Ethiopia Sidamo Natural Process "Hua Kui" Premium Coffee Bean Grading, Pricing, Green Beans and Roasting

At night, to guard against sudden rainfall, thick plastic sheets are used to cover the coffee cherries, allowing the red fruit to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, once the moisture content of the green beans drops to around 13%, the natural process is halted. The beans are then packed in jute bags and rested in a warehouse at natural conditions of 12-22°C and 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of resting and further drying. When the moisture content of the green beans reaches around 10%, they are transported to the mill for hulling, screening, and sale.

Coffee Information

Coffee Origin: Africa, Ethiopia

Coffee Estate: Guji, Hambella Wamena region, Dimtu city, Buku Abel estate

Coffee Variety: Heirloom, Ethiopian native varieties

Production Altitude: 2250-2350m

Quality Grade: G1

Processing Method: Natural (African drying beds)

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Product Form: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Degree: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Guji Zone

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local Heirloom native varieties

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Flavor: Passion fruit, rose floral aroma, strawberry jam

Sidamo Regional Characteristics

Sidamo coffees are extraordinarily diverse thanks to differing soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native varieties, which give the coffee of each town and district its own distinct character. The Sidamo region lies in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture is the main industry and the coffee-growing areas cluster around the Great Rift Valley.

Hambella Region Details

Hambella (often rendered "Hambela") sits within Guji (GUJI), Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, administratively part of Oromia Regional State. On its western side, Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochere across a highland ridge roughly 30 kilometers wide that rises to 3200 meters, separating the two regions. To the southeast, east, and north it borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar being the highest-altitude main region).

There are currently about 20 washing and processing stations of various sizes in the Hambella region. DW Company operates four estate processing plants in Hambella's core Dimtu area—"Buku Abel," "Buku SaySay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye"—with an annual coffee output of about 1100 tons.

Among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural-processed coffee from the "Buku Abel" estate and plant may be called "Flower Queen."

Brewing Recommendations

Pour-over Flower Queen: use 15g of coffee at a medium-fine grind (setting 3.5 on a Fuji Royal grinder), a V60 dripper, and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g. Discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Award History

Cupping Notes: Passion fruit, rose florals, strawberry jam, berry-like sweet-and-sour, peach flesh, black-tea finish

2016/2017

Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition — Champion

2016/2017 harvest season Ethiopia Coffee Competition — Champion

2017

Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition — Runner-up

2017 Africa Coffee Competition — Runner-up

Processing Details

The Flower Queen processing plant sits in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2200 meters. From the outset, the site was chosen for its privileged "family environment": fertile, humus-rich reddish-brown soil shaded by "Enset" trees. This lets Flower Queen receive ample sunlight and develop rich flavors without exhausting its nutrients, so the cherries retain more of their essence. During the harvest and processing season (December-January), this unique growing environment and natural climate shape Flower Queen's distinctive character. Natural processing begins only when the brix of the harvested red cherries exceeds 30. For the first two days of drying, the humidity of the cherries is maintained so their fructose can begin fermenting fully. Meanwhile, the high altitude lets nighttime temperatures at the plant fall to around 12°C, preventing off-flavors from over-fermentation in the heat. When midday temperatures climb, shade is provided promptly to protect the cherries from sun damage. Only fully red, completely mature cherries are selected, all hand-picked and dried on African raised beds, with the cherry layer kept thin and turned regularly around the clock to ensure even sun-drying and ventilation—and more precise control of fermentation.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of coffee, harbors countless native varieties—and FrontStreet Coffee's own Flower Queen is one of its most celebrated expressions:

FrontStreet Natural Flower Queen (Hua Kui) — sourced from the Hambella region of West Guji, Sidamo, from a 200-hectare farm using traditional natural processing. To keep the drying cherries from molding or picking up earthy taints, workers sun them on raised beds for 21 days, turning them constantly for even drying, and hand-sort out any defective or moldy beans every three to five days. Once the dried husk is hulled away, the green beans undergo one final hand sort before shipment. Because the beans dry in full contact with fruit and pulp, a medium-light roast reveals a delicate fermented winey note, florals, citrus, and mango, with a far richer, more complex cup: honeyed sweetness, a cocoa undertone with a whisper of spice, a full body, and a long finish.

FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe — the perfect entry point to Ethiopian specialty coffee, offering crystal-clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity. Yirgacheffe itself is a small town in southern Ethiopia where spring-like fog and cool, moist air let thousands of coffee trees flourish, weaving the region's signature florals with fruit acidity into a light, elegant, tea-like cup—like a refreshing, clean lemon tea.