Ethiopian Hambela Guji 5.0 Coffee Beans - Sidamo Coffee Beans Flavor Profile and Characteristics Introduction

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Ethiopia's Premier Coffee Region: Guji

Ethiopia is the world's largest coffee gene pool. In recent years, the Ethiopian government has been dedicated to developing several world-class specialty coffee producing regions, and Guji is one of these flagship projects.

Guji has become a highly regarded producing region in recent years, achieving excellent results in both flavor expression and quality. Guji was formerly part of the Sidamo region but was established as an independent producing region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010.

Located southeast of Yirgacheffe, the Guji region borders Sidamo and the Gedeo Zone. It's an area with complex topographical changes, including towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains.

The region's greatest advantage lies in maintaining soil vitality through the natural circulation of organic matter, using withered leaves and fallen debris from surrounding forests, as well as plant residues, as natural fertilizers.

Hambella: The Heart of Guji

Hambella is administered by Oromiyaa, Ethiopia's southernmost administrative state. To the west, it faces the Kochere area of Yirgacheffe across mountains at a distance of 3200m. To the east, it borders Shakiso; to the south, Uraga; and to the north, Kercha.

Currently, there are about 20 processing plants within Hambella, distributed across different villages and estates in the sub-regions, varying in scale and size.

Grading System

Ethiopia's old grading method was simply based on defect counts, with washed beans reaching Grade 1 (G1) as the highest level and natural processing reaching Grade 3 (G3) as the highest. The current grading system, established by ECX, combines physical characteristics with cupping quality scores to determine grade levels.

All coffee is categorized into three types based on processing method (natural or washed):

a. Specialty (washed & unwashed): Few defects, high cupping quality;

b. Commercial (washed & unwashed): Doesn't reach specialty grade but is higher than domestic consumption grade;

c. Local/Domestic (washed & unwashed): Many defects (unripe beans), off-season, and poorly stored resulting in relatively poor flavor.

Among these, Specialty and Commercial grades are for the international export market, while Local is for domestic market sales.

The specific ECX grading and scoring standards are as follows:

A. Scoring Definition for Washed Processing

1. Physical characteristics account for 40%: Defect count (20%), Appearance size (10%), Color (5%), Aroma (5%)

2. Cupping quality accounts for 60%: Cleanliness (15%), Acidity (15%), Mouthfeel (15%), Flavor characteristics (15%)

B. Scoring Definition for Natural Processing

1. Physical characteristics account for 40%: Defect count (30%), Aroma (10%)

2. Cupping quality accounts for 60%: Cleanliness (15%), Acidity (15%), Mouthfeel (15%), Flavor characteristics (15%)

C. Overall Summary:

1. All coffee is first classified by processing method: Natural, Washed;

2. Each is graded from G1-G9 (9 levels) based on physical characteristics and basic cupping quality;

3. G1-G3 undergo additional cupping according to SCAA standards for more detailed flavor attribute evaluation, with G1 and G2 scoring not less than 85 points being classified as Q1 grade;

4. G1, G2, and G3 scoring between 80-85 points are classified as Q2 grade, while all G1, G2, and G3 scoring below 80 points are classified as G3 grade;

5. Q1 and Q2 are classified as Specialty Grade for export. G4-G9 maintain their original grading and are classified as Commercial Grade for export along with G3.

Washed Grade 1 represents 0-3 defective beans per 300 grams of raw beans; Grade 2 represents 4-12 defective beans per 300 grams. Of course, in practice, seller and buyer standards for defective beans certainly differ somewhat (otherwise, how could we pick out so many defective beans?), but the comparison of defect rates is still easily distinguishable. G1 defective beans are significantly fewer than G2, which means that excluding the influence of specific flavors and roast levels, Ethiopian G1 coffee beans are of higher quality and score higher than G2 coffee beans, at least in terms of defect flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's current procurement is Hambella G1 grade coffee beans, ensuring superior quality and stability throughout the roasting process and flavor expression.

Coffee Processing Methods

Natural sun-drying processing is the most traditional method. After harvesting, the fruits undergo natural sun drying with the following steps:

1. Coffee farmers place the harvested cherries directly on sun-drying patios to dry in sunlight;

2. During exposure, regular turning and stirring are necessary to avoid uneven drying or fermentation;

3. Generally takes 2-4 weeks to reach complete dryness;

4. Use a hulling machine to remove pulp and skin from the dried raw beans to extract the green beans.

Advantages: Natural processed coffee retains its mucilage during processing, and mucilage itself carries sweetness. During the natural process, sugars transfer into the coffee beans, resulting in relatively stronger sweetness, rich mouthfeel, and distinct layering.

Disadvantages: More defective beans, inconsistent bean appearance, and容易 to absorb ground odors and earthy flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Brewing equipment: HARIO V60

Parameters: 15g coffee / 1:15 ratio / 90°C

Grind size: Medium-coarse grind (Chinese standard 57% pass-through rate through #20 sieve)

Technique: 30g water for 30-second bloom, then pour directly to 125g in the center before segmenting. After seeing the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g. Remove the filter cone when the coffee bed is visible. Total extraction time: 2'00".

Flavor: Full-bodied berry fruit juice, black tea character, pomelo peel, short sweet aftertaste.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473