Which Ethiopian Region Does Guji Come From and What's the Difference Between Sidamo and Kenya Coffee Beans?

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African Coffee Regions

Ethiopia and Kenya, Africa's renowned coffee-producing countries, are prominent in the specialty coffee world. While both regions' coffee flavors are characterized by fruity acidity, there are distinct differences: Ethiopian coffee features bright, uplifting acidity with a clean, refreshing mouthfeel, whereas Kenyan coffee offers a rich,饱满 (full-bodied) juice-like sensation, reminiscent of tomato juice. In FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection, African region coffees account for 30-40% of the available beans, clearly demonstrating the popularity of African region coffees among consumers.

Ethiopia

When mentioning African coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes many people first think of Ethiopia. As the birthplace of coffee, its coffee seeds have been spread globally for cultivation, giving rise to various new branches. Ethiopian coffee is mostly grown on small farms (forest coffee, garden coffee, plantation coffee) and uniformly managed for export by the government. Among Ethiopia's nine coffee-growing regions, two major regions have become synonymous with the country's specialty coffee: Yirgacheffe and Sidamo. FrontStreet Coffee finds that medium-light roasted Ethiopian beans possess unique lemon, floral, and honey-like sweet aromas, with soft fruit acidity and citrus flavors. The refreshing and bright taste, without milk or sugar, allows the rich texture and unique soft floral notes to sweep across your palate, leaving an endless aftertaste.

Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe has always been one of Ethiopia's most important coffee-growing regions. Formerly part of Sidamo, it became an independent region due to the unique flavor of Yirgacheffe coffee beans. Today, Yirgacheffe is not just a coffee-growing place name but also a noun specifically describing a certain coffee flavor profile.

Yirgacheffe is a high-altitude coffee-growing region, with an altitude of around 2000 meters. The Yirgacheffe coffee region currently has over 40 cooperatives, primarily managed through family-operated models for coffee cultivation. Under its jurisdiction are many well-known micro-regions such as Kochere, Misty Valley, and Gedeb. These micro-regions all have excellent cooperative teams, and the Yirgacheffe coffee beans produced there carry unique flavor characteristics. The so-called Yirgacheffe flavor refers to intense jasmine fragrance, lemon aroma, peach and almond sweet scents, and tea notes. FrontStreet Coffee believes that "a hundred flowers blooming" is the most appropriate description.

Sidamo (also translated as Xidamo or Xidamo) is a province in Ethiopia and also the superior administrative unit of Yirgacheffe. The Sidamo coffee region refers to all regions in Sidamo province except Yirgacheffe, making it Ethiopia's southernmost coffee-growing region. The average altitude here ranges from 1400-2000 meters, and the coffee produced has noticeable sweetness, earning it the nickname "sweet coffee." FrontStreet Coffee finds that natural processed Sidamo coffee has delicate pinkish floral aromas, rich berry acidity, and a slight fermentation sensation, making it smoother in mouthfeel than washed Sidamo coffee.

Flower Champion Coffee

The original name of Flower Champion coffee beans is actually "Hambella," literally translated as "Hambella coffee beans" in Chinese. It was a competition entry from the Hambella region of Sidamo at the 2017 TOH (Taste Of Harvest) green coffee competition. It stood out with its rich strawberry and cream aroma, winning the championship in the Ethiopian natural processed category with a high score of 88.21. Later, after defeating the perennial champion Geisha, the previously obscure Hambella coffee transformed into a veritable "star performer." As its refined charm captured hearts in various brewing competitions, this high-quality Hambella coffee bean became increasingly well-known among Chinese coffee enthusiasts.

The 2017 award-winning natural Hambella (the first-generation Flower Champion) was discovered and promoted by the founder of Beijing Hongshun. The founder of Beijing Hongshun established their own coffee brand LeBunna in Ethiopia. Of course, it would be a pity if such a wonderful name were to be fleeting, so Hongshun continued to introduce coffee beans from the "Buku Abel" processing station in the Hambella region, naming them Flower Champion 2.0, Flower Champion 3.0, and Flower Champion 3.1 to distinguish between different Flower Champion coffees and represent different batches or harvest seasons. At this point, Flower Champion coffee still maintained certain characteristics - sourced and introduced by Hongshun, with the region still locked to natural processed batches from the "Buku Abel" processing station in Hambella. Today, Flower Champion has reached its 2025 version.

Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

Most Ethiopian coffee beans are "Heirloom," translated in Chinese as "native varieties" or "heirloom varieties." This is because in Ethiopia, the garden cultivation system is the primary planting model that the vast majority of small coffee farmers rely on for their livelihood. Heirloom native varieties come from the "unknown varieties" in their backyards. The coffee trees might have been left by previous owners of the land, shared among neighbors, or possibly grown from seeds obtained from another region. Various coffee plants are intercropped with other economic crops on the land, harvested and sold only when ripe.

Therefore, Heirloom does not refer to a specific coffee variety but represents a green coffee blend from the growing region. The coffee combines harvests from multiple small farmers during the same period, mixed together to form a single batch. A single batch might encompass dozens or even hundreds of undifferentiated varieties. It is precisely because of these varietal differences and varying mixing methods each time that these coffees differ in particle size, dimensions, and shape - some large, some small, some long, some round - which can be understood as "blended batches."

Kenya

Kenya, another African region, is located in eastern Africa, with the equator crossing through its central part and the East African Rift Valley running north-south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Kenyan coffee, known as the "Connoisseurs' Cup," is renowned for its rich aroma, rounded acidity, full and elegant body, as well as the endless aftertaste and multi-layered mouthfeel with juice-like sweetness and acidity.

Most Kenyan coffee grows at altitudes between 1500-2100 meters, with two harvests per year. Coffees from different regions also have distinct flavors due to microclimate variations. Kenya's coffee-growing regions are most famous for seven major areas: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, Ruiri, and Muranga.

Kenyan Coffee Varieties

Common coffee varieties in Kenya include SL28, SL34, and the increasingly frequent Ruiru11 and Batian in recent years. In 1922, Kenya established the Scott Agricultural Laboratories to conduct coffee cultivation research. In the decade following its establishment, the laboratory selected and bred SL28 and SL34 from 42 coffee varieties suitable for cultivation in the region, providing a good start for the development of the coffee industry.

Both SL28 and SL34 are high-quality varieties selected through multiple breeding cycles. The only Kenyan coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list - Small Tomato - is composed of these two varieties. SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group, carrying the bright characteristics of original Bourbon and rich acidity. SL34's lineage is closer to Typica genes, with acidity milder than SL28. SL28 and SL34 currently still account for the majority of Kenya's coffee production. As the reputation of these varieties continues to grow, many coffee-producing countries in South America are actively introducing SL28 as a cultivation variety.

The birth of Ruiru11 was due to the global outbreak of coffee leaf rust. At that time, many Arabica varieties suffered from the disease. To prevent coffee production reduction, the hybrid variety Ruiru11 was developed, showing excellent disease resistance but with flavor quality far inferior to SL28 and SL34.

Kenyan coffee beans possess wonderful, satisfying aromas, balanced and pleasant acidity, uniform particles, and excellent fruit flavors. FrontStreet Coffee has compared Kenyan coffee beans with those from neighboring Ethiopia and found that although both are primarily characterized by fruity acidity, the sensations they present are completely different. Kenyan acidity is strong and full-bodied, while Ethiopian acidity is light and bright. For those trying African coffee beans for the first time, FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with Ethiopian coffee beans and gradually transitioning to Kenyan coffee beans.

Ethiopian Coffee Processing Methods

Traditionally, Yirgacheffe used the most ancient natural processing method. However, in 1972, Ethiopia introduced Central and South American washed processing techniques to improve coffee quality, making Yirgacheffe's jasmine fragrance and citrus aroma clearer and brighter. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the most fundamental difference between washed and natural processing methods is that the washed method presents the coffee's most basic flavors, directly reflecting the essential characteristics of the region, while the natural method adds sweet aromas and fermentation sensations to this basic flavor. Due to the introduction of the washed method, Yirgacheffe leaped to become a representative of world specialty coffee. After the 1970s, the region primarily produced washed coffee, becoming Ethiopia's most popular washed bean region.

