A Coffee Variety Even Better than Geisha: What Makes 'Huang Kui' Coffee Special and How It Surpasses Geisha

Introduction to Sidamo Coffee

The flavor profile of Sidamo's Flower Queen (Huang Kui) coffee is exceptionally diverse. Different soil compositions, regional microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties have created distinct differences and characteristics in the coffee produced by each town area. The Sidamo region sits in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates the economy and the coffee-growing areas cluster around the Great Rift Valley.

Hambella Region

Hambella is located in Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, Guji, and administratively belongs to the Oromia Regional State. On its western side, Hambella faces the Yirgacheffe Kochore region across the mountains, with a 3,200-meter-high, roughly 30-kilometer-wide highland barrier standing between the two producing areas. To the southeast, east, and north, it borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions respectively. Hambella is Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar being the highest-altitude of the main producing regions).

There are currently nearly 20 processing plants of various sizes in the Hambella region. DW Company runs four estate processing plants in Hambella's core Dimtu area — "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye" — with an annual coffee production of approximately 1,100 tons.

Among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural-process coffee from the "Buku Abel" estate and processing plant may be called "Flower Queen."

Flower Queen Awards

Cupping notes: Passion fruit, rose floral aroma, strawberry jam, berry sweetness and acidity, peach flesh, black tea finish

2016/2017: Champion, Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition

2016/2017 harvest season: Champion, Ethiopia Coffee Competition

2017: Runner-up, Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition

2017: Runner-up, Africa Coffee Competition

Flower Queen Processing Details

The Flower Queen processing plant is located in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2,200 meters. From the very start of cultivation, the site was chosen for its noble "family environment" — fertile, humus-rich reddish-brown soil — and the coffee is shade-grown under "Enset" trees. This lets Flower Queen get enough sunlight to develop rich flavors without draining excessive nutrients, preserving more essential substances within the coffee fruit.

During the harvest season (December-January), this unique growing environment and natural climate shape Flower Queen's distinctive flavors. Natural processing begins only when the sugar content of the harvested red cherries reaches above 30. In the first two days of drying, the moisture of the cherries is carefully maintained so their fructose can kick off fermentation fully. Meanwhile, the high altitude lets nighttime temperatures at the plant fall to around 12 degrees Celsius, preventing off-flavors from over-fermentation in excessive heat; when midday temperatures climb, the beds are shaded promptly to protect the cherries from sun damage.

Only fully ripe cherries are selected, all hand-picked, then dried on African raised beds. The fruit layer is kept thin and the cherries are turned continuously around the clock to ensure even drying and ventilation — and therefore more precise control of the fermentation degree.

At night, thick plastic sheeting wraps the coffee against sudden rainfall, letting the red cherries ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, once the green bean moisture content drops to around 13%, drying stops. The beans are bagged in jute and stored in warehouses at 12-22°C with 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of resting and further moisture loss. When the green bean moisture reaches around 10%, they are trucked to the mill for hulling, screening, and sale.

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Flower Queen: Use 15g of coffee, ground to a medium-fine grind size (Fuji Royal hand grinder with ghost-tooth blade at setting 3.5), a V60 dripper, and water temperature of 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g. Discard the very last of the brew. The coffee-to-water ratio is 1:15, with an extraction time of 2:00.

Coffee Origin Information

Coffee producing country: Africa, Ethiopia

Coffee estate: Guji, Hambella Wamena region, Dimtu city, Buku Abel estate

Coffee variety: Heirloom, Ethiopian native varieties

Production altitude: 2250-2350M

Quality grade: G1

Processing method: Natural (African drying beds)

Roast degree: Light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Guji Zone

Altitude: 2250-2350 meters

Processing method: Natural

Variety: Local native Heirloom varieties

Producer: Local smallholder farmers

Flower Queen flavor: Passion fruit, rose floral aroma, strawberry jam

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Love what natural-processed Ethiopian coffee can do? FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe lineup offers two very different takes on the region worth trying alongside Flower Queen.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe (House Daily Driver) — The cleanest way to learn what Ethiopia tastes like: white jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish, all at a very approachable price. Brewing suggestion: 15g of coffee, V60 dripper, water at 90-91°C, 1:15 ratio, grind with an 80% pass rate on a 20-mesh sieve (about fine granulated sugar), three pours — 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then to 125g, then a final pour to about 225g, with drawdown finishing at 2:00-2:10.

FrontStreet Coffee Natural Red Cherry — The closest cousin to Flower Queen in our range: a full-red-cherry natural from Yirgacheffe. Only perfectly ripe, defect-free fruit is picked, sorted at the mill, and sun-dried on raised beds, turned every 2-3 hours during the first days to avoid uneven heating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks in the sun, the dried cherries are hulled and warehoused. Because the fruit dries on the bean, the cup keeps classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit aromatics — citrus-like acidity, a juicy berry mouthfeel, honeyed sweetness, and a cream-smooth body.