What are the best African coffee brands? How to drink African coffee? Which African coffee beans are famous?

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African Coffee: The Birthplace of Coffee

When thinking of Africa, most people immediately think of Ethiopia. Ethiopia can be said to be the birthplace of coffee. African coffee has always been popular worldwide for its rich berry flavors and bright lemon aromatics.

Many of the world's finest African coffee beans come from eastern Ethiopia and Kenya to Rwanda, where high-quality Arabica coffee beans are grown, to West African countries including Senegal and Cameroon, where most Robusta coffee beans are cultivated. We will briefly introduce some regions in this article: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi. Although it's fair to say that coffee beans from Africa are widely grown throughout the continent and even grow wild in many regions.

Flavor Characteristics: Captivating Fruit Acidity

As the birthplace of coffee, African coffee holds a pivotal position in the entire coffee industry. Although commercial coffee cultivation has been developing globally for hundreds of years, Africa's countless wild coffee varieties remain the greatest treasure in the hearts of coffee researchers today. The general characteristics of African coffee include rich aromas and captivating fruit acidity, with bright and lively acidity that is refreshing. However, African coffee often has a slightly thin body and less prominent sweetness. Due to drought and water scarcity, African coffee mostly uses natural processing methods, resulting in uneven bean appearance and higher defect rates.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has three main regions that produce African coffee beans: Harrar, Ghimbi, and Sidamo, or Yirgacheffe. Harrar beans come from small farms and are processed using dry methods. They are labeled as "longberry" for large beans and "shortberry" for small ones or Mocha (peaberry size).

Coffee Cultivation in Ethiopia

Due to administrative region changes around 1995, the biggest impact on coffee regions was that the original Sidamo province was divided into the new Sidama (occupying a small portion) and most was incorporated into the Oromia region. Additionally, Yirgacheffe, which originally belonged to Sidamo province, is now part of the new Gedeo zone. In the market, you might find mixed naming conventions using both old and new region names. Here we will use the new regional divisions to understand Ethiopia's coffee cultivation map.

Ethiopia's coffee cultivation is mainly concentrated in the western and southern regions, with smallholder families accounting for 90% of total cultivation. Nearly 1.2 million smallholder families rely on coffee cultivation for their livelihood. Each household's cultivation area is less than 4 hectares, with an average altitude between 1000-2300 meters. Planting density ranges from 1000-1800 coffee trees per hectare, yielding approximately 600kg per hectare.

Ethiopia's coffee cultivation is divided by scale and mode:

• Forest Coffee (8-10%): Coffee trees coexist with other crops in original forests without any artificial management. Farmers regularly harvest coffee cherries.
• Semi-Forest Coffee (30-35%): Coffee tree cultivation areas are between forests and farmers' living areas. Coffee trees are the same natural varieties as forest coffee, and farmers manage the coffee tree cultivation areas and plant other cash crops.
• Garden Coffee (50-55%): Coffee trees are planted around farmers' living areas and mostly self-cultivated by farmers.
• Plantation Coffee (5-6%): Large private growers with more processing facilities and production capacity.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

Ethiopia has nearly 2000 recorded coffee varieties (including 1927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties).

In terms of appearance, Ethiopian coffee varieties are like a "grand view garden" - you can find everything: long, short, thin, fat...

Complete Genealogy of Ethiopian Native Varieties

Long-shaped beans: Found throughout Ethiopian coffee cultivation areas. From actual observed proportions, western Jimma, including Limmu and Kaffa, has more long-shaped varieties, while they are less common in Sidama or Yirgacheffe.

Small-bean varieties: More rounded in appearance, very small beans, mostly between 14-15 mesh. This variety should be the most familiar to us, often seen in Sidama and Yirgacheffe. I've also seen them in a Harrar sample and in green coffee sold locally in Jimma. Compared to other regions, Sidama, Yirgacheffe, and surrounding Arsi and Guji have more cultivation of these small-bean native varieties.

