Sidamo Guji Flavor Description Which Brand of Guji Coffee is Best

Awards

Cupping Notes: Passion fruit, rose floral aroma, strawberry jam, berry sweetness and acidity, peach pulp, black tea aftertaste

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

Coffee Processing Details

The "Hua Kui" (Flower Champion) processing station is located in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2200 meters. From the beginning of cultivation, the site was chosen for its noble "family environment" — fertile, humus-rich reddish-brown soil, with shade protection from Enset trees. This lets Hua Kui receive sufficient sunlight and develop rich flavors without consuming excessive nutrients, thereby preserving more essence within the coffee cherries. During the harvest and processing season (December-January), the unique growing environment and natural climate shape Hua Kui's distinctive flavors. Sun-drying begins only when the Brix of the harvested red cherries reaches above 30. During the first two days of drying, the moisture level of the red cherries is carefully managed so that fructose fermentation can get fully underway. Meanwhile, the high altitude lets nighttime temperatures at the station drop to around 12°C, preventing over-fermentation odors from heat. During warmer midday hours, timely shading protects the red cherries from sun damage. Only fully red, completely mature cherries are selected, all hand-picked and dried on African raised beds, with limited layer thickness and turning every 24 hours to ensure even drying, ventilation, and more precise control of fermentation.

Pour-Over Brewing

For pour-over Hua Kui: use 15g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji Royal burr grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, water temperature 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water and bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then slowly continue pouring until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

At night, thick plastic sheets cover the beds to guard against sudden rainfall, letting the red cherries ferment and dehydrate at lower temperatures. After 18 days of sun-drying, when the moisture content of the green beans drops to around 13%, drying stops. The beans are then packed in jute bags and stored in natural conditions at 12-22°C with 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of resting and further dehydration. When the moisture content reaches around 10%, the beans are transported to the processing station for hulling, sorting, and sale.

Coffee Origin Information

Coffee Producing Country: 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 sun-dried (African raised beds)

Roast Level: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Guji Zone

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local Heirloom varieties

Producer: Local small farmers

Flavor Notes: Passion fruit, rose floral aroma, strawberry jam

Regional Characteristics

Sidamo coffee flavors are extremely diverse due to different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties, creating distinct differences between the coffee produced by each town area. The Sidamo producing region lies in southern Ethiopia. The local economy is primarily agricultural, with coffee growing areas situated around the East African Rift Valley.

Hambella (often translated as "Hanbella") is located in Ethiopia's largest coffee producing region, Guji, administratively belonging to the Oromia Region. Hambella's western side faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across mountains, with the two producing regions separated by highlands of 3200m altitude and about 30km in width. Its southeast, north, and other sides respectively border Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar is Ethiopia's highest-altitude main producing region).

Currently, there are about 20 processing stations of various scales in the Hambella region. DW Company operates four estate processing stations in Hambella's core Dimtu region — "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 sun-dried coffee from the "Buku Abel" estate and processing station is called "Hua Kui" (Flower Champion).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the Hua Kui story has you hooked on Guji naturals, FrontStreet Coffee offers several ways to explore the region. The FrontStreet Flower Queen (Hua Kui) itself comes from Hambella's Buku Abel estate, where whole cherries are dried on raised beds for 21 days with constant turning and repeated hand-sorting — a medium-light roast showing faint fermented winey aroma, florals, citrus, and mango, with thick honeyed sweetness, cocoa, spice, a full body, and a long finish. For a brighter, jasmine-forward profile, the FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe delivers the classic white jasmine and citrus-lemon acidity that made Ethiopia famous. And for wild-grown character, the FrontStreet Kaffa Forest coffee — from trees growing at 1400-2100 meters under original forest shade — offers white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, and a green-tea-like body. Brew them on a V60 with a 15g dose at 1:15 and 91-93°C water, and let Ethiopia's fruit and florals speak for themselves.