Sidamo Coffee Characteristics - Queen 6.0 Coffee Bean Flavor, Taste Profile and Name Origin Latest News

When it comes to Sidamo, we must mention a coffee bean called "Hanao." Since its debut in 2017, Hanao has been deeply loved by everyone. With its distinct bright strawberry cream flavor, "Hanao" has swept through every café. However, due to its considerable fame and peak debut, whenever people drink Hanao coffee each year, they compare it with previous versions. Now this series has also been "updated" to its eighth version—"Hanao 8.0." Yet many friends and FrontStreet Coffee have given feedback that "this year's Hanao doesn't seem like Hanao anymore" or "Hanao's taste is different." Why does this phenomenon occur?

Guji Region

The Guji region, formerly part of the Sidamo region, was independently established as a new region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010. The Guji region is located southeast of Yirgacheffe and is an area with complex terrain changes featuring towering mountains, valleys, and plains. The region's geology consists of fertile black soil (Vertisol) with soil depth reaching nearly two meters, and an average altitude above 1,800 meters. The significant day-night temperature differences created by geographical characteristics provide the local area with all the terroir conditions necessary for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

Guji Sub-region—Hambella

Hambella's western side faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across mountains, while its southeast and north sides border other Guji sub-regions: Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha. Currently, there are about 20 processing stations of various scales in the Hambella region.

In the Hambella mountainous area, villagers live deep in the mountains at an altitude of 2,000 meters without roads or electricity. The government-supported water tap at the village entrance is the only drinking water source for the entire village. Although villagers have to squeeze into the same thatched houses with livestock, the air here is free and happy. Local children ride small donkeys to fetch water from the village entrance. They always cheer excitedly, shyly exchanging corn and avocados found from unknown sources for candies from the outside world. On the drying beds, coffee farmers turning red coffee cherries are always barefoot, singing cheerful songs with touching smiles. The Hanao coffee beans that everyone loves are also carefully selected by these simple villagers, bean by bean, making their way into our cups.

In 2017, a natural processed coffee from DW company's "Buku Abel" processing station won the TOH championship. A Chinese green bean importer named this coffee "Hanao." At that time, this coffee had rich strawberry and cream aromas. Subsequently, DW company increased the number of estate processing stations in Hambella's core Dimtu region to four: "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with an annual coffee production of about 1,100 tons.

Strictly speaking, among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural processed coffee from the "Buku Abel" processing station is called "Hanao coffee beans." This is why Hanao 2.0, Hanao 3.0, and Hanao 3.1 appeared in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Where Does the Name "Hanao" Come From?

If you observe carefully, you'll notice that the Chinese and English names of this coffee bean "Hanao" don't correspond. In Chinese, it's called "花魁" (Hanao), while the English name is "Hambella," which directly translates to "罕贝拉" (Hanbeila). In 2017, Ethiopia's DW green bean company sent their coffee beans to the TOH (Taste of Harvest) green bean competition organized by the African Fine Coffee Association. A natural processed batch from the "Buku Abel" processing station won the Ethiopia TOH championship with its rich strawberry and cream aroma. That year, this batch of green beans was imported by a Beijing green bean trader. Due to its championship status, it was given the name "Hanao."

In the same year, Beijing's Li Jianfei won the runner-up position in the 2017 World Brewers Cup China region with this Hanao coffee, pushing Hanao's popularity even further. Because Geisha variety coffee was dominant that year, most competitors chose Geisha when selecting coffee beans. However, this Hanao from Ethiopia's native varieties defeated many Geisha coffees that year, winning second place (although winning second place doesn't rely solely on Hanao's quality, Hanao's excellent quality was indeed one factor in achieving good results). So it's not surprising that people thought this Hanao could rival Geisha coffee.

Hanao Coffee Bean Natural Processing Process

During the annual coffee harvesting and processing season (December-January), coffee cherries picked by farmers must have a sugar content above 30 to begin natural processing. For the first two days of natural processing, the moisture of the coffee cherries must be maintained to allow sufficient fermentation of their fruit sugars. Meanwhile, the high-altitude location allows the processing station's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12°C, preventing over-fermentation due to high temperatures. At noon when temperatures are higher, timely shading is provided to prevent sun damage to the coffee cherries. At night, thick plastic sheets are used to cover them to prevent sudden rainfall.

This allows the coffee cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green coffee beans drops to about 13%, the natural processing is stopped. They are then packed in jute bags and stored in warehouses under natural conditions of 12-22°C and 45-55% humidity for about 50 days of bean resting and further dehydration. When the green bean moisture content reaches about 11%, they are transported to processing stations for hulling, screening, and sale.

FrontStreet Coffee's Historical Hanao Coffee Bean Collection

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Hanao G1 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Buku Abel

Altitude: 2250-2350 meters

Variety: Local Landraces

Grade: G1

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Berries, Pineapple, Cream, Nuts

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Hanao 2.0 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Goro Processing Station

Altitude: 2316 meters

Variety: Local Landraces

Grade: G1

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Floral, Tropical Fruits, Red Wine, Nuts

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Hanao 3.0 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Goro Processing Station

Altitude: 2300 meters

Variety: Local Landraces

Grade: G1

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Floral, Berries, Mango, Pineapple, Apricot

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Hanao 3.1 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Mansa Mountain Pond Processing Station

Altitude: 2125 meters

Variety: MANSA Landraces

Grade: G1

Processing: Natural

Flavor: Tropical Fruits, Citrus, Caramel, Cream

FrontStreet Coffee — Ethiopia Hanao 4.0 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Buku Abel

Altitude: 2350 meters

Variety: Dega

Processing: Natural

Batch: 2020 New Batch

Flavor: Rose, Creamy Strawberry, Citrus, Passion Fruit, Oolong Tea

This batch of Hanao 4.0 purchased by FrontStreet Coffee has smaller beans compared to Hanao 3.0, due to different varieties. Hanao 3.0 uses Ethiopian native variety coffee beans, while Hanao 4.0 uses the Dega variety.

