New arrival: Ethiopia Sidama G1, jasmine in grade 1
There are coffees you serve to impress, and then there's Ethiopia. Our new lot comes from Sidama, it's washed, it's grade 1, and it grows between 1,900 and 2,100 metres. In the cup: jasmine, vanilla and red fruit. In other words, everything that makes people fall in love with Ethiopian coffee the first time around.
Sidama, Sidamo, and why the name changed
You've probably seen both spellings on bags. "Sidamo" was the old, very broad administrative name that swept up a lot of southern Ethiopian coffee. Since 2020, Sidama has been a full regional state of Ethiopia and the name of the Sidama people is now the name of the region. Coffee followed suit: Sidama belongs to the very small club of Ethiopian origins protected by a geographical indication, alongside Yirgacheffe and Harrar.
In practice that means one thing: it's no longer a catch-all word. When the bag says Sidama, it comes from the highlands of the Great Rift Valley, east of Lake Awasa, where coffee has grown wild forever.
"Heirloom": the varieties nobody ever classified
Under varieties, the product page says "heirloom". That's not laziness, it's the only honest word. Ethiopia is the genetic birthplace of arabica, and the thousands of coffee populations growing in smallholders' garden plots have never been commercially bred or formally classified. They grow wild or semi-wild, mixed together, often among the family's food crops. That genetic diversity is exactly what gives Ethiopian coffee a complexity nowhere else can reproduce.
Grade 1: the strictest mark in the Ethiopian system
Ethiopian coffee is graded 1 to 5 by defect count. Grade 1 sits at the top of the scale: virtually no physical defects allowed. That's a guarantee of impeccable sorting and, for you, of an even roast and a clean cup.
Add the washed process, which strips the mucilage entirely before drying, and you get the most transparent version of Sidama: where an Ethiopian natural pushes the fruit toward jam, the washed lets the florals speak unfiltered.
In the cup
Fragrant, elegant, sweet without weight, the very heart of our Floral & delicate family:
- Notes: jasmine, florals, vanilla, red fruit
- Process: washed · Grade: 1
- Varieties: heirloom (unclassified local varieties)
- Region: Sidama · Altitude: 1,900 to 2,100 m
- Harvest: 2025-2026 (December to March) · Moisture: 10.7%
Our roasting tips
Two words: take it easy. A coffee grown this high is dense and slow to develop, but everything you came for the jasmine, the vanilla lives in the light to medium-light range. A medium-dark roast on this bean is money out the window.
Aim for a clean end of first crack, without touching second. As filter (V60, Chemex) you'll get a fragrant, silky cup; as espresso, brace for something very floral and bright, delicious, but it will want an adjusted grind and ratio.
Discover the Ethiopia Sidama G1 available in 5 lb and 15 lb bags. Ça va Torquer!