Processing Methods

Ethiopian coffee processing methods include:

• Natural Processing: The most traditional processing method. The Harrar region is particularly dry without water conditions for washing, so all production is natural processed. Other regions like Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Guji, and Jimma also produce natural processed coffee.
• Washed Processing: Requires higher standards for processing equipment, water resources, and processing plant environments compared to natural processing, but can more stably produce high-quality coffee in volume. All producing regions except Harrar have washed processing methods.
• Honey Processing: In recent years, items labeled as Kochere honey processed have gradually appeared on the market - this remains questionable for now.

Flavor Characteristics

• Washed: Citrus fruits like lemon, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, and sweet pomelo. Flavor intensity ranges from obvious citrus fruit (peel) aromas to varying degrees of fruit acidity, from soft small tangerines to medium-strength oranges, to refreshing lemon and grapefruit acidity.
• Natural: Ripe yellow, red, and black fruit aromas like apricot, peach, cherry, strawberry, cranberry (dry), blueberry (dry), plum, etc., accompanied by varying degrees of wine-like aromas reminiscent of rum, whiskey, and even red wine (Beaujolais).

Ethiopian Coffee Grades

Ethiopian coffee grade definitions are quite complex.

First, under the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, there is a department called the Cupping and Liquoring Unit (CLU) specifically responsible for quality approval of exported coffee, which includes the very important responsibility of grade definition. The CLU existed before the ECX appeared.

Before the ECX appeared, washed coffee for export was divided into grades G1 and G2. For natural processed coffee, export grades were G3, G4, G5, meaning the highest grade for natural processed was G3.

After the ECX appeared, grading was redefined. The names for washed grades remained unchanged, but for natural processed, G1 appeared for the first time. This is why the market now has Ethiopian natural processed G1 and G2, while G3 is gradually becoming less common.

Ethiopia's Nine Premium Coffee Regions

Yirgacheffe (Premium Region): Altitude 1,800-2,000m | Garden Coffee System

Yirgacheffe is subordinate to the Sidamo region but was separated due to its unique flavor. Besides the town of Yirgacheffe, it also includes three surrounding sub-regions: Wenago, Kochere, and Gelena/Abaya. Therefore, in the new Yirgacheffe grading system, Yirgacheffe A, Wenago A, Kochere A, and Gelena/Abaya A are more expensive than their B counterparts. Besides washed and natural, semi-washed Yirgacheffe has recently been introduced and is worth trying.

Sidamo (Premium Region): Altitude 1,400-2,200m | Garden Coffee System

Flavor similar to Yirgacheffe, refined washed or natural Sidamo equally has floral and citrus aromas, with quality comparable to Yirgacheffe. The varieties in these two regions are similar, with medium-sized beans but also dwarf small-bean varieties that farmers often sell separately. Common Kurmie has poor disease resistance; Wolisho is tall and robust; Deiga is medium-sized - these three types are the main varieties in the premium natural processed series of Biroya and Arisha.

Limmu (Premium Region): Altitude 1,200-2,000m | Garden, Forest, Semi-Forest, Plantation Coffee Systems

Lower production, mainly exported to European and American markets, not easily available in Taiwan but very popular in Europe and America. Three processing methods: washed, natural, and semi-washed. Limmu has significantly lower body viscosity, and floral and citrus flavors are inferior to Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, but it has a grassy aroma and brown sugar fragrance with bright fruit acidity.

Harrar (Premium Region): Altitude 1,500-2,400m | Garden Coffee System

Harrar exclusively uses natural processing. It's an eastern ancient city, but coffee is not grown in the urban area. The so-called Harrar coffee refers to coffee produced in the Harrar Highlands of the greater Harrar region. With annual rainfall of only 1,000mm, all coffee uses natural processing. In terms of flavor, Harrar coffee is famous for its special "mixed aromas," typical of ancient early flavors, ranking alongside Yirgacheffe as "twin stars."

If Harrar's defective beans can be sorted cleanly, it's easy to detect berry aromas with a pleasant fermented mixed aroma. However, due to various factors, Harrar coffee quality has been unstable in recent years, and the grading system is unreliable, so cupping or trial tasting is essential when purchasing.

Jimma (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1,350-1,850m | Forest/Semi-Forest System

Jimma is the capital of the Kaffa forest or Kaffa province. The English spelling is quite inconsistent - mostly "Jimma" on maps but "Djimmah" on coffee burlap bags. This is Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, accounting for 1/3 of exports.

