Hambela Estate Special Process Lot 105 Flavor Review - The Most Characteristic Guji Regional Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Hambela Benti Nenqua G1 Washed SFP Lot 105

After trying the natural process version of Hambela, I discovered that the bean supplier also brought in the washed version. Ethiopian coffee has shown an interesting trend over the past couple of years. Processing stations are trying to reduce the fermentation notes in natural process beans while enhancing their cleanliness and brightness, replacing the strong fermented wine aroma of the past with bright acidity and sweetness. Conversely, washed processed beans are moving in the opposite direction, with extended fermentation creating sweetness, and subtle fermentation notes replacing the honey and citrus acidity we were accustomed to. This might be due to ECX's revision of grading methods in 2015, incorporating cupping scores into grading considerations with a 60% weight. To achieve high scores, making natural process beans cleaner and washed beans sweeter could be an inevitable trend.

Sourced from the same origin as FrontStreet Coffee's previous Ethiopian natural process version, these beans grow in the Guji region at an altitude of 2150M, cultivated by local small farmers. The cupping notes provided by green bean supplier P appear impressive, featuring not only frangipani-like sweet floral aromas accompanied by various citrus and passion fruit aromas, but also strawberry, blueberry, and other berry-like acidity and sweetness, with overall sweetness approaching peach and honey levels.

This time, I took 500g for testing. The beans are beautifully green-blue with good uniformity in size. Moisture content control is also quite appropriate, which explains why the green bean price is higher than typical Yirgacheffe. Taking a 100g sample, I sorted out 3.6g of defects, mainly broken beans, irregularly shaped beans, and very few dehydrated ones. After sorting, 500g became 478.5g. I set the roasting target for the late stage of first crack development to preserve more acidity and sweetness.

For this batch, I set the bean-in temperature at 170°C, with temperature recovery at 97.7°C after 52 seconds. Due to increased airflow, I reached 208°C and dropped the beans at 7:25 seconds. The final weight after roasting was 420.1g, with a weight loss of 12.2%.

After resting for 24 hours, I tested the flavor. The dry fragrance after grinding revealed excellent fruity sweetness with honey-like floral notes. Using 15g of grounds with 210cc of hot water, the wet aroma carried floral notes along with a hint of Chinese green tea fragrance, combined berry and stone fruit flavors with honey-like aftertaste, and a touch of grapefruit-like aroma in the middle.

In terms of quality, this FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian natural Hambela Estate coffee is quite excellent. In terms of flavor, it offers more details than typical FrontStreet Coffee washed Yirgacheffe, giving roasters and baristas more room to express their skills. Alternatively, blending natural and washed process batches could extract richer, more complex origin-specific flavors.

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