Sidamo Coffee Characteristics, Flavor, and Taste Description: Introduction to Flower Queen Coffee Bean Varieties, Grades, and Pour-Over Methods

The Origin of Excellence: Ethiopia's Coffee Heritage

As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia has continuously provided premium coffee to the world. FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian coffee, with its bright acidity, has earned praise from numerous coffee enthusiasts, many of whom have become deeply captivated by it. Customers often walk into FrontStreet Coffee asking: "Do you have Ethiopian coffee beans?" However, FrontStreet Coffee's bean display features quite a selection from Ethiopian growing regions—how can one find their perfect match?

Understanding Ethiopian Coffee Regions

For many coffee beginners, before falling into the deep rabbit hole of coffee, their journey often starts with "washed Yirgacheffe and natural Sidamo" on specialty coffee shop menus. Coffee connoisseurs often say that FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is like light flower tea, while their natural Sidamo resembles berry juice. Such descriptions are not without merit.

Both are renowned coffee regions in Ethiopia. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffee beans, due to the washed processing method, feature a refined and elegant white floral aroma that has become their signature characteristic. Meanwhile, FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo coffee beans undergo traditional natural processing, preserving the complete coffee fruit. More sugars from the fruit skin, pulp, and mucilage participate in the process, providing additional sugars during natural fermentation and drying, resulting in a fuller body and more enticing flavors in the final product.

Due to natural processing, natural beans have rich aromas with complex and layered flavors. In various green bean competitions, Sidamo region frequently appears on winner lists, contributing to its large following. What truly made the Sidamo region famous in China was an unexpected reverse marketing event when Luckin Coffee launched their Guifei SOE series.

The Story of Guifei Coffee

Although the name FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee sounds pleasant, it's simply the name of a coffee bean. Coffee bean naming in China is diverse and colorful, often with beautiful artistic connotations. In reality, coffee beans are typically named using their region or estate names. The origin of FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee name dates back to 2017.

In 2017, Ethiopian green coffee bean supplier DW Company sent natural coffee beans from their Buku Abel processing plant in Hambella to participate in that year's TOH (Taste of Harvest) competition. The unique strawberry and cream flavor captured the hearts of international judges, winning first place in the natural category of the 2017 TOH Ethiopia regional competition.

A Beijing-based green coffee bean importer introduced the same award-winning batch to mainland China. Due to its flavor being comparable to the highly popular Geisha coffee, it was named "Guifei" (meaning "Queen of Flowers" in Chinese), with high hopes, symbolizing the foremost among all flowers.

In the same year, at the China Brewer's Cup competition, Geisha coffee beans dominated the competition. Contestant Li Jianfei chose Guifei coffee beans and achieved an impressive second place, giving Guifei coffee beans significant recognition. Many consumers specifically seeking "Guifei" coffee are surprised to discover a series of numbers following the name when purchasing FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee beans online or in stores. Is FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 5.0 actually Guifei coffee beans?

The Evolution of Guifei Coffee

In fact, Guifei coffee has evolved through six generations from 2017 to the present. Guifei coffee beans follow a "Guifei X.0" naming convention. The 2018 version was Guifei 2.0, 2019 was Guifei 3.0, 2020 was Guifei 4.0, 2021 was Guifei 5.0... Therefore, 2024's version is naturally Guifei 8.0.

FrontStreet Coffee's bean display features two Guifei coffee varieties: FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 5.0 and FrontStreet Coffee's Small Bean Guifei. The area around Buku Abel, where Guifei coffee beans are produced, is surrounded by sugarcane and banana trees. These provide appropriate shade for coffee trees during intense sunlight, combined with high-altitude growing conditions, creating coffee that tastes exactly as described in FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee flavor profile—delightfully sweet and sour with a smooth mouthfeel.

Through cupping comparisons of these two coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee found that FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 5.0's flavor leans toward the Guji region profile, with a hint of floral aroma, citrus acidity, and tropical fruit juice notes; while FrontStreet Coffee's Small Bean Guifei coffee features berries, grapefruit, honey, and orange blossom.

The 2022 Harvest and Quality Standards

With the arrival of the new 2022 harvest season, many coffee enthusiasts eager to try new flavors have already tasted FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 6.0 coffee. Since 2017, FrontStreet Coffee has consistently followed and updated the Guifei coffee series. FrontStreet Coffee's fans might wonder why FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 6.0 has not yet appeared on FrontStreet Coffee's bean display.

It's important to understand that coffee is an agricultural product, and different factors each year—such as temperature and rainfall—affect the flavor of that season's coffee production. The Guifei series is no exception. Due to the high defect rate of the new harvest's FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei 6.0, FrontStreet Coffee sought another new harvest natural Guifei coffee bean through the Buku processing plant in Hambella, the same facility that produced Guifei in 2017. This FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee bean also comes from the Hambella region and underwent natural processing at the Buku plant. The green coffee beans are full and similar to previous years' Guifei coffee beans, with even more appealing flavors and mouthfeel.

Traditional Processing Methods

During the annual coffee harvest season (December-January), the Buku processing plant organizes farmers to pick fully red coffee cherries with sugar content above 30 degrees. The selected coffee fruits are placed on African raised beds for drying. Due to significant day-night temperature differences, farmers use shading during noon hours to avoid excessive heat and over-fermentation, while covering with plastic at night to prevent sudden rain showers. Continuous turning throughout the day ensures even drying while preventing sun scald or unpleasant fermentation flavors. After approximately 18 days of natural processing, the green coffee beans reach 13% moisture content, after which machines remove the outer husk.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee beans are affordably priced, and when customers ask about the best value Ethiopian beans, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically recommend Guifei coffee. However, for many people, buying coffee beans is easy, but brewing a delicious cup is challenging. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how FrontStreet Coffee's stores prepare FrontStreet Coffee's Guifei coffee.

For Ethiopian coffee beans using medium-light roast, the beans are quite hard and require hot water at 92℃-93℃ to extract the floral and fruit aromas. FrontStreet Coffee recommends a medium-fine grind size (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve). Too coarse a grind cannot extract the body properly, resulting in thin coffee. Too fine a grind can lead to over-extraction at high water temperatures, producing bitter coffee.

For brewing ratios, FrontStreet Coffee finds that 1:15 to 1:16 both work well. If you want a richer body, use 1:15; if you want to more clearly perceive the floral sweetness, use 1:16 to allow the flavors to open up more.

Brewing Parameters:

• Dripper: Hario V60
• Water Temperature: 93℃
• Dose: 15 grams
• Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve

FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days, which arrive after a 4-7 day degassing period. However, during brewing, coffee particles still contain rich carbon dioxide gas, so FrontStreet Coffee recommends blooming during brewing. The bloom time is typically 30 seconds, with the duration adjusted shorter or longer based on the expansion and condition of the bloom "burger."

First, pour 30 grams of hot water and bloom for 30 seconds. From the center, pour with a fine stream and slowly spiral to 125 grams. When the water level in the dripper drops to just above the coffee bed, continue spiraling to 225 grams. Total extraction time should be approximately 2 minutes.

When pouring, be gentle with the coffee grounds along the dripper walls. If you break through the coffee bed, more water will enter the serving pot without properly extracting the coffee grounds, resulting in a final product with excessive "wateriness."

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473