The Kaffa forest is famous for original wild varieties. Jimma is the distribution center for Kaffa in this region. Farmers habitually transport forest-harvested coffee to Jimma, mixing hundreds or thousands of varieties together for sale as commercial beans, causing many delicious varieties' flavors to be masked.

Washed premium Jimma, while lacking Yirgacheffe's citrus aroma and floral notes, has a quite clean and transparent flavor profile similar to Central American premium coffee. Commercial-grade premium Jimma is common in Taiwan, and with luck, you can buy high-quality, reasonably priced Jimma with clear lemon peel aroma that doesn't pale compared to Sidamo. Overall, Jimma has better flavor than Brazilian commercial Santos, making it a good mid-to-low price blending bean.

Illubabor (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1,350-1,850m | Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

This region is located in western Ethiopia, bordering Sudan, and is the westernmost producing region. Coffee genetic complexity is second only to the Kaffa forest. Beans are significantly larger than Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, with lower fruit acidity, good viscosity, and balanced flavor. Most coffee from here is transported to Jimma for mixing, rarely sold independently.

Gimbi, Lekempti (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 1,500-1,800m | Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

This region has both natural and washed beans, similar to Harrar's long-shaped beans, with small amounts of premium grade quite popular in Europe and America. Most are known as "poor man's Harrar," with fruit acidity and fruit flavors inferior to Illubabor but bright flavor profiles.

Tepi, Bebeka (Commercial Bean Region): Altitude 500-1,900m | Garden/Forest/Semi-Forest Coffee System

These two regions are very close, with Tepi north of Bebeka. There are enterprise-managed coffee plantations, and recent years have seen promotion of garden systems to increase farmer income. Annual production is about 3,000 tons. Both areas have wild coffee with low production and flavors distinctly different from Harrar and Yirgacheffe. Low fruit acidity is the biggest characteristic, making it suitable for blending beans. Both natural and washed processing are available.

Lake Tana Shore (Alternative Region): Altitude 1,840m | Forest System

Monastery coffee, with very low annual production of surrounding forest coffee - less than 10 tons. It can hardly be called a producing region. The area's numerous Eastern Orthodox monasteries, churches, religious murals, and myths create the world's most "divine" coffee.

European monks established the local coffee cultivation industry, later managed by coffee communities or cooperatives in villages surrounding the town. There are no dedicated plantations here - coffee trees naturally scatter in forests and gardens. During harvest season, the Ethiopian Coffee Trading Corporation comes to town to purchase coffee beans collected by farmers.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Gedeb Coffee

Representative Coffee: Yirgacheffe Gedeb Coffee

Roasting Recommendations

This Gedeb bean is quite suitable for light to medium roasting, which highlights Gedeb's clean taste and bright fruit acidity with obvious sweet aftertaste.

Machine: Yangjia 800N Roaster

Bean entry temperature: 180°C

Yellowing point: 5'00", 149.9°C

First crack: 8'42", 183.8°C

Developed 1'48" after first crack, discharged at 193.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Roasting Record

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Demonstration

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Medium-fine grind

Brewing Recommendations

30g bloom for 30 seconds, 30g—125g—225g

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, when pouring in small circular streams to 124g, segment, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g, stop pouring, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".

Flavor Description

Entry shows citrus and black tea, with cream, caramel, and almond notes as temperature changes, with obvious sweet aftertaste and clean, sweet taste.

Burundi: Heart of Africa

Burundi is located in east-central Africa, south of the equator. It borders Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, Congo (DRC) to the west, and Lake Tanganyika to the southwest. The territory consists mainly of plateaus and mountains, mostly formed by the eastern side of the East African Rift Valley highlands. The national average altitude is 1600 meters, earning it the name "Land of Mountains." More than half of the country sits on the famous Lake Tanganyika. The capital is Bujumbura. The western lakeside and valley areas and eastern parts have a tropical savanna climate; the central-western region has a tropical mountain climate. Annual average temperature is 20-24°C, reaching up to 33°C at maximum. March-May is the heavy rainy season, October-December is the light rainy season, and other months are dry season.

