Ethiopian Specialty Coffee Classification: Shakiso, Hambela, Guji Zone Origin Introduction

In 2010, within Ethiopia's unique ECX trading system, Guji was distinguished and separated from the Sidamo region due to its exceptional and distinctive flavor profile, becoming an independent growing region administratively belonging to the Oromia region.

The Guji growing region is located in southern Ethiopia, featuring towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains with diverse topography. The geology consists of volcanic soil with depths reaching nearly two meters, with surface soil appearing dark brown or brown. Most areas remain undeveloped or undisturbed dense forests, where fallen leaves, decaying plant matter, and root systems from surrounding vegetation serve as natural fertilizers for coffee trees. The average elevation exceeds 1,800 meters, and the significant temperature difference between day and night slows the growth of coffee cherries, allowing the beans to accumulate rich aromatic compounds and develop the distinctive regional flavors of different growing areas. Guji encompasses several sub-regions renowned for their high-quality coffee.

Hambella

The birthplace of "Horseman" coffee beans and one of the sub-regions that propelled Guji coffee to international fame. Hambella's western side faces the Kocher sub-region of Yirgacheffe across mountains, separated by a 3,200-meter-high plateau approximately 30 kilometers wide, featuring diverse topography. Growing elevations reach 2,100-2,300 meters, with harvesting occurring from November to January. Hambella coffee exhibits distinctive floral aromas and sweet fruit notes, with a balanced and complex cup profile.

Shakiso

Historically, Guji's most famous economic activity was gold mining, with major gold mining areas located northeast of Shakiso, where people excavated gold mines in early times. In the 1990s, Haile Gebre, former governor of the Oromia region, recognized the prospects of coffee trade and chose to settle in Guji after leaving government service, collaborating with farmers to cultivate coffee in Shakiso.

Many specialty coffee buyers began searching for coffee beans near the Yirgacheffe region to discover more interesting, high-value beans, turning their attention to Guji and eventually discovering this remote but exceptional territory. The Shakiso growing region has an average elevation of 1,800-2,200 meters. In the book "Specialty Coffee Science," Shakiso's coffee flavor characteristics are summarized as "sweet lemon-honey notes."

Uraga

Located at the northernmost tip of the Guji growing region, with elevations reaching 2,300 meters and situated close to Yirgacheffe, featuring nutrient-rich black soil. The Uraga region gained recognition relatively recently, gradually becoming known after its washed beans achieved excellent results in the 2019 TOH (Taste of Harvest) competition. Uraga coffee presents tea-like qualities with rich floral and fruit aromas and superior acidity.

According to the Guji coffee flavor profile chart created by Dutch green bean company Trabocca, citrus fruits dominate, followed potentially by notes of stone fruits, berries, flowers, and chocolate. The coffee features lively, bright acidity and juicy characteristics, with medium body and smooth mouthfeel. The overall flavor profile falls between Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, with complex aromatic structure.

In 2008, Ethiopia officially established the coffee trading center ECX, where Guji coffee was classified as "Sidama A" in the exchange's auction categories. Later, with the emergence of several outstanding Guji coffee beans, this region successfully "graduated" to become the second independent growing region to separate from Sidamo after Yirgacheffe, maintaining independent traceability status under its own name in the ECX coffee trading center.

The Guji growing region is located southeast of Yirgacheffe, featuring complex topographical changes including towering mountains, valleys, and plains. The region's geology consists of nutrient-rich black soil (Vertisol) with depths reaching nearly two meters and average elevations exceeding 1,800 meters. The geographical characteristics create significant day-night temperature differences, providing all the terroir conditions necessary for producing high-quality specialty coffee. When discussing what made the Guji region famous, FrontStreet Coffee must mention their Sidamo Natural Horseman coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Horseman beans come from Hambella, located in Ethiopia's largest coffee growing region, Guji, administratively belonging to the Oromia region. Hambella's western side faces Yirgacheffe's Kocher sub-region across mountains, separated by a 3,200-meter-high plateau approximately 30 kilometers wide, while its southeast, east, and north sides border Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-elevation coffee sub-region.

Currently, there are nearly 20 processing stations of various scales in the Hambella region. In 2017, a natural processed coffee from DW Company's "Buku Abel" processing station won the Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition championship. Chinese green bean importers named this coffee "Horseman," as it possessed rich strawberry and cream aromas at the time. Subsequently, DW Company added processing stations in Hambella's core Dimtu region: "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with annual coffee production of approximately 1,100 tons. Among all these estates and processing stations, strictly speaking, only natural processed coffee beans from the "Buku Abel" processing station can be called "Horseman coffee beans."

During each coffee harvest season (December-January), Buku processing stations only harvest fully ripe cherries, selecting coffee cherries with sugar content above 30 to be dried on African raised beds. Due to the significant day-night temperature differences, coffee farmers use shade covers during midday to avoid excessive heat and over-fermentation, while wrapping the beds in plastic at night to protect against sudden rain showers. The cherries are turned continuously throughout the day while ensuring they don't pile too thickly, allowing for uniform drying while preventing sun scorch or undesirable fermentation flavors. After approximately 18 days of natural processing, the moisture content of the green coffee beans reaches 13%, allowing them to be bagged and stored.

FrontStreet Coffee employs medium-light roasting to highlight the floral aromas and tropical fruit notes of their Sidamo Natural Horseman beans. Due to the lower water absorption of high-altitude hard beans after grinding, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a medium-fine grind and uses higher water temperatures with a V60 dripper to emphasize the layered floral and fruit characteristics.

To experience the rich aromas of FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Horseman, FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing with freshly roasted coffee beans to better preserve the coffee's aromatic compounds. FrontStreet Coffee sells coffee beans roasted within 5 days, and considering logistics time, customers receive coffee at its optimal tasting period, ready for immediate brewing enjoyment. (Coffee bean resting period is 4-7 days, optimal tasting period is generally 4-30 days. After receiving fresh beans, you can also observe the flavor changes according to the roast date.)

Brewing Parameters

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 92°C
Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Coffee Dose: 15 grams

The freshly ground FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo Natural Horseman 5.0 coffee powder has honey-like sweetness. Pour the coffee powder into a V60 dripper, wet the coffee bed with twice the amount of water, and bloom for 30 seconds. Then, using a small water stream, pour in concentric circles from inside to out to 125g for the first pour. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine stream for the third pour to 225g. Remove the dripper once all coffee liquid has filtered through, taking approximately 2 minutes (with 10-second variance).

This FrontStreet Coffee Sidamo Natural Horseman delivers intense sweetness of tropical fruits like passion fruit and mango upon entry, with berry and citrus acidity. The mouthfeel is cream-like smooth, with black tea-like aftertaste filling the palate.

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Important Notice :

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