2018 New Season Ethiopian Coffee Recommendation: Sidamo Hambella Flower Queen 2.0

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural - Flower Champion

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Coffee Information

Name: Ethiopian Natural Sidamo G1 Flower Champion

Origin: Africa, Ethiopia

Estate: Guji, Hambella Wamena, Buku Able Estate

Variety: Heirloom (Ethiopian local native varieties)

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Grade: G1

Processing: Natural (African drying beds)

01 | Estate Introduction

How did the Flower Champion get its name?

In 2017, Ethiopia's DW green bean company sent their coffee beans to the TOH (The Taste of Harvest) competition hosted by the African Coffee Association. The natural batch won the TOH Ethiopia championship. This batch of green beans was named "Flower Champion" in honor of its championship status.

Flower Champion is located in Hambella, which is part of Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, Guji, administratively belonging to the Oromia region. Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across mountains to the west, and borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions to the southeast, east, and north respectively. It is Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar is Ethiopia's highest-altitude main coffee-producing region).

Awards

2016/2017 Harvest Season: Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition - Champion

2017 Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition - Runner-up

2018 New Harvest Ethiopian Flower Champion 2.0

FrontStreet Coffee has newly acquired the 2018 harvest season Ethiopian Flower Champion 2.0, from the core Hambella region, a micro-batch from the Mountain Spring processing station.

Currently, there are about 20 processing stations of various scales in the Hambella region. As a coffee green bean company "rooted" in Ethiopia's coffee-producing regions, Hongshun has established four natural processing stations in the GUJI Hambella region through cooperation since 2016. In the 17/18 harvest season, they conducted a series of research on natural processing methods using the region's high-quality coffee varieties. The four estate processing stations in the core Hambella region are: "Dire" Church Station, "Mansa" Pond Station, "Bobea" Red Flag Station, and "Goro Baessa" Mountain Spring Station. Goro Baessa is a small village surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 2280 meters. December is its coffee harvesting season each year, during which the mountains are covered with red, ripe coffee cherries, neatly arranged on African drying beds in the village - this is where "Flower Champion" is processed.

02 | Processing Method

Most coffee estates in Ethiopia remain in their original state, with local coffee farmers venturing into the mountains to harvest. The region features red-brown organic soil, annual rainfall exceeding 1200mm, and significant altitude with day-night temperature differences. Flower Champion only selects fully red, completely mature coffee cherries, all hand-picked.

African rack drying is used, limiting the thickness of the fruit layer and continuously turning at regular intervals 24 hours a day, allowing for low-temperature fermentation in the estate's unique natural environment.

During the harvest processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create Flower Champion's distinctive flavors. We only begin natural processing when the sugar content of the harvested red cherries reaches above 30. In the first two days of natural processing, we ensure the moisture content of the red cherries to allow their fructose to fully begin fermentation reactions. Meanwhile, the high-altitude location allows the processing station's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius, preventing over-fermentation odors due to excessive heat. When temperatures are higher at noon, we promptly provide shade to prevent sun damage to the red cherries.

Flower Champion 2.0, a micro-batch from the Mountain Spring processing station, only begins natural processing when the red cherry sugar content reaches above 21, resulting in considerable sweetness. Combined with low-temperature fermentation for 21 days (general natural processing takes about ten days), this ensures even drying and ventilation, allowing more precise control of fermentation degree.

Compared to last year's local mixed variety "Flower Champion," "Flower Champion 2.0" features more consistent bean shape and cleaner processing. Through cupping evaluation, this year's "Flower Champion" not only maintains rich and enchanting floral aromas, mellow red wine and tropical fruit flavors, but also gains more bright, juice-like acidity.

The entire processing工艺 involves only more refined management under the guidance of scientific measuring instruments, without any "tradition-breaking" improved processes. Natural processing only begins when the red cherry sugar content reaches above 21, resulting in considerable sweetness.

At night, to prevent sudden rainfall, thick plastic sheets are used for wrapping. This allows the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green beans drops to about 13%, the natural processing is stopped. The beans are then packed in burlap bags and stored in warehouses under natural conditions of 12-22 degrees Celsius and 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of bean resting and further dehydration.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

The variety consists of local native varieties, small-grained types, with relatively round appearance. The beans are very small, mostly between 14-15 mesh, smaller than Longberry, with a greenish-yellow color. There is considerable variation in grain size.

04 | Roasting Analysis

How should a roaster handle such excellent beans as Flower Champion, and how should the roasting curve be adjusted?

