If coffee tasting notes sometimes feel like a language you were never taught, you’re not alone.
The good news is you don’t need to be a coffee expert to notice the difference between different coffees. A great place to start is with African coffee, where flavours can range from bright and citrusy to rich, smooth and chocolatey.
Two coffees show that contrast particularly well: Ethiopian Sidamo and Tanzanian coffee.
Ethiopian Sidamo: bright, citrusy and balanced
Dancing Goat’s Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee is a medium roast with mild citrus flavours, light acidity and a full-bodied, balanced character.
In the cup, that means fresh and lively rather than sharp. It’s a great choice if you enjoy black coffee, filter coffee or a cafetière, where those brighter flavours can really come through.
If you’re new to tasting single-origin coffee, Sidamo is a good starting point because its citrus character gives you something distinctive to look for.
Try Ethiopian Sidamo if you enjoy:
- Bright, lively coffee
- Gentle citrus flavours
- Light acidity
- Filter or cafetière coffee
Tanzanian coffee: smooth, rich and chocolatey
Dancing Goat’s Tanzanian Coffee has a smooth, full-bodied character with caramel and dark chocolate notes, making it a richer contrast to Ethiopian Sidamo.
If you usually add milk to your coffee, Tanzanian is particularly easy to love. Those deeper flavours work beautifully in a flat white, latte or cappuccino.
Try Tanzanian coffee if you enjoy:
- Smooth, fuller-bodied coffee
- Chocolate and caramel flavours
- Coffee with milk
- A richer morning cup
Ethiopian Sidamo vs Tanzanian: which is right for you?
The easiest way to think about the difference is this:
Ethiopian Sidamo is brighter, more citrusy and lively.
Tanzanian coffee is richer, smoother and more chocolatey.
If you usually drink black coffee, Sidamo could be a natural choice. If you prefer milk-based drinks or deeper flavours, Tanzanian may be more your thing.
Better still, try them side by side. Comparing two coffees is one of the easiest ways to discover what you actually enjoy.
Something new is brewing…
We’ve got a new guest coffee on the way, and this one is shaping up to be a bit special.
Expect notes of blackcurrant, chocolate and citrus orange, with vibrant acidity and a natural sweetness that brings plenty of complexity to the cup. Medium in strength, but certainly not short on character.
We’re keeping its identity under wraps for just a little longer… Can you guess where our next guest coffee is from?
Keep an eye out. All will be revealed soon.
Taste them for yourself
Reading tasting notes is useful, but drinking different coffees next to one another is where things start to click.
Make each coffee using the same brewing method and simply ask yourself:
Which smells sweeter? Which feels richer? Can you notice the citrus in the Ethiopian? Does the Tanzanian remind you of chocolate?
There are no wrong answers. It’s about finding the coffee you want to make again tomorrow.
Start with the African Best Sellers
Dancing Goat’s African Best Sellers Coffee Selection is an easy way to explore different flavours at home.
The selection includes Ethiopian Sidamo, Tanzanian coffee and Cafe Bar, giving you three different coffees to taste and compare.
Start with the bright Ethiopian, move onto the richer Tanzanian, then see where Cafe Bar sits for you.
You might discover you’re firmly on Team Sidamo. You might fall for the chocolatey Tanzanian. Or, quite sensibly, you might decide there’s room in the cupboard for both.
Try the African Best Sellers Coffee Selection