Detailed Introduction to Sidamo | Comprehensive Description of Sidamo Coffee Flavor Characteristics

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As everyone knows, Africa is the birthplace of coffee beans. Ethiopia, known as the genetic repository of coffee bean varieties, is abundant in coffee with bright, elevated acidity that captures the attention of coffee connoisseurs. Due to different topography and climate, Ethiopia has multiple coffee-producing regions. Many coffee beginners, with little understanding of coffee regions, can always mention the Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions when speaking with FrontStreet Coffee's baristas. The importance of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions to the coffee world is thus evident.

Unlike the uniquely fresh style of washed Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, enhanced by natural processing methods, always surprises coffee lovers with its wild berry cream flavors and thick, smooth mouthfeel. Therefore, Sidamo coffee, along with Yirgacheffe and Harar coffees, has become one of Ethiopia's three major coffee-producing regions.

Because the Sidamo region spans the fertile land south of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley, with elevations ranging from 1500 to 2200 meters, this means the climate here is mild and cool, allowing coffee cherries to develop longer, resulting in distinct fruit sweet and sour flavors and prominent aromatics.

Sidamo coffee has unique flavors, as evidenced in recent green coffee competitions. Over the years, whether in COE or TOH competitions, top-ranking winners frequently feature coffees from the Sidamo region. On FrontStreet Coffee's bean shelf, a Huaxu coffee bean that won the washed category championship in the 2020 TOH competition originates from the Guji sub-region of Sidamo, with citrus acidity and honey pomelo tea flavors emerging as the temperature drops slightly, offering coffee lovers who prefer fresh profiles an additional choice.

The Enduring Popularity of Flower Champion Coffee

Sidamo coffee has won numerous awards, but many coffees rarely receive inquiries after one production season—except for Flower Champion coffee. Flower Champion coffee beans have now entered their sixth production season, and before each new season arrives, many coffee enthusiasts visit FrontStreet Coffee stores to ask the baristas: "Has the latest season's Flower Champion coffee arrived?" "What are the flavors of the new season's Flower Champion coffee beans?"

The growing popularity of Flower Champion coffee benefited from Luckin Coffee's collaboration with a well-known figure, which made Flower Champion coffee popular nationwide and even temporarily sold out the coffee beans. During that period, many coffee enthusiasts visited FrontStreet Coffee stores to learn: "Where do Flower Champion coffee beans come from?" "Why is it called Flower Champion?" and so on.

The Origin and Evolution of Flower Champion

Flower Champion coffee beans originate from a sub-region under Sidamo—the Hambela region, which is close to the Yirgacheffe region and is also one of the highest-altitude sub-regions in Ethiopia. In 2017, Ethiopian green coffee supplier DW sent a natural processed coffee bean from the Buku Abel processing station to participate in that year's TOH competition. With its rich strawberry cream flavor, it captured the hearts of international judges and won the championship in the natural category of TOH's Ethiopian division that year.

A Beijing green coffee importer brought the same award-winning batch of coffee beans to China, naming it "Flower Champion," implying the leader of all flowers, with high hopes of replacing Geisha coffee as the next big sensation. In the same year, at the China competition of the World Brewers Cup, contestant Li Jianfei used Flower Champion coffee beans to achieve second place. In the modern era when Geisha coffee beans dominated competitions, Li Jianfei used Flower Champion coffee beans with their rich strawberry cream flavor to surpass multiple Geisha users, making Flower Champion coffee beans famous in the coffee circle.

The Evolution of Flower Champion Series

After FrontStreet Coffee's introduction, many friends now understand the origin of the name "Flower Champion." But how did names like Flower Champion 4.0 and Flower Champion 5.0 come about? Flower Champion coffee has unique flavors, and the "Flower Champion" IP has been properly managed, now developed into its sixth generation of products.

The naming of the Flower Champion coffee series follows the "Flower Champion X.0" pattern. 2017 was the birth year of the Flower Champion coffee series. In 2018, the second generation of Flower Champion coffee products was naturally "Flower Champion 2.0"; 2019 saw Flower Champion 3.0; 2020 brought Flower Champion 4.0; 2021 introduced Flower Champion 5.0... This year, everyone welcomes Flower Champion 8.0 together.

Many long-time fans of FrontStreet Coffee know that each new production season brings new seasonal coffee beans, and Frontsteet naturally doesn't miss the Flower Champion coffee series. Because Flower Champion coffee beans are an agricultural product, they are easily affected by uncertain factors such as climate and rainfall in the producing region each year, resulting in different flavor performances annually.

Introducing Flower Champion 8.0

These past few days, the Flower Champion 8.0 that FrontStreet Coffee acquired has finally arrived. Fresh and hot, and after a year of anticipation, of course, we must taste it properly. To present the delicate floral and fruit flavors of the Sidamo region without losing the coffee's caramelized aroma, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters used a medium-light roast to present this bean.

FrontStreet Coffee: Flower Champion 8.0 Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Sidamo · Guji Region
Altitude: 2250-2350 meters
Variety: Local landrace
Processing: Natural processing
Flavor: Floral, jackfruit, preserved fruit, apricot, juicy sensation

The new season's Flower Champion 8.0 shows a more intense fruit profile in dry aroma compared to 7.0, with dense aromas of guava, jackfruit, apricot, preserved fruit, citrus, and pink floral notes. When hot water is poured, honey, berry, and chocolate sweet aromas emerge.

Through slurping, FrontStreet Coffee first experiences the interweaving of multiple fruit sweet and sour notes in this 8.0—including dried mango, jackfruit, orange, and passion fruit. The juicy sensation is clear with a rounded mouthfeel. As the temperature drops slightly, the refreshing sweetness of peach and the bright acidity of berries begin to emerge. After swallowing, you can feel a sweet aftertaste similar to drinking black tea, with very rich layers.

Flower Champion Pour-Over Parameters Recommendation

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 90°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Because FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days, they arrive after 4-7 days of degassing. Even during the optimal tasting period, FrontStreet Coffee suggests performing a bloom step during brewing to reduce the coffee's "green" sensation.

Pour 30g of hot water for a 30-second bloom, then inject from the center with a fine water stream and slowly spiral to 125g for the first pour. When the water level in the dripper drops to just before exposing the coffee bed, continue spiraling to 225g. Total extraction time should be approximately 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

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