Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee Beans

Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee Review

A wet-processed (washed) Ethiopian coffee best known for its rich, full body (mouthfeel), sweet and complex flavor, low acidity, floral aroma, and an finish that is bright and soft.

Growing Altitude: 1500-2220 meters above sea level

Arabica Variety: Heirloom Ethiopian Varieties

Harvest Period: October – January

Milling Process: Fully Washed, Dried on Raised Beds

Aroma: Floral, Slight Woody

Flavor: Lemon, Cane Sugar, Berries

Body: Medium, Smooth
Acidity: Winey

Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee Beans – Medium Roast

A good Sidamo is well-balanced with cupping notes exhibiting berries and citrus (lemony) with complex acidity.

Starbucks Sun Dried Sidamo

Starbucks’ Single Origin Sun-Dried Ethiopian Sidamo has seen rave reviews from people not previously familiar with Ethiopian Sidamo coffees. The rich fruit flavors and hints of jasmine shine through even up to a dark roast, which imparts dark chocolate notes, and compliments the overall flavor profile. These coffees are hand-picked and sorted, then raised on drying beds until the coffee is ready to be shipped and roasted.

Coffee beans sun-drying on raised beds.

Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee Farming

Sidamo green coffees are grown in the Province of Sidamo in the Ethiopian highlands at elevations from 1,500 up to 2,200 meters above sea level. These elevations qualify the beans as Strictly High Grown (SHG) / Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) – elevations where the best Ethiopian coffees grow more slowly and therefore have more time to absorb nutrients and develop more robust flavors based on the local climate and soil conditions.

It is very likely that in and around this region is where coffee had its origins.

Other Ethiopian Coffee Growing Regions

Ethiopia’s Sidamo coffees are known for their rich body that is very complex along with a bright and vibrant aftertaste that are fairly consistent from year to year, making this a staple Ethiopian coffee for any coffee roaster. Coffee is an important part of Ethiopian culture and is celebrated daily in the traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. If you want to learn more about the origins of coffee in Ethiopia you can read the whole fascinating story in the World’s Best History of Coffee.

Since coffee was first discovered Ethiopia has provided some of the world’s best premium coffee, pungent and complex with a delicious winey taste and a wildness in the acidity. Among the most revered of Ethiopian coffees is the spicy and fragrant Yirgacheffes which shimmer with citrus tones and offer a very delicate body combined with a wonderful sweetness in the taste and floral notes in the aroma.

Ethiopian Harrar coffees – respected for their heavy body and spicy fragrance – are also among the wold’s finest specialty coffees and include the Longberry (comprised of the largest coffee beans), Shortberry (including smaller coffee beans), and Mocha (Moka; Mocca), which consists of the prized peaberry coffee beans.

The Harrars are bright in the cup with floral and fruity notes in the acidity along with the distinctive winey tones. The heady and pungent aroma often offers up hints of blackberries along with spice tones such as cardamom, cinnamon and compote adding to the lingering aftertaste.

Also see Ethiopian Coffee.