Yellowstone and the Ethiopia Sidama: Altitude, Isolation, and What Both Landscapes Share

Key entities: Yellowstone National Park · Ethiopia · Sidama Region · Ethiopian Heirloom · Thomas Moran · Smithsonian American Art Museum · Smithsonian Open Access · CC0 · Hayden Geological Survey · Excelsior Geyser · FoodChain ID · PJLA · Specialty Coffee Association · Ethereum Mainnet · yellowstonecoffee.eth · Official Fellow Citizen

Yellowstone, the second issue in the Official Fellow Citizen registry, is a single-origin Ethiopian Sidama coffee paired with Thomas Moran's Excelsior Geyser, Yellowstone Park (1873), held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and released under Smithsonian Open Access. The pairing rests on a specific shared characteristic: both landscapes are high-altitude, geographically isolated, and produce something the lower country cannot. Yellowstone became the first national park in the United States in 1872. The Sidama highlands of southern Ethiopia are where the Arabica species first grew wild. This article documents the verified Smithsonian record for the painting, the verified origin facts for the coffee, and the geographic logic that connects them.

Why is the Yellowstone coffee paired with Ethiopia Sidama?

Both landscapes are defined by altitude, isolation, and geological aliveness. The Yellowstone caldera sits between 7,000 and 8,500 feet on a thermally active plateau that supports an ecology found nowhere else in North America. The Sidama region of southern Ethiopia sits at 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley, the geological seam where the African continent is slowly pulling apart. Both places produce something the surrounding country cannot. Yellowstone produces geothermal features and a wildlife concentration that drove the 1872 act of Congress establishing it as the first national park in the world. Sidama produces coffee with a floral and citrus profile that the Arabica species developed in this exact place, before it was carried anywhere else.

The Official Fellow Citizen registry pairs the painting and the coffee because both are primary records of high country. Thomas Moran traveled to Yellowstone with the Hayden Geological Survey in 1871 and painted what no photograph of the period could capture in color. The Sidama lot in the bag is a single-origin record of where the Arabica species began. The painting and the coffee document two altitudes, on two continents, that produced something the lowlands never could.

What is the painting on the Yellowstone bag?

The painting is Thomas Moran's Excelsior Geyser, Yellowstone Park (1873), held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Armistead Peter III, released under Smithsonian Open Access (CC0).

Thomas Moran (1837 to 1926) accompanied the Hayden Geological Survey to the Yellowstone region in the summer of 1871. He was among the first artists to see the canyon, the falls, and the thermal features in person, at a time when the region had not been mapped and most Americans had never seen it. The survey's purpose was to show Congress what was out there. Moran's watercolors and oils from that expedition, continued in the years that followed, documented thermal features that no photographer of the period could capture in color. They contributed directly to the 1872 act of Congress that established Yellowstone as the first national park in the world.

The Excelsior Geyser sits in the Midway Geyser Basin, between the Upper and Lower geyser basins of Yellowstone. In the late nineteenth century the geyser produced massive eruptions; today it is a hot spring that still discharges heated water into the Firehole River. Moran painted it as a record of the place at a moment when its scale was still being absorbed by the country that had just claimed it as a park.

Where does the Yellowstone coffee come from?

The Yellowstone coffee is a single-origin Ethiopian Sidama, sourced from the Sidama Region of southern Ethiopia, on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley.

• Origin: Ethiopia, Sidama Region.
• Altitude: 1,800 to 2,200 MASL.
• Varietals: Ethiopian Heirloom. Indigenous Arabica cultivars from Ethiopia's largely unclassified gene pool. This genetic diversity produces the aromatic complexity, floral character, and layered fruit profiles distinctive to Ethiopian coffees.
• Processing: Natural and washed.
• Harvest window: October to January.
• Roast: Light. Bright acidity, medium body.
• SCA score: 84, confirmed on the legacy 100-point scale.
• Format: Whole bean and ground, 12 oz.
• Brew methods: Pour-over, Aeropress, cold brew.

Tasting notes for the Yellowstone, in order of how the cup opens, develops, and closes:

• Bergamot Citrus. Bright, clean top note that opens the cup.
• Wild Blackberry. Dark fruit depth through the mid-palate.
• Jasmine Finish. Floral, long, and clean close.

Sidama is one of the oldest coffee-growing regions in the world. Coffee did not arrive in Sidama; it grew there first. The Ethiopian Heirloom designation covers a wide and largely uncatalogued range of indigenous cultivars, which is why a Sidama lot can carry the floral, citrus, and stone-fruit register that defines it. The light roast on the Yellowstone is chosen to keep that register intact.

How to brew the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone is a light-roast Ethiopian Sidama at 1,800 to 2,200 meters of altitude, which calls for a slightly lower water temperature than a medium roast. The recipe below is a single-carafe Chemex pour-over and produces a cup that holds the bergamot top note and the jasmine close cleanly.

