What are the recommended Ethiopian coffees? Characteristics of Ethiopian coffee beans

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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. The lion symbolizes their nation's power. With a population reaching 102,403,196 in 2016 (ranked 12th globally), Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and one of the few African nations never colonized. Coffee is Ethiopia's most important agricultural product 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 tropical and subtropical climate patterns. Most of the country lies at elevations between 1,500-2,400 meters, with annual rainfall ranging from 500-1,500ml. It is the highest-altitude country in Africa. The coffee produced here possesses unique fruit aromas and fruity acidity, with a strong yet mild character that fascinates many with its intense flavors.

The Origin of Coffee: Ethiopia

According to a 17th-century book titled "The Sleepless Monastery," coffee was accidentally discovered by a shepherd named KALDI while herding sheep 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 became popular worldwide.

KAFFA BUNA

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

The Blessing of Coffee

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

Ethiopian Coffee Beans

Early Ethiopian coffee beans were primarily processed using the natural dry method, resulting in more impurities. Around 1970, the washed processing method was introduced, adding clean and pure flavor layers. However, with the specialty coffee movement's pursuit of unique coffee flavors and improvements in natural drying rack techniques, the ratio of natural to washed processing is now approximately equal. Coffee cultivation is mainly dominated by small farmers, mostly organized into cooperatives for external sales. The rise of specialty coffee in recent years has also gradually increased the Single Farm Project (SFP) system, bringing new opportunities for transformation to the industry, making the future even more promising!

Well-known coffee regions include Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, Harar, and Djimma.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe

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

"Yirgacheffe" has become a synonym for a specific "flavor profile," representing "Yirgacheffe coffee flavor." Therefore, under the ECX trading system, coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region are divided through cupping into: ECX A: representing coffee beans with Yirgacheffe flavor; ECX B: coffee beans without Yirgacheffe flavor. Thus, even if you purchase coffee from Yirgacheffe town, it doesn't necessarily guarantee Yirgacheffe flavor - it depends on whether cupping confirms the presence of "Yirgacheffe coffee flavor." FrontStreet Coffee imports Grade 1 specialty coffee beans with unique Yirgacheffe flavor, 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

Ethiopia's Coffee Grading System

Early Ethiopia's coffee grading system only had G1-G2 grades for washed beans, while natural beans started from G3. However, with improvements in natural processing methods and market demand for grading 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 adopt traditional grading methods to avoid these costs.

In addition to the familiar G1-G5 grading, ECX further classifies G1-G3 grade coffee beans through SCAA cupping scores, dividing these grades into: Q1 (highest grade) and Q2 (second-highest grade) for specialty coffee.

The establishment of the grading system primarily serves to distinguish the proportion of defective beans and cannot evaluate flavor quality. The main flavor assessment still requires evaluation through cupping flavor profiles. The meticulousness in removing defective beans will also affect the quality of a cup of coffee's flavor.

What is the ECX Trading System

ECX stands for Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, which is Ethiopia's commodity exchange. It simplifies the supply chain of local agricultural products through government mechanisms, ensuring protection for both buyers and sellers, while making commodities more international and transparent. This allows farmers to receive reasonable selling prices without suffering from multi-layer exploitation.

This measure has positively helped most agricultural products and coffee farmers. However, for the third wave of specialty coffee, which emphasizes regional traceability and unique flavor characteristics, this collective sales and grading method makes it difficult to trace the origins of coffee. Therefore, many cooperatives or single farms now bypass ECX and adopt self-sales methods to enhance and differentiate their regional flavors, which will be a new trend for the future.

The Anticipated Coffee Wave

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

Ethiopian Coffee Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin Ethiopian coffee beans - such as Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffee - offer full guarantees in both brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various equipment. More importantly, they offer excellent value for money, with a half-pound (227g) bag priced at only around 70-90 yuan. Calculated at 200ml per cup with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, one bag can produce 15 cups of specialty coffee, with each cup costing only 5-6 yuan.

Related recommendations: Flavor characteristics of Ethiopian coffee producing regions _ Ethiopian Yirgacheffe specialty coffee

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