Burundi has one of the world's most diverse and successful coffee industries, with its own unique characteristics. Coffee was introduced to the country in 1930 by Belgian colonists and is now grown only on small farms. Unfortunately, many of these farms are located in areas bordering war-torn Rwanda, which puts pressure on coffee production. Almost all coffee produced in Burundi is Arabica, with Ngozi's coffee trees planted at altitudes above 1200 meters. Burundi coffee is aromatic and rich with excellent acidity, mostly exported to the United States, Germany, Finland, and Japan.

Burundi coffee bears striking similarities to its neighbor Rwanda, and coffees from these two countries are often confused. Burundi's coffee cultivation is mainly Bourbon, using traditional washed processing for coffee cherries. The main characteristics of its premium coffee are elegant sweetness and bright citrus aromatics.

FrontStreet Coffee Burundi Heart of Africa Coffee Beans

Representative Coffee: Burundi Rutana Washed Bourbon

Grind size: Medium-fine grind

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Brewing Recommendations

30g bloom for 30 seconds, 30g—125g—225g

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, when pouring in small circular streams to 124g, segment, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g, stop pouring, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".

Flavor Description: Fresh kumquat and lemon aromas, with subtle sweetness of caramel and pudding filling the entire cup. The washed fermentation acidity makes the whole cup very bright.

Kenya: Small Cooperatives

Kenyan coffee has distinct acidity, sweetness, and dry wine-like aftertaste. Its best quality is blackcurrant flavor and aroma. Auctions are held every Tuesday during harvest season in Nairobi, leading to price wars for the best crops.

Kenya's 6 Major Regions

Embu and Meru

Most people's favorite bright acidity and rich mouthfeel are found here, plus it's not far from Nairobi, so many foreign buyers visit during the harvest season.

Nyeri

Bright blackberry with rich body, plus citrus and even floral aromatics. Premium beans from here are also a major contributor to Kenya's international fame.

Kirinyaga

The flavor here is also bright fruit acidity, with medium body and delicate sweetness.

Embu Region

The acidity here isn't as strong as Nyeri's, with balanced and clear flavors, mostly with good aftertaste.

Machakos Region

This region has rising potential, known for clear fruit acidity and delicate flavors, medium body, and delicate, fresh aftertaste, attracting many buyers in recent years.

Western Region

Its flavor differs significantly from central regions, attracting buyers with moderately rich sweetness and milder flavors. Some washing stations in this region with hazelnut and mild fruit flavors are also favored by buyers who don't like bright acidity.

Most are produced by small cooperatives rather than large estates, processed using wet methods and graded by bean size. Kenyan coffee is acidic (with distinct flavor notes) and makes the taste brighter. Depending on which farm it comes from, it has berry or citrus flavors, sometimes alternating with spices. Some are bright and clean, while others have wine-like tastes.

Kenya produces a disease-resistant hybrid called Ruiru 11, but it lacks some of the best flavor characteristics of traditional coffee and is considered lower grade. They are still developing this bean, hoping it can taste as good as natural varieties.

Malawi is a small country in southeastern Africa between Mozambique and Zambia. Its coffee is smooth and full-bodied, a real mouthfeel experience. It rarely reaches the Western Hemisphere, so if you see some, you should seize the opportunity to taste it. You'll find it's a softer, more floral, sweet, delicate, and bright version of the East African style.

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Assalia Coffee

Recommended Coffee: Kenya Assalia

Brewing Parameters

Recommended method: V60 dripper

Water temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind: Medium-fine grind

Brewing Technique

Segmented extraction, 30g water bloom for 30 seconds, when pouring in small circular streams from center to 125g, segment. When water level drops, continue pouring to 225g. Extraction time approximately 2 minutes.

Flavor Description: Wet aroma has ripe tomato and floral notes. Entry shows cherry tomato and preserved plum flavors. Bright acidity, clean taste, medium body, prominent mid-palate sweetness with juice-like mouthfeel. Aftertaste has berry aromas and brown sugar sweetness, with green tea aromatics.