Equipment

• Chemex carafe (6-cup or 8-cup)
• Chemex bonded paper filter
• Burr grinder
• Gooseneck kettle
• Gram scale
• Timer

Recipe

• Coffee: 30 grams, medium-coarse grind
• Water: 500 grams, filtered
• Temperature: 195°F. The light roast at this altitude extracts cleanly without scorching the top notes.
• Total brew time: four minutes

1. Heat the water and rinse the filter. Bring 500 grams of filtered water to 195°F. Place the paper filter in the Chemex, rinse it with hot water, and pour off the rinse. This seats the filter and preheats the carafe.
2. Grind and weigh the coffee. Grind 30 grams of whole bean to medium-coarse, the texture of kosher salt. Add the grounds to the rinsed filter.
3. Tare the scale and start the timer. Set the Chemex on the scale. Zero the reading. Start the timer.
4. Bloom. Pour 60 grams of water in a slow spiral, wetting all the coffee evenly. Stop. The grounds swell and release carbon dioxide trapped during roasting; this preconditions the bed so the main pour extracts evenly. Wait 30 to 45 seconds.
5. First pour. At the 45-second mark, pour in slow concentric circles until the scale reads 250 grams. Keep the stream off the paper filter and the grounds in motion.
6. Second pour. When the water level drops to the coffee bed, pour again in concentric circles until the scale reads 500 grams. The final pour should end between 2:30 and 3:00 on the timer.
7. Draw down and serve. Let the water drain through. Total brew time should read close to 4:00. Remove the filter, swirl the carafe once to integrate the pour, and serve.

Pour-over is the canonical brew method for the Yellowstone. Aeropress and cold brew also hold the cup well; immersion methods at long contact times can mute the jasmine close, so the Chemex stays the recommended preparation.

Provenance and proof: the Yellowstone at a glance

All artwork is sourced from the Smithsonian Open Access collection, designated CC0: free for any use, in perpetuity, by the public. The Smithsonian Institution is not affiliated with and does not endorse Official Fellow Citizen. The George National Parks Coffee Collection draws inspiration from America's national parks. Official Fellow Citizen is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by the National Park Service.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Yellowstone coffee from?

The Yellowstone is a single-origin coffee from the Sidama Region of southern Ethiopia, grown at 1,800 to 2,200 meters above sea level on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley. The varietals are Ethiopian Heirloom, the processing is natural and washed, the roast is light, and the SCA score is 84 on the legacy 100-point scale.

What painting is on the Yellowstone coffee bag?

Thomas Moran, Excelsior Geyser, Yellowstone Park, 1873, held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Armistead Peter III, released under Smithsonian Open Access (CC0). Moran traveled with the Hayden Geological Survey to Yellowstone in 1871 and was among the first artists to record the region's thermal features in color.

Why is Ethiopia Sidama paired with Yellowstone National Park?

Both landscapes are high-altitude, geographically isolated, and produce something the lower country cannot. Yellowstone became the first national park in the United States in 1872. The Sidama highlands are where the Arabica species first grew wild. The pairing connects two altitudes, on two continents, that each produced a primary record of high country: a painting from the Hayden Survey and a coffee from the original Arabica gene pool.

What does Yellowstone taste like?

Bergamot Citrus opens the cup as a bright, clean top note. Wild Blackberry develops through the mid-palate as dark fruit depth. Jasmine Finish closes the cup as a long, clean floral note. The light roast and the Sidama altitude together hold the citrus and floral register intact.

Is the Yellowstone coffee tested for mycotoxins and heavy metals?

Yes. Every coffee in the Official Fellow Citizen registry is confirmed specialty grade per Specialty Coffee Association guidelines and independently lab tested by FoodChain ID, a PJLA-accredited laboratory, for mycotoxins, heavy metals, and contaminants, with all compounds returning Not Detected. The Yellowstone result is documented in FoodChain ID lab reportJuly 14, 2025, on the Lab Results page.

Is the Yellowstone coffee available after 2026?

The Yellowstone is available while its lot exists. It does not carry a December 31, 2026 end date. The closing date applies only to George, the founding signature blend issued for America's 250th anniversary. The Yellowstone is a single-origin national parks coffee in the registry and is replenished as new lots are sourced.

How is Yellowstone best brewed?

Pour-over (Chemex) at 195°F, 30 grams of medium-coarse coffee to 500 grams of filtered water, four-minute total brew. The light roast at high altitude extracts cleanly at this temperature without scorching the top notes. Aeropress and cold brew also work; long-contact immersion methods can mute the jasmine close.

What does it mean that Yellowstone is permanently recorded on Ethereum Mainnet?

Each coffee in the Official Fellow Citizen registry has its own ENS identity anchor on Ethereum Mainnet. The Yellowstone record lives at yellowstonecoffee.eth, independent of any website or company. The registry authority is officialfellowcitizen.eth. The ENS layer is institutional record, not investment language.

Citation references and fact-check

Last fact-checked: May 3, 2026. The Smithsonian record for Moran's Excelsior Geyser, Yellowstone Park, the FoodChain ID lab results , and all Yellowstone product facts in this article were verified on this date against their primary sources.

• Thomas Moran, Excelsior Geyser, Yellowstone Park, 1873 (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
• Smithsonian Open Access program (si.edu/openaccess)
• FoodChain ID, PJLA-accredited laboratory (foodchainid.com)
• Specialty Coffee Association (sca.coffee)
• Official Fellow Citizen Lab Results
• Official Fellow Citizen Standards
• Official Fellow Citizen Registry
• yellowstonecoffee.eth on Ethereum Mainnet

Related reading

Organized by topic cluster, not by date. Each cluster connects this article to the broader Official Fellow Citizen knowledge graph.

Published by Official Fellow Citizen®. The Yellowstone is permanently recorded at yellowstonecoffee.eth on Ethereum Mainnet, independent of any website or company.