How to Enjoy Limu Washed Local Heirloom Coffee? What Coffee Regions Does Ethiopia Have?

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Ethiopian Coffee Growing Regions

Ethiopian coffee mainly comes from eight major growing regions: Lekempti, Limu, Illubabor, Djimmah, Harar, Teppi/Bebeka, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe.

Ethiopian coffee is highly regarded domestically, especially the Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions, which are of particular interest and beloved by Chinese coffee enthusiasts. The Sidama province is located in southern Ethiopia, bordering Arsi province to the north, extending to connect with Bale province to the east, and the Gamu Gofa provincial administrative region to the west.

Limu Region Characteristics

Generally, the Limu region primarily produces washed coffee beans, with a flavor profile that is somewhat milder than Sidamo region coffees, often featuring distinctive citrus notes. While not as famous as coffees from the Sidamo or Yirgacheffe regions, Limu also produces many coffee beans with unique flavor characteristics.

Heirloom Varieties

Those who frequently drink Ethiopian coffee should have heard of the "Heirloom" variety. Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way because Ethiopia has an incredibly diverse range of varieties—it's like a natural gene bank for Arabica coffee. On one hand, the sheer number of varieties makes identification and classification difficult, and on the other hand, the Ethiopian government,出于保护考虑，is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties, hence they are collectively called "Heirloom" varieties.

Ethiopia has nearly 2,000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So in terms of variety alone, Ethiopia's coffee varieties are a "grand garden" with everything imaginable—long, short, thin, fat...

Limu Coffee Production

Even without the fame of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, Limu still produces amazing coffee. Most producers in this region are small farmers, but there are also some large government-owned estates.

In western Ethiopia, "Limu" represents washed coffee, while "Djimmah" represents the natural process.

Growing Region Details

Altitude: 1,400-2,200m

Harvest: November-January

Varieties: Heirloom

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing method: pour-over.

V60 dripper, 15g of coffee, water temperature 89°C, Fuji grinder setting 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15.

30g of water for bloom, bloom time 30s.分段：Pour water to 130g, then stop. Wait for the water level to drop by 1/3, then pour water again to 230g.

When brewing Limu coffee, it's important to master the brewing water temperature and time, otherwise it's easy to over-extract and develop unpleasant flavors.