Sidamo was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia. Its name has it’s from a native ethnic group of Ethiopia, called Sidama, which is located in the south-central part of the country. Their major political state was the ancient Kingdom of Sidama. The old political map says Sidama was bordered by Gama-Gofa on the west, Shewa on the north, Bale extending from north to east, a small portion on the southeast by Somalis, and on the south by Kenya.

The Sidamo coffee Exchange has categorized the Sidamo zones into five geographical areas: Sidama grade 1, Sidama grade 2, and Sidama grade 3.  These do not have any relation to quality but are mere geographical indicators. Quality is based on sensory analysis and green grading, where Q1 and Q2 are named specialty coffee, and everything between 3 and 9 is considered commercial grade.