Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee

Arabica coffee was born in Ethiopia, with legend attributing its origins to the town of Kaffa. Sidamo is a light-bodied, winey coffee which is favoured by many of our regular customers.

Ethiopia is the world’s seventh largest producer of coffee and produces more coffee than any other African nation. Approximately 1500square miles of Ethiopia is covered with coffee, with the majority being produced by small-holders (farmers with less than 4hectares of land). Half of the 275,000 tonnes of coffee produced each year in Ethiopia is consumed by Ethiopians themselves. The Ethiopian government handles all payments to small-holders and fixes the price at which the washing stations and mills pay for coffee from the small-holders.

Sidamo is directly on the border with Kenya with the coffee being grown at 1500metres or above. The soils in the highlands of Sidamo are heavily volcanic which contributes to the flavour and character of this fine coffee. Coffee is either processed by the washed or natural (sundried) process. Sundried and naturally processed heirloom beans are world-class and can be compared in quality to any of the finest Latin-American coffees.

Sidamo is grown exclusively in the Sidamo province (which also includes Yirgacheffe and Guji coffee). The green beans themselves are small and a greeny-grey colour and when roasted give a delightful deep spicey, winey, chocolatey flavour with a medium body and an almost lemony floral aroma. The acidity of Sidamo Coffee is often described as bright and crisp.

The varietal of the green beans in our Sidamo is classed as heirloom and the reason for this name is due to the fact that coffee is legendarily attributed to have been discovered by a goat-herd named Kaldi. The story of Kaldi and his discovery of coffee is explained in our description of Ethiopian Mocha Djimmah Coffee.

In Ethiopia coffee tends to be served by following the Tukke or Bunna coffee ritual which actually involves the roasting of the beans on a skillet on an open fire and the beans then being ground in a mortar and pestle. Using a skillet means the coffee is not roasted evenly with some of it being burnt, but the wonderful aroma of the coffee whilst being roasted and the fact that it is as fresh as it possibly can be adds character and romance to the ritual. Coffee is traditionally served in a coffee pot called a Jebena and is poured from high in the air into the small coffee pots or bowls.