticides and herbicides, relying on organic fertilizer.

Sidamo is an important specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, spanning the highlands on the southern shore of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley, known for its intense flavors, full body and bright acidity. After Guji became independent from Sidamo, the Hambela sub-region's Huakui coffee beans quickly rose to fame. The 2024 new crop Huakui 8.0 continues the floral, jackfruit, dried fruit, apricot and juicy notes, with a prominent fermented sweetness. Front Street Coffee's two Sidamo natural beans—Arsi and Huakui 8.0—each deliver standout performances in fruity sweetness, juiciness and tropical fruit notes. This article details the regional background, processing methods, brewing parameters and flavor comparison.

Sidamo is a province of Ethiopia, and its producing region is located in the fertile highlands along the East African Rift Valley. It is one of the three coffee regions in Ethiopia that have completed trademark registration. Abundant rainfall, moderate temperatures, nutrient-rich soil and a marked day-night temperature difference create an extremely ideal environment for coffee cultivation. About 60% of the coffee beans produced there are processed by the washed method. Sidamo coffee is widely praised for its intense flavor, thick body, bright acidity, and floral and citrus notes, and is especially favored by coffee lovers who prefer fruity, aroma-rich coffees. In addition, this region also produces some of Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffees.

Ethiopia's natural conditions are very favorable for coffee growth. Coffee trees are mainly planted in the southern highlands at altitudes of 1,100 to 2,300 meters. Ethiopian coffee is harvested once a year; red cherries ripen and are ready for picking from September to December, and the new crop begins to be exported from November to December. At present, local farmers still follow traditional cultivation methods: coffee trees are tended by hand, always adhering to the principle of not using harmful insecticides or herbicides, and instead applying organic fertilizers (mainly composed of fallen leaves, dry grass and animal manure). Ethiopia therefore enjoys the reputation of being the world's only pollution-free green organic coffee producer.

Major Coffee Regions of Ethiopia

Ethiopian coffee can be divided into eight major regions: Lekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimmah, Harar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.

Sidamo Guji Region

Sidamo is one of Ethiopia's key specialty coffee regions. It is located in the south of the country, spanning the highlands south of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley, at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,200 meters. The significant day-night temperature difference lengthens the coffee beans' ripening period, allowing them to accumulate more nutrients, and the resulting fruit ultimately shows rich layers of sweetness and acidity. In addition, the complex terrain, diverse soil types and abundant microclimates make Sidamo's coffee flavors highly diverse.

The Guji region was originally under the jurisdiction of the Sidamo region. Because it was remote and relatively underdeveloped, Guji coffee rose and became famous relatively late. In the early days, its reputation was not as great as that of Yirgacheffe, Harar and other regions, but later, thanks to the outstanding flavor of its coffee beans, it was separated off and became a new region. The area has fertile black soil and an average altitude of more than 1,800 meters, and its unique geographical features create terroir conditions very favorable for coffee tree growth.

In terms of administrative division, Guji belongs to Oromia Region→Guji Zone and is a regional green coffee. Just as Yirgacheffe became widely known after gaining fame and then became an independent sub-region, Guji Zone, under the broader Sidamo. This lot of coffee is produced near the town of Dara Woreda in Sidama province, by smallholder farmers of the Shilcho Coop. The cooperative was founded in 1976 and is now a member of the Sidama Coffee Farmer Cooperative Union (SCFCU). SCFCU is a large Ethiopian coffee cooperative union, currently with about 46 member cooperatives, making it the second largest in the country.

Hambela Region

According to Ethiopia's administrative divisions, there are four levels: Region, Zone, Woreda and Kebele, roughly corresponding to China's province, city, district and subdistrict. Huakui coffee beans are produced in Guji city, Sidamo province, and can further be classified as Hambela Kebele in Shakisso Woreda. When Hambela is mentioned, in most cases it refers to Huakui coffee beans, because Hambela's Huakui coffee beans are simply too famous.

Hambela is a sub-region of the Guji producing area. At present, there are about 20 green bean processing plants of different sizes, and Huakui coffee beans come from Guji's Buku processing plant. The Buku processing plant is located in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2,200 meters. In addition to the innate terroir advantages, local farmers also take meticulous care of every coffee tree. They plant shade trees beside the coffee trees so that Huakui can receive sufficient sunlight without consuming too many nutrients, thereby retaining more of the essence in the coffee fruit.

Huakui Coffee

In 2017, the Ethiopian DW company won the Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition (TOH) championship with a natural lot from the "Buku Abel" processing plant, thanks to its intense strawberry and creamy aroma. In the same year, at the China division of the World Brewers Cup, Li Jianfei of Beijing CREMA Coffee Training used the coffee "Huakui" to defeat the Geisha competing on the same stage and won the national runner-up title in the brewing competition. Since then, Huakui coffee has begun to appear frequently on people's bean lists.

Brewing runner-up Li Jianfei once said in an interview that he believed this Ethiopian bean's outstanding performance was enough to compete on the same stage with Panama's "Geisha".

After DW company became famous overnight with "Huakui" that year, the number of processing plants increased to 4: "Buku Abel", "Buku Saysay", "Haro Soresa" and "Tirtiro Goye". But strictly speaking, only the natural coffee produced by the "Buku Abel" processing plant is called "Huakui". Huakui's naming method is also calculated from 2017 onward. For example, the 2018 batch is called "Huakui 2.0", the 2019 batch is called "Huakui 3.0", the 2021 batch is called "Huakui 5.0", the 2022 batch is called "Huakui 6.0", and the 2023 batch is called "Huakui 7.0", so this year's 2024 batch is naturally called "Huakui 8.0".

