Ethiopian Natural Sidamo Guji

In general, most coffee trees in the region grow wild near the city of Yirga Ch’efe, near Lake Abaya, in the Sidamo district south of Addis Ababba, the capital city.

Our coffee specifically grows in Guji, one of the zones of the Oromia Region known for producing some amazing natural coffees. Typically these coffees possess some nice fruit-forward characteristics with a medium body.

In the past, coffees from Guji fell within the category of general Sidamo. However, due to the high quality and unique profile of the coffee, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange now separates Guji coffee from the more general Sidamos. They identify Guji as a higher-quality and more-unique coffee due to the terroir.

Typically Ethiopian coffee grows in wild trees amidst the tropical rain forests at elevations from 1500 to 1800 meters above sea level (MASL). Negligible use of chemicals and fertilizers indicates Ethiopian coffee as some of the most natural coffee available.

The consumption of coffee can be traced back as far as the 9th century in these highlands of Ethiopia. Legend states that Ethiopian shepherds first noticed that goats became more animated and danced after eating wild coffee berries. Today, wild and native Arabica coffee trees are still the primary source for this historic and exotic coffee.

The Farm & Harvest

Farmers harvested our Ethiopian Natural Guji coffee cherries at elevations between 1100-2200 MASL. Natural processing removes the fruit pulp from the ripe cherries. With a natural process, the cherries will fully dry within raised beds with the skin on, which means both the fruit pulp and sugars provide the beans with flavors as part of their development.

The harvest occurred between November-December of 2021 and the coffee shipped in the summer of 2022. Our variety is Ethiopian heirloom, which basically is used as a catch-all name for wild Ethiopian coffee. Cross-cultivation naturally happens here, therefore, each town and location has a very different and unique profile.