Grinding and roasting process of boutique coffee beans at Ted Manor in Sidamo, Ethiopia

Historically, coffee has a lot to do with the history and religious culture of Ethiopia, which was called Abyssinia in ancient times.(Abyssinia), for Axum, belonging to the reign of Solomon Dynasty, according to historical records, Hamitic people migrated from Asia Minor to present-day Ethiopia, Semitic merchants came to this place from Arab countries about the seventh century BC, Byzantine Empire also entered this place from Rome in AD 341, traditional Christianity of ancient Egypt, It was also introduced into Ethiopia at this time and became one of the main religious beliefs of the country. In the fifth century, when Ethiopia was growing, it crossed the Red Sea and captured Yemen in 525 AD. Coffee was also introduced into Arabia at that time, and the legendary journey of coffee began.

Therefore, the coffee produced in the town has obvious differences and characteristics. From 2010 to 2012, it won high scores of CR92~94 from the authoritative coffee evaluation website in the United States. It can be seen that the extraordinary raw beans in this producing area grow in the southernmost Ethiopian plateau between 4,600 - 7,200 feet above sea level (Sidamo province). It is a famous boutique coffee area in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya, southeast of Gemma, due south of the capital. It is usually sweet and popular with most people. Its annual output is about 225000 bags/60kg. The beans are smaller than Longberry, green and gray. In the sun drying field of Sidamo, Coffee is placed in a hemp net rack, workers take turns in the sun, manually stirring coffee, sun sidamo is usually labeled as G4 exports, washed sidamo because the processing process is more perfect than sun, so most of the exports are G2.

In traditional Ethiopian families there are two or three coffee drinking hours per day, it has various drinking rituals or rituals, the traditional culture of coffee strongly supports the country's coffee cultivation in various ways, in the coffee growing areas of the country; Coffee has been used for a long time in this ancient country, sometimes roasted with barley, wheat, or peas, and ground to a powder with a mortar, poured into a pot, boiled, sometimes mixed with goat's milk, and sometimes with salt instead of sugar.

Coffee is also a household spice in some areas. Wild coffee is picked and washed, mixed with spices, pepper, ginger, preserved antelope meat, and sometimes used as a tonic or medicine for the sick and infirm.

In any case, the country's national consumption accounts for nearly half of the country's total harvest (about 1.9 million bags), coffee is the country's absolute drink, or religion, or culture, and even an important ceremony for social banquets.

Growth and production patterns:

There are four types of growth and production in Ethiopia, and 95% of coffee is produced from these types or systems.

1. Forest planting

In Ethiopia's coffee producing regions in the south and west, most of them grow wild or under natural forests, which provide natural shade for coffee trees, but the resistance is slightly weak. This production system accounts for about 10% of the total production.

2. Semi-forest development planting Semi-forest

The same in the south and south-west coffee producing areas, but belong to farmers deliberately planted, the same is to choose forests as shade trees, and often remove weeds and other non-coffee crops, to facilitate the growth of coffee trees quality, this production system accounts for about 35% of the total production.

3. Garden or home grown (Garden)

Garden coffee plantations are generally grown near farmers 'homes, usually in the south and east, with low planting densities of about 1000 to 1800 coffee trees per hectare. This system accounts for about 50% of total production and tends to increase.

4. Plantation

Large farms are mostly state owned (now gradually auctioned off to private enterprises) and smallholder farmers. Usually this system is only systematic cultivation and improvement, even sunlight exposure, fertilizer type and amount, etc., are closely controlled. This production system accounts for about 5% of total production.

Sunlight Sidamo tastes close to floral, but slightly earthy. Wash it with nutty fruit aromas, with a slight cocoa aroma, but the two have in common a smooth taste and viscosity, pleasant acid and aroma. Light or medium roasts are suitable for single serve, medium or deep roasts are suitable for blended coffee and a good Espresso base.

Sitama treated by washing is light green, small beans, oval growth, full fruit, good average quality, mellow smell, a drop of mouth, endless aftertaste, with wild beauty. It is elegant and playful, mild and pleasant on the palate, forming a strong taste impact with the bright lemon acid later, unique and mellow, sweet and pleasant, slowly rising finish contains unique sweet Sidamo coffee green beans slightly gray, some places thick and some places fine, soft and strong acidity, alcohol and light, sweet and spicy, is one of the courtyard coffees of the southern highlands of Ethiopia. It is different from the general African coffee is that Sidamo has a clear fruit acid, smooth taste, and with a delicate floral smell Sidamo coffee flavor is very diverse. Different soil types, microclimate and numerous native coffee species, high mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys and plains, diverse terrain, and the geology of the area is rich in nutrients, well drained volcanic soil, soil depth of nearly two meters, the surface soil is dark brown or brown. Its greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through the recycling of organic matter, using withered leaves from surrounding trees or plant roots as fertilizer.