Rwanda: Land of a Thousand Hills

Rwanda has five major coffee-producing regions, and coffees from these five regions have slight differences in aroma and taste. Rwandan coffee tends to be acidic but leaves an endless aftertaste. "Good coffee is like Chinese tea - you feel the sweetness only after drinking." Well-known coffee chain Starbucks also sources some of its beans from Rwanda.

Coffee Cultivation in Rwanda

Rwanda is known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills," with mountains and plateaus throughout. Most regions have a tropical highland climate and tropical savanna climate, mild and cool. There are approximately 33,000 hectares of coffee plantations, with 500,000 people engaged in coffee cultivation. Rwanda is one of the few countries in the world that can fully enjoy the harmony between soil, altitude, and climate. Rwanda has unique conditions for growing Arabica coffee: fertile volcanic soil, abundant rainfall, and suitable temperatures year-round, all of which make our coffee taste distinctive.

The beautiful Land of a Thousand Hills, Rwanda, has a long and rich culture of growing highland coffee, mainly focusing on high-quality Arabica coffee. Rwanda's specialty coffee accounts for 20% of total coffee production and is very popular in international markets. In this unique growing environment, Rwanda's high-quality coffee has distinctive taste and aroma.

According to the Rwanda Coffee Board's marketing and promotion officer Karuritwa, Rwanda plans to export 3,000 tons of coffee this year to further increase coffee production to meet growing market demand. The world's largest coffee beverage retail company Starbucks has also partnered with the Rwandan government to import Rwandan coffee, just as on Rwandan coffee's trademark, a coffee-colored dove flies from a coffee cup, against the backdrop of "Cup of Hope."

Rwandan coffee is described as having "grass aromatics" with tropical climate characteristics. Besides fruit sweetness, it also offers refreshing, clear, and fresh sensations. Rwanda's Bourbon coffee is amazing for its fruit sweetness, with rich and full aroma, absolutely no astringency, leaving a long aftertaste. This coffee has delicious citrus-like sweetness, deep chocolate color, red apple, cherry, cinnamon and honey, quality sweetness and balance, cinnamon, almond, and chocolate aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Rwanda Western Province Mushonyi Washed Bourbon

Representative Coffee: Rwanda Western Province Mushonyi Washed Bourbon

Grind size: Medium-fine grind

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Brewing Recommendations

30g bloom for 30 seconds, 30g—125g—225g

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, when pouring in small circular streams to 124g, segment, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g, stop pouring, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".

Flavor Description: Red apple, cherry, cinnamon and honey, quality sweetness and balance, cinnamon, almond, and chocolate aftertaste.

Tanzania: Mount Kilimanjaro

In Tanzania, coffee is called "kahawa." Tanzania is a typical East African country, bordering Kenya and Uganda to the north, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to the south, and Rwanda and Burundi to the west. Coffee history here is quite long, with considerable cultivation area totaling about 250,000 hectares.

Although not as famous as Kenyan beans, its annual production is nearly equal to Kenya's at 50,000 tons. The earliest Arabica seeds were introduced from Réunion (French island) and planted in Bayamoyo and Mogoro regions. In 1893, beans planted on Mount Kilimanjaro slopes became the most successful coffee beans. Other varieties were gradually introduced from neighboring Burundi in the 1950s and planted in western Tanzania. Currently, 75% are mainly planted in high-altitude areas, while local wild coffee continues to appear.

Unlike most African producing countries, Tanzanian coffee bags are not the common jute bags but rough fiber bags made from agave leaves. This is because the local government banned jute bags to protect Tanzania's sisal industry.

Cultivated Varieties

The most commonly planted coffee varieties in Tanzania are Bourbon, Typica, and Kent.

Bourbon

Generally, when we talk about Bourbon varieties, we mostly mean Red Bourbon. Because Red Bourbon coffee trees, after flowering and fruiting, the coffee fruit's color changes from: green → light yellow → light orange → mature red → darker red when fully ripe, so it's also called "Red Bourbon." Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma, brighter acidity, and even wine-like flavors.

Typica

Excellent flavor performance, recognized as a premium coffee variety, but with very low yield and susceptible to rust disease, requiring more human management. Typica coffee originates from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan, and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere. Plants are relatively robust but not tolerant of strong light. Typica's top leaves are copper-colored, called red-topped coffee.