What is the Dega Variety?

This year, Ethiopia hosted its first Cup of Excellence (CoE), and the detailed classification of coffee varieties among the top 28 finalists surprised everyone. The 21st ranked Dega has two very different versions regarding the origin of its name. One version says the name Dega comes from a kind of fire-starting wood, and the aroma of Dega during roasting is similar to the burning scent of this fire-starting wood.

Another version explains that "dega" is the root word for "highland and shady places" in the Ethiopian language, and Dega often grows in high-altitude areas. Unfortunately, since Dega didn't rank in the top 14 in this COE competition, no flavor descriptions for it were collected. This batch of Hanao 4.0 obtained by FrontStreet Coffee is indeed made from Dega variety coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Records for 5 Hanao Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee Hanao G1 Roasting Curve: Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat to 160°C and charge, damper at 3.5, heat at 160, return temperature at 1'32". At 5'38'' when temperature reaches 154°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When temperature reaches 162°C, reduce heat to 140°C, damper to 4. When bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 8'37'', damper fully open, reduce heat to 80°C at 191°C, damper to 5, first crack development time 1'20'', drop at 198.1°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Hanao 2.0 Roasting Curve: Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat to 190°C and charge, damper at 3, heat at 140, return temperature at 1'32". At 5'51'' when temperature reaches 154°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When temperature reaches 152°C, reduce heat to 120, damper to 4. When bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9'50'', damper fully open, reduce heat to 50 at 177°C, damper to 5, first crack development time 1'30'', drop at 193°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Hanao 3.0 Roasting Curve: Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat to 175°C and charge, damper at 3, heat at 120, return temperature at 1'32". At 6'00'' when temperature reaches 152°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When temperature reaches 116°C, increase heat to 140, damper to 4. When bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 10'00'', damper fully open, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 195°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Hanao 3.1 Roasting Curve: Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat to 190°C and charge, damper at 3, heat at 120, return temperature at 1'38". At 5'44'' when temperature reaches 153°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When temperature reaches 136°C, increase heat to 146, damper to 4. When bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 8'28'', damper fully open, reduce heat to 50 at 173°C, damper unchanged, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 192°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Hanao 4.0 Roasting Curve: Yangjia 800N, 480g batch size: Heat to 175°C and charge, damper at 3, heat at 120. Increase to 140°C, damper to 4. At 6'00'', temperature 151.7°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9'50'', damper fully open, reduce heat to 80 at 188°C, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 196°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters & Technique

FrontStreet Coffee uses higher water temperature and finer grind size to fully extract the rich layered flavors of Hanao coffee beans. However, to avoid over-extraction caused by high temperatures, we use faster flow rate drippers such as the V60. The V60 dripper has a 60-degree conical shape. The conical angle allows coffee grounds to concentrate in the center, and during pouring, water flow automatically converges toward the dripper center, ensuring sufficient contact time between water and coffee grounds, thus achieving appropriate coffee extraction. Additionally, the ribs on the inner side of the V60 dripper extend clockwise in a spiral from bottom to top, creating enough space between filter paper and dripper, ensuring good water flow. Combined with the large hole at the bottom, the water flow rate is relatively faster than many other drippers.

Dripper: V60 #01

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: EK43s setting 10/Fine sugar size (80% retention on #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique: First pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (electronic scale shows around 125g), finishing in about 1 minute. When water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows around 225g), finishing in about 1'40"-1'45". Drip completes between 2'00''-2'10'', remove dripper, extraction complete.

Brewing Flavor Descriptions

[Hanao G1] Smooth, passion fruit, fermented wine aroma, jackfruit, strawberry.

[Hanao 2.0] Overall clean mouthfeel, more prominent berry aroma with nutty fragrance, richer flavor profile.

[Hanao 3.0] Light strawberry jam, black tea sensation, sweet aftertaste with short finish.

[Hanao 3.1] Floral, cream, tropical fruits, caramel, persistent sweet aftertaste.

[Hanao 4.0] Citrus acidity, full-bodied berry juice, lemon black tea sensation, persistent sweetness.

From the above brewing flavor performances, FrontStreet Coffee believes that it's not just Hanao—basically most coffees have flavor variations each year. Why? Coffee is essentially a plant, an agricultural crop. Factors including climate, growing soil, fertilization conditions, annual rainfall, etc., all more or less affect coffee production and quality. Furthermore, processing techniques and attention to details during processing also more or less affect the final coffee flavor. Therefore, Hanao's flavor naturally has slight differences each year.

Additionally, picking and selection are also factors that make each annual batch different. If you observe carefully, you'll find that the 2017 Hanao coffee beans varied in size (a characteristic of Ethiopian coffee beans, partly because coffee grading standards are based on defects, and partly because there are numerous native varieties). The next year's Hanao 2.0 coffee beans became more uniform in size, and now Hanao 4.0 beans are smaller than Hanao 3.0. Even from the appearance of the coffee beans, you can notice differences from previous years. Time has come to this year, and Hanao's changes don't stop here. This year, we can even see washed Hanao coffee beans and black honey processed Hanao coffee beans, making the Hanao name even more diverse.

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