Why is Hanakai Coffee called Hanakai? What is the origin of Hanakai Coffee and its relationship with Geisha Coffee?

Those familiar with coffee may have noticed that most Ethiopian coffees are named after their growing regions. For example, coffees from the Yirgacheffe region include Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and Yirgacheffe Kochere. But what about Guji? It comes from the Guji region of Ethiopia. Why isn't it named after the Guji region? Is there something different about Guji?

How Did Guji Coffee Get Its Name?

FrontStreet Coffee believes: From a literal perspective, Guji coffee sounds like a coffee bean rich in floral notes, but this is not actually the case. Guji's floral aroma is not intense; instead, its fruit aroma is much more pronounced, such as passion fruit, strawberry, mango, jackfruit, and citrus. According to FrontStreet Coffee: The original name of Guji coffee beans was Hambella. The name "Guji" was given by domestic green bean traders. In February 2017, a natural processed coffee from the Hambella Buku Abel estate won the Ethiopian Green Bean Competition. Because it broke Geisha's monopoly in brewing competitions, it has become the only coffee capable of competing with it.

We know that Guji coffee comes from Ethiopia, which is also the birthplace of coffee. The coffee varieties are extremely numerous, and each farmer grows coffee using mixed cultivation methods, and they don't have the ability to identify these varieties at all. On the other hand, the Ethiopian government, to protect the genetic resources of native coffee tree varieties, is unwilling to disclose them. Therefore, many Ethiopian coffees are listed as "local native varieties" in the variety column, and Guji's variety is also a local native variety.

What is Geisha Coffee?

The naming of coffee can have many layers of meaning. Geisha coffee is also called Gesha coffee, and its name comes from Geisha Mountain in Ethiopia, which is pronounced similarly to the famous Japanese Geisha, hence the name.

Geisha coffee beans actually come from southwestern Ethiopia. In 1963, Don Pachi Serracin introduced Geisha coffee trees from Costa Rica to Panama. Due to low yields, which directly affected harvest amounts, coffee farmers were not very willing to grow them. It wasn't until Daniel Peterson, owner of Panama La Esmeralda estate, accidentally discovered that the beans produced by these previously neglected Geisha coffee trees at the highest point of his coffee estate actually had the unique citrus and floral aromas characteristic of African beans. He separated them and entered them in the 2004 Best of Panama green bean competition, where they became an overnight sensation. From then until now, Geisha beans have been unstoppable, winning the Panama Cupping Competition championship for many consecutive years. In the eyes of specialty coffee enthusiasts worldwide today, Geisha coffee beans are undoubtedly the supreme treasure.

The Difference Between Guji Coffee and Geisha Coffee

Both Guji coffee and Geisha coffee come from Ethiopia. What's the difference between them? FrontStreet Coffee tells everyone: Guji is actually the name of a natural processed native coffee variety from Ethiopia, while Geisha is a specific coffee variety. Geisha can be grown all over the world, but Guji - only the natural processed coffee produced and processed in Hambella Buku Abel of the Guji region is "Guji." This is the fundamental difference.

(Left: Hambella · Guji, Right: Panama · Geisha)

Guji Coffee - Guji Hambella Region

This Guji bean comes from Hambella, located in Guji, Ethiopia's largest coffee producing region, administratively belonging to the Oromia region. Hambella is west of Yirgacheffe Kochere, separated by highland with an altitude of 3200 meters and a width of about 30 kilometers. To the southeast, east, and north, it borders the Shakisso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions of Guji, making it one of the highest altitude coffee sub-regions in Ethiopia.

As everyone should know from FrontStreet Coffee's introduction above, the "Guji coffee" we're talking about is actually a traditional natural processed G1 coffee bean from the Hambella region, with "Buku Abel" processing station being its more precise traceability information, located in Dimtu town. After "Guji" became famous overnight, to meet the surge in market demand, DW company added 5 independent green bean drying processing stations in Hambella Wamena Wereda, all located within the core Dimtu town area. Besides the original Buku Abel, four other small villages - Buku Saysay, Haro Soresa, Tirtiro Goye, and Seke Bokosa - also joined the production of natural processed coffee beans. It is reported that at this time, the annual production of "Guji" under DW company had already reached tens of millions of tons.