Kent

A Typica hybrid discovered in 1911 at Kent Coffee Plantation in the Mysore region of India, a hybrid of S288 and Typica, with high yield and rust-resistant characteristics. Coffee aroma is richer than Bourbon varieties and was introduced to Kenya, Indonesia, and other New World producing countries with outstanding contributions.

Processing Methods

Tanzania green beans are mainly washed processed.

Washed processing is currently the most widely used processing method, using water washing and fermentation to remove fruit pulp and mucilage.

Washed processing: Bean selection → pulp removal → fermentation → washing → drying → hulling → sorting and grading.

Grading

Tanzania's grading system is similar to Kenya's, based on bean size and flavor. Bean sizes in order are:

AA Plus (AA+) - Cup quality (flavor, mouthfeel) particularly excellent AA grade
AA - Screen size 17-18
AB - Screen size 15-16, accounting for most production
C - Smaller than AB
TT - Lighter weight beans blown from AA and AB grades using air screeners
T - Lighter weight beans blown from C grade using air screeners
E - Elephant Bean (two beans combined into one large mutation), also called elephant ear
UG - Those not meeting above standards
PB - Peaberry (classified by shape, unrelated to flavor or weight)

Flavor grades in order are: TOP, PLUS, FAQ

FAQ - "Fair to Average Quality" will have some slight defective beans but doesn't affect flavor.

Coffee Taste Profile:

Tanzania is a typical East African country, bordering Kenya and Uganda to the north, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to the south, and Rwanda and Burundi to the west. Many people like to compare Tanzanian coffee with its neighbor Kenya. Compared to Kenya's premium coffee beans, Tanzanian coffee has less bright acidity, showing softer and gentler beauty, with more sweet aroma, and rich wine aroma is also a characteristic of Tanzania.

Mount Kilimanjaro stands in northeastern Tanzania. After World War I, it was under trusteeship and British colonial rule, gaining independence in 1964. Bourbon variety coffee was first introduced for cultivation in 1893. Green bean processing is mainly washed. Good quality high-altitude Tanzanian coffee, like Kenyan coffee, has active bright acidity performance.

Tanzania's northern coffee-producing regions include areas around Mount Kilimanjaro highlands like Moshi and Mbeya, while the south focuses on the Songea-Ruvuma area through which the Ruvuma River flows. Due to different growing terrains, styles vary slightly. Coffee from Tanzania's southwestern Ruvuma region has wine and fruit aromatics, different from coffee near Mount Kilimanjaro in the north.

Mount Kilimanjaro is in northeastern Tanzania and is Tanzania's largest coffee-producing region, accounting for 75%. Generally speaking, Tanzanian coffee beans have exceptional quality. Important producing areas are in the northern mountains near Kenya. Smallholder coffee cultivation accounts for 85%, with local smallholders growing coffee at altitudes between 1300-2000m. Their coffee flavor differs from neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, possessing characteristics of both countries - good body with fruit and floral aromatics, making it worth trying. Coffee belongs to dicotyledonous plants. Generally, a normal coffee cherry fruit contains a pair (two halves) of coffee seeds, which we call coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Displaying Green Beans

Compared to flat beans (pair of flat-sided beans), so-called peaberries, also known as caracol or caracolillo (Spanish for little snail), their production botanically is said to be due to uneven pollination (Arabica coffee is self-pollinating - if a coffee flower has only one ovary, or only one ovary is successfully pollinated, it can only produce one seed), or uneven nutrition during growth (more likely to occur in coffee fruits growing at the ends of coffee tree branches), where nutrients are absorbed by only one cotyledon, with only the cotyledon receiving nutrients continuing to grow into a single small oval egg-shaped coffee seed, hence the name peaberry. Normally, coffee plants produce about 3-5% peaberries, making relatively scarce production. Because their shape and size differ from normal (flat) beans, peaberries are often separately graded and sold through mesh screening.

FrontStreet Coffee Displaying Green Beans

Northern coffee has full aroma, bright acidity, and rich mouthfeel. Thanks to fertile volcanic soil, it has mineral water-like sweetness.

