Ethiopia Sidamo Guji Hambela Buku Coffee Bean Flavor, Taste, and Aroma Characteristics

With the bright acidity and fresh coffee flavor of the Yirgacheffe coffee-growing region attracting attention, more and more people are associating Yirgacheffe with coffee beans from the entire Ethiopian growing region. As a result, many people mistakenly believe that Yirgacheffe is the only coffee-producing area in Ethiopia, and that all Ethiopian coffee has a refreshing, clean taste. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce another famous Ethiopian coffee-growing region known for its unique coffee flavor: the renowned Sidamo coffee region. FrontStreet Coffee's Guji Karmo 5.0 coffee beans from the Sidamo Guji region have attracted wave after wave of fans with their full-bodied juice-like texture.

Understanding the Sidamo Coffee Region

As one of Ethiopia's premium coffee-growing regions, Sidamo is located in southern Ethiopia, bordering another premium coffee region, Yirgacheffe. The coffee flavors produced in the Sidamo region are incredibly diverse, as different areas have varying soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties, resulting in significant differences and unique characteristics in the coffee produced by each area.

FrontStreet Coffee finds that coffee beans from different Sidamo sub-regions offer rich fruit acidity and intense aromas, making them perfect for those who enjoy strong flavors but don't want an overly heavy taste. They achieve a perfect balance and harmony between aroma and mouthfeel. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss Karmo coffee beans, which come from the Hambela sub-region of Guji in Sidamo. This region burst into the spotlight in 2017 when Karmo coffee beans won awards. Let's learn more about the Hambela region.

Guji Coffee Region

Guji was once part of the Sidamo region but was established as an independent new growing region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010. Located southeast of Yirgacheffe, Guji is an area with complex topographical changes, including 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 of over 1,800 meters. The significant day-night temperature differences created by these geographical characteristics provide all the terroir conditions necessary for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

The most famous coffee beans from the Guji region are undoubtedly the Karmo coffee beans, which won the championship in the 2017 TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition) with their outstanding strawberry cream flavor, earning them the well-deserved title of "Karmo" (Flower Champion).

Before "Karmo Coffee" became known as "Karmo," it was actually an award-winning competition-grade Ethiopian coffee bean. In February 2017, when Ethiopian DW Coffee Company participated in the green bean competition TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition) organized by the African Fine Coffee Association, they submitted a natural-processed coffee bean from the Buku Abel processing station in the Hambela sub-region of Sidamo. With its rich berry aroma and cream-like texture, it won the championship in the natural-processed category that year.

In the same year, this championship batch was selected by a Beijing-based green bean trader. Because of its champion status, it was named "Karmo" when launched in the domestic market, meaning "the best among flowers, outshining all others." Immediately after, this "Karmo" was used by a coffee brewing competition competitor (China region) as competition beans, defeating numerous opponents using Geisha beans and winning that year's runner-up position. This was Karmo's first "fame" in China. With the growing popularity from the competition stage, this traditional natural-processed bean from Buku Abel processing station successfully "debuted." Coupled with its affordable price and pleasant flavor, it quickly became widely recognized within the industry as high-quality Ethiopian coffee.

Buku Processing Station

Buku Processing Station is located in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2,200 meters. From the beginning of cultivation, it was chosen to plant in nutrient-rich red-brown soil, and the trees are provided with shade protection. This allows Karmo to receive sufficient sunlight to develop rich aromas without consuming excessive nutrients, thereby retaining more essence within the coffee cherries. During the harvest processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create Karmo's distinctive flavor.

Buku processing station only accepts harvested red cherries with sugar content above 30 before beginning natural processing. During the first two days of natural processing, we ensure the moisture content of the red cherries to allow their fructose to fully undergo fermentation reactions. Meanwhile, the high-altitude location allows the processing station's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius, avoiding over-fermentation odors due to excessive heat. When the temperature is higher at noon, we promptly provide shade to prevent sun-damage to the red cherries.

Coffee farmers only select fully red cherries - completely mature coffee cherries, and they are hand-picked, dried on African raised beds, with limited cherry layer thickness and continuous turning every 24 hours to ensure even sun-drying and ventilation, and more precise control of fermentation degree. FrontStreet Coffee believes that because Karmo coffee beans use fully mature and high-sugar coffee berries, through natural drying, the sugars from the pulp and mucilage are absorbed by the coffee beans, making Karmo coffee beans sweeter in flavor than coffee beans from other Sidamo regions.

Karmo Coffee Beans

Years have passed since the Buku processing station's Karmo coffee beans became famous. Subsequently, Karmo 2.0 was launched in 2018, and Karmo 3.0 and 3.1 were launched in 2019. Initially, FrontStreet Coffee found flavors similar to the 2017 Karmo in the 2018 and 2019 batches, but the body and aftertaste were not as good as the 2017 Karmo.

By comparing different batches of Karmo, we realized that the main source of the 2017 Karmo's aroma was some particularly small-bean varieties among the Karmo coffee beans. Similar small coffee beans also appeared in the 2018 and 2019 Karmo batches - sometimes several bags of these small beans would appear among ten bags. In 2019, we confirmed this information and informed the green bean supplier. Starting from 2020, Karmo was split into two types: 4.0 and small-bean Karmo. Therefore, small-bean Karmo does not belong to the [X.0] series. Similarly, in 2021, the two beans were named small-bean Karmo and Karmo 5.0 respectively.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia Karmo 5.0 Coffee Beans

• Region: Guji Hambela
• Processing Station: Buku Abel
• Altitude: 2,350 meters
• Variety: Ethiopian Landrace
• Processing Method: Natural Processing

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

Ethiopian landrace coffee beans appear in various sizes because Ethiopia has too many varieties - it's like a natural gene bank for Arabica. On one hand, there are numerous varieties making identification and classification difficult; on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, for protection reasons, is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties, so they are collectively called Heirloom varieties. Because mixed cultivation and harvesting are used, this is also why Ethiopian beans appear in different sizes. After receiving the green beans, FrontStreet Coffee noticed that the new season beans have higher moisture content, so FrontStreet Coffee's roaster extended the dehydration time to ensure even heating between the bean surface and core. To express the sweetness, acidity, and floral-fruit aroma of this bean, we used a medium-light roast level.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

Yangjia 800N, bean input 480g: Preheat roaster to 175°C, damper at 3, heat at 120. Rise to 140°C, damper at 4. Roast to 6'00'', temperature 151.7°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. When ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 9'50'', first crack begins, damper fully open, temperature 188°C, heat reduced to 80, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 196°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cupping bowls marked with 150ml and 200ml measurement lines. Following SCAA standards, water TDS is around 150ppm - too low TDS easily causes over-extraction, while too high affects mouthfeel and causes under-extraction. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Grind size is controlled to achieve 70%-75% pass-through rate with a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11g coffee powder to 200ml hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, so the extracted concentration falls within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%, with an immersion time of 4 minutes.

Cupping Notes:

• Dry Aroma: Citrus, berries
• Wet Aroma: Blackcurrant, rose
• Taste: Almond, strawberry, blackcurrant, fermented notes, persistent sweetness

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Techniques

• Dripper: V60 #01
• Water Temperature: 90-91°C
• Coffee Dose: 15g
• Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Medium-fine/fine sugar size (77% pass-through rate with #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method:

First, wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. When pouring, use a small water stream to pour in circles to 125g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from the bloom). Extraction time is 2 minutes 5 seconds.

Karmo Coffee Brewing Flavor:

At high temperatures, there's almond aroma. As it gradually cools, berry tartness, blackcurrant juice sensation, and honey-like aftertaste emerge, with persistent sweetness.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473