Starting from the 2018 production season, Guji (natural processed G1 coffee beans) from the same growing area and same processing station already showed some changes in flavor. FrontStreet Coffee discovered through cupping at that time that although the 2018 and 2019 Guji had flavors similar to the 2017 Guji, they were inferior to the "first generation Guji" in terms of body, aftertaste, and other mouthfeel aspects.

Therefore, to continue selling this natural processed coffee from Hambella while making some distinction from the original version, domestic green bean trading companies, calculating from 2017 onwards, created X.0 suffixes for each subsequent year's batch. For example, the 2018 batch was called "Guji 2.0," the 2019 production was called "Guji 3.0 and 3.1"... Last year's release was "Guji 7.0," and so on. In this way, we can identify which year's batch the Guji we purchased belongs to through this suffix.

Guji Coffee Bean Natural Processing Method

The berry, strawberry, lemon citrus, and fermented wine flavors of Guji coffee are all inseparable from its processing method. FrontStreet Coffee's Guji uses the most ancient processing method - natural processing. During the annual coffee harvesting and processing season (December-January), coffee red cherries picked by farmers must have a sugar content of over 30 before natural processing can begin. For the first two days of natural processing, the humidity of the coffee red cherries must be maintained to allow their fruit sugars to fully undergo fermentation reactions. At the same time, the high-altitude geographical location allows the processing station's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius, preventing over-fermentation due to high temperatures. When the temperature is higher at noon, timely shading is provided to prevent sunburn on the coffee red cherries. At night, to prevent sudden rainfall, thick plastic sheets are used for covering.

This allows the coffee red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After about half a month of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green coffee beans drops to around 13%, they can be packed in jute bags and stored in a warehouse at 12-22 degrees Celsius and 45-55% humidity for about 50 days of bean resting and further dehydration. When the moisture content of the green beans reaches about 11%, they are transported to the processing plant for hulling, screening, and sale. FrontStreet Coffee believes that selecting coffee red cherries with high sugar content for natural processing will further enhance the sweetness of Guji coffee beans and make the juice-like expression even richer.

Flavor Differences Between These Two Coffee Varieties

Next, let's take a look at how these two different coffee varieties differ in flavor:

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee always suggests that freshly roasted coffee beans better express the coffee's flavor. Therefore, all coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The resting period for coffee is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is also fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee reminds everyone that if coffee beans are ground in advance, they need to be brewed promptly. If already ground into coffee powder, there's no need for resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging also helps round out the coffee's flavor, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the coffee powder. However, coffee powder oxidizes relatively quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate rather quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests purchasing whole beans and grinding them fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

For these two coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends:

Dripper: Hario V60, Water Temperature: 90°C, Dose: 15g, Ratio: 1:15, Grind: Medium-fine (80% retention on China standard #20 sieve)

Adopting a segmented extraction approach, use 2 times the coffee dose for the bloom, that is, bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. The reason for this blooming process is to allow the coffee grounds to release carbon dioxide from within, making the subsequent extraction more stable. With a small water stream, pour in circles until reaching 125g, then continue pouring until 225g, then stop. Once the water has finished dripping from the dripper, remove it. Start timing from when you begin pouring, with an extraction time of 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee and shake it well before pouring it into the cup for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Guji Coffee Flavor: Light fermented wine aroma, with more prominent caramel notes, much richer and more complex mouthfeel, honey sweetness, cocoa undertones with a hint of spice, full body with a persistent aftertaste.

[Natural Red Label] Has bright rose and citrus aromas, brown rice, berries, apricots, complex fruits, honey, with a substantial juice-like mouthfeel and rich flavor layers with noticeable sweetness.

[Washed Green Label] Enters with intense jasmine floral aroma and high sweetness, citrus, berries, juice-like mouthfeel, cream, green tea, orange peel, cantaloupe, with overall rich flavor layers and persistent floral and citrus aftertaste.

[Washed Blue Label] Enters with gentle acidity of lemon and grapefruit, and when the temperature drops slightly, reveals oolong tea, honey, and sucrose sweetness. The mouthfeel is relatively clean and bright.

[Natural Blue Label] Smells of fermented aroma and fruity sweetness, tastes of melon and tropical fruit sweetness with a juice-like mouthfeel, with overall very high sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee has nearly fifty single-origin coffee beans with different flavors, fully satisfying everyone's exploration and pursuit of coffee. Welcome to FrontStreet Coffee to discuss with our baristas!

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