The History and Origin of Sidamo Flower Queen Coffee: A Knowledge Guide to the Story of This Coffee

Flower Queen Coffee

Country of Origin

Africa, Ethiopia

Coffee Estate

Buku Abel estate, Dimtu town, Hambella Wamena region, Guji

Coffee Variety

Heirloom, native Ethiopian variety

Production Altitude

2,250-2,350 m

Quality Grade

G1

Processing Method

Natural sun-dried (African drying beds)

Product Information

Shelf life: 90 days
Net weight: 227 g
Packaging: bulk coffee beans
Roast: roasted coffee beans
Sugar content: sugar-free
Origin: Ethiopia
Roast degree: light roast

Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso Natural

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Guji Zone

Altitude

2,250-2,350 m

Processing Method

Natural

Variety

Local native Heirloom

Producer

Local smallholder farmers

Flavor Notes

Passion fruit, rose aroma, strawberry jam

The flavor of Sidamo Flower Queen is remarkably diverse. Differences in soil composition, local microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties give the coffee from each town and district its own distinct character. The Sidamo production area lies in southern Ethiopia, where agriculture dominates the local economy and the coffee-growing areas are arranged around the Great Rift Valley.

Hambella (usually rendered as "Hanbella") sits within Guji (GUJI), Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, and falls administratively under the Oromia Regional State. To its west, Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across the mountains, with a highland some 3,200 meters in altitude and about 30 kilometers wide separating the two areas. To its southeast, east, and north it borders the Guji sub-regions of Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude Flower Queen sub-region (while Harrar remains Ethiopia's highest-altitude main production region).

Today there are roughly 20 processing facilities of various scales in the Hambella region. Within Hambella's core production area of Dimtu, DW Company operates four estate processing plants: "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with an annual coffee output of about 1,100 tons.

Among all of these estates and processing stations, only the natural sun-dried coffee from the "Buku Abel" estate and processing plant is called "Flower Queen."

Flower Queen Awards

Cupping Flavor Notes

Passion fruit, rose aroma, strawberry jam, berry sweetness and acidity, peach flesh, black tea aftertaste

2016/2017

Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition - Champion

2016/2017 Harvest Season Ethiopia Coffee Competition - Champion

2017 Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition - Runner-up

2017 Africa Coffee Competition - Runner-up

The Flower Queen processing plant stands in Buku Abel village at an altitude of 2,200 meters. From the outset it was chosen for its privileged surroundings: fertile, humus-rich reddish-brown soil, with shade provided by "Enset" trees. This lets Flower Queen receive ample sunlight to develop rich flavors without exhausting too many nutrients, so the coffee cherries retain more of their essence. During the harvest and processing season (December to January), the unique growing environment and natural climate shape Flower Queen's distinctive flavors. Sun-drying only begins once the sugar content of the picked red cherries reaches above 30. During the first two days of drying, the moisture of the red cherries is maintained so that their fructose can fully begin fermentation. At the same time, the high-altitude location lets nighttime temperatures at the processing plant fall to around 12 degrees Celsius, preventing the over-fermented odors that high temperatures can cause. When midday temperatures rise, shade is promptly provided to keep the red cherries from sun damage. Only fully red, completely ripe coffee cherries are selected, all hand-picked and dried on African raised beds, with the thickness of the cherry layer limited and the fruit turned regularly around the clock to ensure even drying and ventilation and to control the degree of fermentation more precisely.

At night, thick plastic sheets are used to cover the cherries against sudden rain. This allows the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of sun-drying, when the moisture content of the green beans has dropped to around 13%, the sun-drying is stopped and the beans are packed into jute bags and stored under natural conditions of 12-22 degrees Celsius and 40-50% humidity for about 50 days of green-bean conditioning and further dehydration. When the green-bean moisture content reaches around 10%, the beans are transported to processing plants for hulling, sorting, and sale.

To pour-over Flower Queen: 15 g of coffee, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder setting 3.5), V60 dripper, 91-93 degrees Celsius water. First infusion with 30 g of water for a 27-second pre-infusion, then pour to 105 g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225 g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this story of Ethiopia's Sidamo Flower Queen has you curious, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Flower Queen is the most direct way to taste it. It comes from the Hambella region of Guji, the same area that made this coffee famous, and is processed naturally on raised beds. In the cup you will find a light fermented wine aroma alongside floral notes, citrus, and mango, layered over honeyed sweetness and a cocoa-like finish with a trace of spice. The body is full and the aftertaste lingers, much like the passion fruit, rose, and strawberry-jam character described above. Brew it as a pour-over to explore how the fruit and floral layers unfold from the first sip to the last.