What is Ethiopia Sidamo Guji 3.0 Batch? Flavor Characteristics of Guji 3.0 Coffee

Hua Kui 2.0 coffee is a bean that FrontStreet Coffee particularly loves, not because it's a champion's green bean, but because focusing on quality fundamentals is our commitment to specialty coffee. Regardless of competition evaluations from champions, FrontStreet Coffee must always test the beans! This bean has very rich tropical fruit aromas, including jackfruit, passion fruit, and various berries. The acidity is gentle and mouth-watering, with solid rather than overwhelming fullness. The mouthfeel has moderate body, smooth and clean without any off-flavors, while the aftertaste delivers brown sugar-like sweetness that is long-lasting. This is FrontStreet Coffee's impression of Hua Kui, and now the newly arrived Hua Kui 3.0 promises another outstanding performance.

Regional Introduction

Buku Able refers to coffee berry collection stations located in different areas of the farm. Hambela is situated in the border region between the Sidama and Guji zones in southern Ethiopia. Over the past 20 years, regional boundaries have been redrawn several times, and the names of regions and communities have changed multiple times (complicated by non-standardized transliterations of local languages). Before 1995, the area where this farm is located was part of the Sidamo region, while in 2002, the Guji zone was created due to the division of neighboring areas. Guji is located in Ethiopia's largest and most populous ethnic minority region.

Coming from the Buku Able estate, located in Hambella, Guji, Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region. Only natural-processed coffee beans from the Buku Able estate and processing station can be called "Hua Kui." The coffee trees on this estate are all situated at high altitudes, and the harvested red cherries must meet specific sugar content requirements. With extensive experience in green bean processing, the Buku Able estate, which excels at natural processing, has strict data requirements for every step of the natural process. After coffee berries are dried at the Buku processing station, the seeds are separated from the pulp. This natural processing method has been used for thousands of years and serves as the spiritual foundation of this traditional approach in Ethiopian origin, considered a relatively niche method of coffee cherry processing locally. In contrast, more modern methods use "washed" processing for coffee cherries. Natural coffee processing means the acidity is reduced and the mouthfeel becomes smoother.

Coffee Bean Information

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia Sidamo Hua Kui 3.0 Coffee Beans

Region: Sidamo Guji Hambella

Processing Station: Buku Abel

Altitude: 2200-2350m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing Method: Natural

Flavor: Strawberry, Black Tea, Floral, Dried Mango, Lemon

Differences Between Hua Kui 2.0 and Hua Kui 3.0

Hua Kui 2.0, from the Mountain Spring processing station, begins natural processing only when cherry sugar content reaches above 21, resulting in quite high sweetness. Additionally, it undergoes 21 days of low-temperature fermentation (compared to the usual 10+ days for natural processing) to ensure even drying and ventilation, and more precise control of fermentation degree. Compared to the 2018 local mixed variety "Hua Kui," "Hua Kui 3.0" features more consistent bean size and cleaner processing. Through cupping evaluation, the 2019 "Hua Kui 3.0" not only retains rich and enchanting floral notes, full-bodied red wine and tropical fruit flavors, but also adds several layers of bright juice-like sweetness and acidity.

The entire processing process is merely more refined management under the guidance of scientific measuring instruments, without any "tradition-breaking" improvements. Red cherries only begin natural processing when sugar content reaches above 21, resulting in quite high sweetness. At night, thick plastic tarps are used to cover the cherries to prevent sudden rainfall. This allows the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at relatively low temperatures. After 18 days of natural processing, when the moisture content of the green beans drops to around 13%, natural processing is stopped, and the beans are bagged in jute bags and stored at 12-22°C with 40-50% humidity.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Natural processing method involves harvesting mature and semi-mature coffee cherries that sink to the bottom of the water tank, then spreading them on drying patios for sun drying. The drying time depends on climate, taking approximately 2-4 weeks to reduce the coffee cherry moisture content to 12% and become hard. The dried coffee cherries are then sent to hulling machines to remove the dry pulp and parchment layer, extracting the coffee beans. Common characteristics of naturally processed coffee include higher sweetness, as coffee beans absorb most of the sugar from the pulp during sun exposure, and the coffee mouthfeel is also fuller-bodied with enhanced fruit flavors, such as aromas of ripe strawberries, blueberries, or tropical ripe fruits. However, natural processing can also easily damage coffee quality, producing many uncomfortable negative flavors, such as earthy, fermented, and wild tastes, because the coffee is dried on the ground, completely exposed to the surrounding environment with many uncertain factors.

Green Bean Analysis

FrontStreet Coffee examines the flavor descriptions provided by green bean suppliers, then checks the bean moisture content. The freshly received green beans have a fermented wine-like aroma of coffee flowers, completely different from the grassy scent of typical green beans. Moreover, Hua Kui green beans vary in size with many pointed ends (Ethiopian Heirloom variety), and have good moisture content around 11%, but they're not the very hard SHB type beans. Due to the beans' high density and hardness, FrontStreet Coffee extends the dehydration time in the early stages of roasting, entering first crack with increased temperature after the dehydration phase to minimize the loss of small molecular aromatic substances like floral notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

Cupping Flavors

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Brewing Equipment: HARIO V60

Parameters: 15g coffee / 1:15 ratio / 90°C / Grind: Medium-coarse (57% pass-through rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve)

Technique: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, then pour directly to 125g in the center, segment the pour, continue pouring to 225g after seeing the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when the coffee bed appears. Total extraction time: 2'00''.

Flavor: From high to low temperature, you can clearly experience strawberry jam, jackfruit, passion fruit, and other tropical fruit flavors, rich floral notes, and strawberry jam. The acidity is lively and bright, with explosive floral notes upon entry, round mouthfeel, strong flavor layering, and a long, persistent aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473