Flavor: floral, jackfruit, dried fruit, apricot, juicy

Arsi Region

Arsi is also a specialty coffee region in Sidamo. West Arsi is located between the famous Yirgacheffe coffee-growing area and Hararge, at an altitude of 1,900 to 2,200 meters, in the western part of the Sidamo area. The name of the area comes from a branch of the Oromo people who have lived there for a long time.

West Arsi consists of three woredas (Ethiopia's third-level administrative divisions): Arsi, Bale and East Shewa. About 88.52% of West Arsi's population is Oromo, which is significant in coffee history because they were the earliest tribe in human history to drink coffee, and half of Ethiopia's coffee comes from this region.

Coffee cultivation in the West Arsi region follows a smallholder model. The average farm size of each smallholder household is not large, about 2 to 3 hectares, but even so, it is often slightly larger than the 1.5 to 2 hectares common in most parts of Ethiopia. Although coffee cultivation technology is still in a stage of development, West Arsi's cultivation technology is developing very rapidly compared with other regions. Coffee farmers do not need to hire temporary or full-time workers, but instead select coffee with the help of family members, which allows them to better control coffee quality. Processing stations usually also pay extra for fully ripe red cherries, greatly increasing coffee farmers' enthusiasm.

Natural Processing

Coffee beans from the Sidamo region are mostly natural processed. Front Street's two Sidamo coffees are both natural processed.

During the annual coffee harvest season (December to January), the Buku processing plant only harvests fully red cherries, selecting coffee cherries with a Brix value of 30 or above and placing them on African raised beds to dry. Because the local day-night temperature difference is extreme, the coffee farmers take shading measures at noon to avoid excessive fermentation caused by too high a temperature; at night, to prevent sudden rain, they wrap them with plastic sheeting. They turn them continuously throughout the day and ensure the coffee cherries are not piled too thick, so that the fruit dries evenly and is prevented from sunburn or unpleasant fermented flavors. After about 18 days of natural processing, the green coffee beans' moisture content drops to 13%, and they can be bagged and stored.

Front Street believes that different processing methods also make the flavors presented by coffee beans differ. Washed processing better reflects the most original citrus acidity and floral-herbal aroma of Sidamo coffee beans, while natural processing adds aroma, sweetness and fermented notes on top of the original flavor. Therefore, most of Front Street's everyday beans use the washed processing method.

Coffee Varieties

Some people ask Front Street: Why do Ethiopian heirloom coffee beans vary in size? Ethiopia is the genetic homeland of coffee and can be called Arabica's natural gene bank, with a great many varieties, and local coffee farmers generally work under relatively backward conditions, making classification extremely difficult. Therefore, for comprehensive reasons, the government collectively calls them Heirloom. So Ethiopian heirloom coffee beans always look uneven in size and shape, yet in flavor they display a uniquely distinctive floral and fruity aroma.

Front Street's parameters for brewing Sidamo coffee:

For the light-roasted Sidamo coffee, Front Street chose: V60 dripper, water temperature 90°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, coffee dose 15g, grind size (80% passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve).

Use staged extraction: first bloom with water equal to 2 times the coffee dose, that is, 30 grams of water for 30 seconds. The reason blooming is needed is to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide, making the later extraction more stable. Pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, then pause, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. After the water in the dripper has dripped through, remove the dripper. Timing starts from the beginning of pouring, and the extraction time is 2'00". Then pick up the whole cup of coffee and swirl it to mix, then pour it into a cup to taste.

[Natural Arsi Coffee Flavor]: It smells of berries and honey; on the palate, jam-like sweetness fills the mouth with abundant sweetness, and the finish has nectarine notes with a juicy mouthfeel. When cooled, it is more like a cup of plum and nectarine juice.

[Natural Huakui 8.0 Coffee Flavor]: The floral and fruity aroma is very obvious, with clear notes of berries, passion fruit, strawberry and oolong tea, and a high fermented sweetness.

In the flavor comparison of these two beans, Arsi is slightly superior in fruity sweetness and juiciness. Especially when hot, the jam and honey flavors are irresistible, and as the temperature drops, the juiciness becomes even more obvious and very pleasant.

Huakui, on the other hand, leans toward tropical fruit flavors, and the alternating contrast between sweetness and acidity is very surprising. Compared with the other, Huakui's fermented note is stronger, as if it brings people into a world of fruit.

Front Street's coffee brewing suggestions:

Regarding coffee brewing, Front Street has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans has a great impact on flavor. Therefore, the coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee are all within 5 days of the roasting date. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee", so that every customer who places an order receives the coffee in its freshest state. The coffee resting period is about 4 to 7 days, so when customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, Front Street warmly reminds you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, they no longer need to be rested, because during transportation the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the package can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because after contact with air it oxidizes quickly, the coffee flavor dissipates faster, and the flavor will not be as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

Ethiopian coffee is like a cup of fruit tea—a thirst-quenching tea in the hot summer; if made into an SOE single-origin espresso, it becomes even more refreshingly tart! Of course, not all single-origin coffee beans are suitable for making SOE, especially washed Yirgacheffe coffee, which becomes especially sharp when made into SOE! Huakui coffee is very good though!

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee: qjcoffeex

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.