2018 Ethiopia Coffee Bean Recommendations_Ethiopia Coffee Bean Description_Ethiopia Coffee Bean Price

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Descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Ethiopians proudly claim descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, with the lion symbolizing their nation's power. The country's population reached 102,403,196 in 2016 (ranking 12th globally), making it the most populous landlocked country in the world. It is also one of the few African nations never colonized. Coffee is Ethiopia's most important agricultural crop and primary source of foreign exchange, equivalent to the nation's currency. One-fifth of the population depends on coffee for their livelihood, making it one of the world's top five coffee-producing regions.

Geographically located south of the Tropic of Cancer (between 5° and 15° north latitude), close to the equator, Ethiopia features a tropical and subtropical climate. Most of the country lies at elevations between 1,500-2,400 meters, with annual rainfall of 500-1,500 milliliters, making it the highest-altitude country in Africa. The coffee produced here possesses unique fruity aromas and acidity, with strong yet gentle aftertaste that has captivated many with its intense flavors.

The Origin of Coffee: Ethiopia

According to legends recorded in a 17th-century work titled "The Sleepless Monastery," coffee was accidentally discovered by a shepherd named Kaldi while herding his flock in the forests of the Ethiopian highlands. Local monks consumed coffee fruits to stay awake during all-night religious ceremonies. Later, through Arab consumption and trade, coffee spread throughout the world.

KAFFA BUNA

Ethiopia can be called the homeland of coffee, where the red coffee fruit is locally known as "KAFFA BUNA." Today, the forests of KAFFA still contain many wild native coffee varieties, making it a globally important coffee gene bank. The main cultivation method follows a village coffee pattern, commonly seeing coffee trees growing alongside other tree species and crops around small farmers' homes.

Coffee of Blessing

For centuries, coffee has been the primary beverage in Ethiopian daily life, forming a coffee-sharing ceremony to welcome guests and express hospitality and respect. In this ceremony, everyone must accept the invitation to drink three cups, because one, two, and three represent friendship (ABOLE-BERKE-SUSTGA). The third cup particularly represents bestowed blessings—a cup that is blessed (BEREKHA).

Ethiopian Coffee Beans

Early Ethiopian coffee beans were primarily processed using natural dry methods, resulting in more impurities. Around 1970, washed processing methods were introduced, adding clean and pure flavor layers. However, with the specialty coffee movement's pursuit of unique individual coffee flavors and advancements in natural drying rack techniques, the ratio of natural to washed processing is now approximately equal. Coffee cultivation is dominated by small farmers, mostly selling cooperatively. In recent years, the rise of specialty coffee has gradually increased Single Farm Projects (SFP), bringing new transformation opportunities to the industry and creating anticipation for the future!

More renowned regions include Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, Harar, and Djimma.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe

When discussing Ethiopian coffee, Yirgacheffe is the most familiar name to many. Due to its unique floral aromas and distinct fruity sweet and sour flavors, Yirgacheffe became independent from the Sidamo region in 1995. The officially recognized "Yirgacheffe" encompasses areas including Wanago, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, and Galena Abaya. Coffee produced in these regions is collectively called Yirgacheffe.

However, "Yirgacheffe" has become synonymous with a "flavor profile," representing "Yirgacheffe coffee flavor." Therefore, under the ECX trading system, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region are classified through cupping into: ECX A: representing coffee beans with Yirgacheffe flavor characteristics; ECX B: coffee beans without Yirgacheffe flavor characteristics. Thus, even if you purchase coffee from Yirgacheffe town, it doesn't necessarily mean it has Yirgacheffe flavor characteristics—it must also pass cupping to confirm "Yirgacheffe coffee flavor." FrontStreet Coffee imports G1 grade specialty coffee beans with unique Yirgacheffe flavor characteristics, worthy of your careful appreciation:

• Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Aricha-Edido-Grade 1
• Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Wanago-Grade 1
• Ethiopia Natural Sidamo Chuchu-Solomon Getu-Grade 1

Ethiopian Coffee Grading System

Early Ethiopian coffee grading systems only had G1-G2 grades for washed beans, with natural beans starting from G3. However, with advancements in natural processing methods and market demand for graded natural specialty beans, after implementing the ECX trading system, both natural and washed beans now have G1-G5 grades. But because higher grades incur higher export taxes, many traders still use traditional grading methods to avoid these costs.

In addition to the familiar G1-G5 grading, ECX further categorizes G1-G3 grade coffee beans by SCAA cupping scores, dividing them into: Q1 (highest grade) and Q2 (second-highest grade) - both classified as SPECIALTY COFFEE.

The grading system primarily distinguishes the proportion of defective beans and cannot evaluate flavor quality. Flavor quality assessment still requires cupping to evaluate flavor profiles. The meticulousness in removing defective beans will also affect the quality of a cup of coffee.

What is the ECX Trading System?

ECX stands for Ethiopian Commodity Exchange. Through government mechanisms, it simplifies the local agricultural product supply chain, ensuring protection for both buyers and sellers, while internationalizing and transparentizing commodities, allowing farmers to receive reasonable selling prices without multi-layered exploitation.

This initiative has provided positive assistance for most agricultural products and coffee farmers. However, for the third-wave specialty coffee movement that emphasizes regional traceability and unique flavor characteristics, this collective sales and grading method makes it impossible to track regional sources. Therefore, many cooperatives or single farms now bypass ECX and adopt direct sales methods to enhance and distinguish their regional flavors—this will be a new trend for the future.

More official ECX information: HTTP://WWW.ECX.COM.ET/

An Anticipated Coffee Wave

Ethiopian coffee can be considered an essential introduction to coffee. Under the future specialty coffee wave, the emergence of more diverse regional styles will be something to look forward to!

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin Ethiopian coffee beans—such as Yirgacheffe and Sidamo—offer full guarantees in both brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various equipment. More importantly, they offer exceptional value-for-money. A half-pound (227-gram) bag costs only around 70-90 RMB. Calculating at 200ml per cup with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, one package can produce 15 cups of specialty coffee, with each cup costing only 5-6 RMB. Compared to café prices that often reach dozens of RMB per cup, this represents extremely high value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473