In the 21st century, natural processing techniques have gradually improved, frequently producing astonishing natural processed beans. This is thanks to Yirgacheffe's coffee trader Baghish, who, missing traditional natural processed coffee flavors and reluctant to see natural processing gradually replaced by washing, improved the natural bean processing method to enhance flavors while reducing defect ratios. He introduced three extremely famous Yirgacheffe natural processed beans: Idido Misty Valley, Beloya, and Aricha.

Kenyan Coffee Processing Methods

In addition to regions and varieties, Kenya's coffee achievements are also attributed to its distinctive K72 processing method, which is a green coffee processing technique that extends the conventional washed method to enhance bean quality and impart strong acidity.

This unique washed technique, which employs a double fermentation washed form, is also known as "Double Washed," or "Fully Washed" at the origin. Since Kenya was the first region where this processing method became popularly implemented, this type of washing is also called "Kenyan Process" or Kenyan processing method. Later, everyone discovered that these因地制宜 (locally adapted) double-fermented washed beans not only facilitated stable quality control in production but also brought richly layered fruit acidity flavors to the coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Recommendations

The most iconic flavor of Yirgacheffe coffee is its refined acidity and rich floral and fruit notes. To maximize this flavor characteristic, FrontStreet Coffee believes that light roasting is most suitable. Whether natural or washed processed Yirgacheffe coffee beans, light roasting maximizes their special flavors. However, there are now medium to dark roasted Yirgacheffe coffees on the market that slightly weaken its acidity while enhancing body. FrontStreet Coffee thinks this comes down to personal preference, though light roasted Yirgacheffe coffee remains the mainstream choice.

When FrontStreet Coffee roasts Kenyan coffee beans, considering the need to highlight its full-bodied fruity acidity and tomato juice-like mouthfeel, we adopt medium-light roasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters for Kenyan and Ethiopian Coffee Beans

Flower Champion is best brewed using pour-over and siphon methods. During grinding, you can smell the rich natural processed fruit aroma with noticeable sweetness. A delicious coffee is characterized by balanced sweet, sour, and bitter flavors, along with a smooth mouthfeel. Dripper designs are intended to showcase these characteristics of coffee. However, different drippers produce coffee with different style presentations.

Flower Champion suits resin V60 drippers, allowing 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 roasted Flower Champion, we use medium-fine grinding. The coarseness of coffee grinding directly affects extraction time and extraction rate. The finer the coffee is ground, the denser the coffee bed, with more coffee particles contacting hot water, increasing extraction resistance, extending extraction time, and raising extraction rate, but it's easy to over-extract.

Conversely, the coarser the coffee is ground, the larger the gaps in the coffee bed, with fewer coffee particles contacting hot water, reducing extraction resistance, making it less likely to extend extraction time, and lowering extraction rate, but it's easy to under-extract. 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.

FrontStreet Coffee considers that both Ethiopian and Kenyan beans use light roasting methods, so we use higher water temperature and faster flow rate drippers, mainly because we need high temperature to extract their bright acidity characteristics, but don't want over-extraction due to high temperatures, so we choose the faster flow V60 dripper and 91°C water temperature for brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-fine grinding/fine sugar consistency (80% pass-through rate on China's No. 20 standard sieve). Using 15g of coffee powder, we pair it with a V60 dripper, 91°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and three-stage pouring method for brewing.

We adopt three-stage extraction, using twice the amount of coffee powder in water for blooming - that is, 30g of water for 30 seconds of blooming. The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee powder to release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the subsequent extraction more stable. With a small water flow, pour in circles until reaching 125g, then continue pouring until reaching 225g before stopping. After the water from the dripper finishes dripping, remove the dripper. Time from the beginning of pouring, with an extraction time of 2'00". Next, take the entire cup of coffee, shake it evenly, and pour it into cups for tasting.

New Harvest Flower Champion

Floral notes, berries, citrus, sweet and sour sensation of oranges, mango juice, honey, with a sweet black tea aftertaste and a clean mouthfeel.

Washed Kenya Asalia Flavor Characteristics

Prominent plum, cherry tomato, honey, with slight nutty aroma when cooled, juice-like mouthfeel, and full-bodied acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the coffee's flavor. Therefore, the coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all 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 coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its optimal flavor peak.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee offers a gentle reminder: once coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging can also make the coffee flavor more rounded, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more rapidly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

Important Notice :

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