Introduction to Harar Coffee Growing Region_Analysis of Harar Green Coffee Beans and Roasting Experience Sharing

The Legendary Harar Coffee

For more than 20 years, Harar has been little more than a long-faded memory in people's minds, a legend and an eternal imprint that perhaps could never be reproduced. At one time, the unique blueberry flavor of sun-dried Harar coffee made all other coffees pale in comparison, and it was deeply loved in the 1980s and 1990s. Harar was a treasure for coffee adventurers: so mysterious, so extraordinary, so difficult to describe that you have to taste it yourself to understand. Unquestionably, it was the most impressive coffee of its time, opening many people's eyes and drawing them through the door of specialty coffee.

Harar: The Historic Trade Center

Harar is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia, an ancient trading center and an important Islamic holy site (at its cultural peak in the 15th and 16th centuries), connecting East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is certain that this was the city where people from outside the African continent, including the Islamic Sufi elder Dhabhani, who spread coffee to Yemen, first tasted coffee.

Harar's location is too far east, still some distance from the Kingdom of Kaffa, the origin of coffee in the west, so it is unlikely to be the birthplace of coffee. Harar's geographical position and its importance as an economic and cultural center nonetheless gave it a prominent place in the earliest coffee transportation and trade, infusing coffee with historical solemnity.

Harar Green Bean Analysis

This is a peculiar green coffee bean. Its aroma profile, with sun-dried coffee cherries and sweet grain notes, is not uncommon among selected Ethiopian sun-dried coffees. Some slight color inconsistencies earned it a grading of Grade 4, a low grade among sun-dried specialty coffees. Quakers will appear during roasting. The beans are small and long, with stable water activity, relatively dry, and, surprisingly, low density. It will not be an easy bean to roast, but it is worth trying.

Traditional Ethiopian Processing

Drying the entire coffee cherry is the traditional Ethiopian processing method. Whether you call it sun-dried, dry processing, fruit drying, or cherry drying, this "zero processing" method after harvest can be traced back to Ethiopia. Today, coffee farmers around the world still process coffee like making raisins, and this too originated here. Throughout Ethiopia, it remains common for small farmers to dry their harvests on porches or lawns.

Harar Coffee Roasting Analysis

Want to take on the challenge? This batch is special, and at first I was not sure how to roast it. My first step included two roast operations using the Ikawa roaster. Jen's roast result was very successful, while my own was more complicated. You can download both roast profiles and try them yourself. Jen's curve has a gentle slope and a soft landing at first crack, ending at 405°F, 5:15 minutes. Chris's curve starts with a lower charge temperature, more dramatic fan-speed changes, passes through the Maillard reaction, and ends with extremely high fan speed and a high temperature of 425°F.

The first crack of that curve appears very late, close to when Jen's roast ended. Jen's roasted Harar cups with a berry-jam flavor, along with a yeast-like taste due to insufficient development of post-crack caramelization (PCD). My roasted Harar has more delicate flavors, with herbal and stone-fruit notes.

After the Ikawa experience, I continued with the Probatino roaster, reminding myself to handle it gently (because of the beans' low density) and to allow enough time after first crack to avoid the bread-like taste of underdevelopment.

In the first roasting process, I proceeded slowly with a low charge temperature, increased the heat before the Maillard reaction, slightly raised the temperature before first crack, and adopted Scott Rao's method of slowing the rate of rise. As expected, first crack appeared late, and I then continued for more than 2 minutes before terminating the roast. This is a dark roast method, in which dried berries and chocolate flavors can be tasted in the cup.

In the second roast, I increased the charge temperature to dehydrate the coffee and enter the Maillard reaction. I noticed that the rate of rise (RoR) in the early stages of the Maillard reaction was gradually decreasing, so I increased the heat and then reduced it before first crack, hoping to achieve a lighter roast while obtaining considerable PCD (post-crack caramelization). The cupping results showed obvious canned peach, sweet fruity wine, and dried grain flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the wild, natural-dried heritage Harar belongs to, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Ethiopian lineup is the place to start. The most traditional and original post-harvest method, natural processing is used across all Ethiopian regions, and it is what shapes the wilder, sweeter side of the country's coffee.

FrontStreet's Flower Queen comes from the Hambella area of Guji and uses traditional natural processing. To prevent mold and off-flavors, workers dry the ripe cherries on raised beds for 21 days, turning them constantly for even drying and hand-sorting out defective and moldy beans every three to five days, then hulling once the skins have dried hard and hand-sorting once more for a perfect cup. Because the fruit and skin stay on throughout drying, a medium-light roast brings out a gentle fermented wine aroma, florals, citrus, and mango, with a much richer, more complex body, honeyed sweetness, a cocoa note with a little spice, a thick texture, and a long finish.

For a different natural expression, FrontStreet's Hama Xiu 74158, from the same Sidamo region, comes from the Hama Xiu processing station, a regular on Ethiopian green-bean competition winner lists, which relies mainly on disease-resistant 74-series varieties released by the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center). The 74158 has smaller bean size and prominent floral-fruit aroma: an enticing scent reminiscent of perfume lemon, strawberry, and starfruit, leading into clear strawberry, starfruit, and green grape sweetness, with a light floral note gradually emerging.

And for a forest-grown contrast, FrontStreet's Kafa Forest coffee differs from the backyard garden model, with trees grown in shaded conditions at 1,400-2,100 meters; the untouched ecology, microclimate, red soil, and abundant rainfall give the trees an excellent environment. Roasted medium-light, it shows an obvious white floral after grinding, bright lemon acidity on entry, sweet orange and bergamot, and a finish of light melon and nut with a green-tea-like body.