First, I review the flavor descriptions provided by the green bean supplier, then check the bean moisture content. The freshly received green beans have a fermented wine aroma reminiscent of coffee flowers, completely different from the grassy aroma of typical green beans. Moreover, Flower Champion green beans vary in size and many are pointed at both ends (Ethiopian Heirloom), with good moisture content around 11%. However, they are not the very hard SHB type beans. Due to the beans' high density and hardness, I extend the dehydration time in the early stages, allowing temperature to rise before first crack to minimize the loss of small-molecule aromatic substances like floral notes.

Since I need it for daily production, I chose a 550g batch size (full load) and would like to share my experience:

Bean-in temperature: 190°C

Only by adjusting the drop temperature and development time to modify the curve:

First batch: Yellowing point: 150.3°C at 5 minutes 55 seconds, dropped at 196°C. First crack development 1 minute 40 seconds. First crack at 9'55.

Second batch: Yellowing point: 151°C at 5 minutes 51 seconds, dropped at 193°C. First crack development 1 minute 30 seconds. First crack at 9'50.

Cupping Two Curves:

First roast: The wet aroma has distinct, strong green tea and floral notes. When slurping, there are aromas of green tea, jasmine, lime, and cane sugar. The mouthfeel is light and clean, with soft, fresh acidity. However, the aftertaste is insufficient, with only some sweetness remaining in the mouth. But it's very light to drink, like drinking tea rather than coffee.

Second roast: The wet aroma has yellow lemon, floral, black tea aromas, with distinct citrus tones. When slurping, there are aromas of black tea, yellow lemon, caramel, and jasmine. The flavors begin to become richer and more substantial at this roast level. The initial acidity is more elegant, sweetness is perceived more quickly and is higher, with fermented wine aroma, cream, tropical fruits, and jackfruit - more balanced.

After cupping, the results are as follows:

Finally, curve #2 was determined after cupping - the curve I'm quite satisfied with:

• 190°C bean-in, complete dehydration and yellowing in nearly 6 minutes (Yellow point around 150-153°C)

• First crack begins around 9 minutes 50 seconds (Flower Champion's first crack occurs later than typical beans and the crack sound is weak)

• The development time after first crack should be controlled not to exceed 1 minute 30 seconds, nor be less than 1 minute (It's recommended to open the air damper and reduce heat to control speed)

• When smelling the sample spoon, you can detect strawberry jam aroma around 193°C, at which point you can drop the beans

• Overall time controlled within 11 minutes is optimal

04 | Brewing Analysis

As for brewing methods, pour-over and siphon are the best choices. When grinding, you can smell the overwhelming natural fruit aroma, with noticeable sweetness.

A good cup of coffee is characterized by balanced sweet, sour, and bitter flavors, along with smooth mouthfeel. The design of filter cups is intended to showcase these characteristics of coffee. However, different filter cups present coffee with different styles.

The beans used this time are Flower Champion from the Sidamo Guji region - Flower Champion 2.0, a micro-batch from the Mountain Spring processing station.

I chose a resin V60 filter cup to allow the coffee to have richer acidity changes from hot to cold, making this cup of coffee more refined. The resin material can enhance aroma intensity.

About Grind Size:

For light roasts, we use medium-fine grind.

The coarseness of coffee grind directly affects extraction time and extraction rate. The finer the coffee is ground, the denser the coffee bed, with more coffee particles in contact with hot water, increasing extraction resistance and tending to extend extraction time while raising extraction rate. However, it easily leads to over-extraction.

Conversely, the coarser the coffee is ground, the larger the gaps in the coffee bed, with fewer coffee particles in contact with hot water, reducing extraction resistance and making it less likely to extend extraction time while lowering extraction rate, easily leading to under-extraction. Therefore, the finer the coffee is ground, it extends extraction time and raises extraction rate; the coarser the coffee is ground, it shortens extraction time and lowers extraction rate.

Brewing Parameters:

• Filter cup: Hario V60 transparent resin

• Grind setting: Fuji Rokusuke 3.5

• Water temperature: 90°C

• Pour 25g of water for 30-second bloom, then分段 (segment) when reaching 120g of water, ending brewing at 226g

• Total time: 2 minutes 5 seconds

The aroma is distinctly melon-like with strawberry jam. The entrance brings jackfruit-like gentle acidity, followed by emerging strawberry berry notes in the middle section, along with some cane sugar aftertaste, creating rich layers.

Related recommendations: Introduction and flavor descriptions of several special varieties from Ethiopia's YCFCU cooperative

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473