Southern coffee has rich floral aromatics, with smooth taste and elegant fruit acidity.

Coffee growing areas in Africa - Tanzanian coffee comes from the fertile soil of the East African Rift Valley, an outstanding representative of quality coffee from this region. Its refreshing acidity and medium body complement sweet citrus and floral aromatics. This coffee tastes excellent whether hot or as iced coffee. Paired with oranges or berries, it further highlights its bright flavor profile.

FrontStreet Coffee Tanzania Mount Kilimanjaro Washed Bourbon

Representative Coffee: Tanzania Mount Kilimanjaro Washed Bourbon

Grind size: Medium-fine grind

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Brewing Recommendations

30g bloom for 30 seconds, 30g—125g—225g

Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, when pouring in small circular streams to 124g, segment, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 228g, stop pouring, when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".

Flavor Description: Apricot, date, spice, malt chocolate. Using washed processing, it has wine-like acidity similar to Kenyan coffee - soft, pleasant low acidity, round mouthfeel, and medium viscosity. Premium Tanzanian beans, while similar in texture to Kenyan coffee, overall quality can match Kenyan coffee. Besides lingering aftertaste, it has both fruit aroma and acidity, with weaker acidity than Kenyan coffee, making it a milder coffee.

South America: Bolivia

South America is rich in coffee beans, and Bolivia is no exception. Some regions of Bolivia have unique tropical rainforest environments that provide excellent natural conditions for organic coffee growth. Bolivian coffee has rich and unique aromatics. Whether it's the aroma after grinding beans or the aroma of brewed coffee, it's quite prominent and rich, similar to a mix of floral and fruit aromatics that leaves a lasting impression.

Bolivian coffee's advantages lie in high altitude and excellent coffee varieties. Traditional Typica and small amounts of Caturra here are highly rated in world markets. In the past, Bolivian coffee trees were often planted around gardens as hedges for decorative purposes. Real commercial production only began in the early 1950s. The great frost of 1957 seriously damaged Brazil's coffee industry, while Bolivia benefited and developed rapidly. Bolivian coffee is grown at high altitudes of 1800-2670 meters. Its Arabica washed coffee beans are exported to Germany and Sweden, with taste not among the best today and somewhat bitter.

Lake Titicaca is located on the Altiplano plateau at the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is the highest-altitude and largest freshwater lake in South America, one of the world's highest large freshwater lakes, and the world's highest-altitude large lake navigable by ships. It is the third-largest lake in South America (after Lake Maracaibo and Patos Lagoon).

South America is rich in coffee beans, and Bolivia is no exception. Some regions of Bolivia have unique tropical rainforest environments that provide excellent natural conditions for organic coffee growth. Bolivian coffee has rich and unique aromatics. Whether it's the aroma after grinding beans or the aroma of brewed coffee, it's quite prominent and rich, similar to a mix of floral and fruit aromatics that leaves a lasting impression.

Bolivia's premium estates are all at very high altitudes. The year-round low-temperature environment allows coffee fruits to grow more slowly with sufficient density and charming aromas. Floral aromatics are obvious. With careful processing and using consistently ripe cherries, it often has clean, delicate premium taste. This elegant vanilla and honey peach aroma is very attractive. This champion bean's floral aromatics are very diverse, with vanilla and honey sweetness being very persistent.

FrontStreet Coffee barista brewing Bolivian coffee

FrontStreet Coffee Bolivia Washed Typica

Representative Coffee: Bolivia Washed Typica

Grind size: Medium-fine grind

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 87°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Hand-pour Recommendations:

Recommend using 15g of coffee at 87°C water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, medium grind (Fuji Royal ghost tooth burr grinder 3.5-4 setting), V60 dripper. First pour 30g water for 25s bloom, pour to 110g then stop, wait for coffee bed water level to drop to half, then continue pouring slowly until 230g. Don't use the tail section. Extraction time 2:00s.

Flavor Description: Dry aromatics of roasted nuts and almonds. Entry shows smooth fruit acidity of orange and pomelo. Overall has sweet caramel and nutty milk smooth texture. Cleanliness and balance are also quite impressive, with herbal aftertaste quite charming.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop 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