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Ever since Luckin Coffee listed Queen of Coffee beans and sold out within a day, it has sparked another wave of heated discussion. Li Guoqing publicly dissed Luckin Coffee on the internet for monopolizing the Queen of Coffee market, while netizens caught onto the key point that Luckin selling out of Queen of Coffee affected Li Guoqing's ability to drink it. This reverse marketing campaign was quite remarkable, while also allowing more people to get to know Queen of Coffee.

The Origin of Queen of Coffee

People's understanding of coffee mostly begins with names, such as Blue Mountain Coffee, where Blue Mountain is the name of the origin; Kona Coffee, where Kona is also the name of the origin. So, does the word "Huakui" (Queen) in Queen of Coffee refer to another origin name? Actually, that's not the case. Queen of Coffee is produced in the Hambela sub-region of Guji, Ethiopia.

The Hambela sub-region is the highest altitude growing sub-region within Ethiopia, with growing altitudes above 2000 meters, creating significant temperature differences between day and night. The fertile red soil rich in iron elements makes the coffee here sweet and delicious. The western part of the Hambela sub-region faces Kochere in Yirgacheffe across mountains, with a 3200-meter-high, 30-kilometer-wide mountain range separating the two regions.

Why Is It Called Queen of Coffee?

Reading this, some might be curious: since Queen of Coffee is produced in the Hambela sub-region, why isn't it called Hambela Coffee instead of Queen of Coffee? Actually, this is related to the rise of Queen of Coffee in 2017.

In 2017, Ethiopia's DW company sent the natural process coffee beans from the Buku Abel processing station they manage to participate in that year's TOH (Taste of Harvest) competition, where they won the natural process category championship in the Ethiopia region.

That year, Beijing green bean merchant Hongshun took notice of the same batch of green coffee beans and introduced them to China. The strawberry cream flavor that captivated many judges at the Ethiopia TOH natural process championship also amazed domestic green bean merchants. With slight improvements in the post-processing method for these green coffee beans, this coffee bean had the potential to become the next Geisha coffee. Thus, it was named "Huakui" (Queen). The word "Huakui" has the meaning of "first among flowers" in Chinese, which also shows the great expectations the green bean merchant had for this coffee bean.

Also in 2017, at the China competition of the World Brewers Cup, Geisha coffee beans dominated multiple regions. However, the contestant Li Jianfei, who won second place that year, actually used the same batch of Queen of Coffee beans. Friends who heard the news were stunned—there were actually coffee beans with better flavor than Geisha coffee beans. Queen of Coffee's fame therefore surged.

2017 can be said to be the breakout year for Queen of Coffee beans. In the following years, coffee connoisseurs' pursuit of Queen of Coffee never stopped. As the green bean merchant who discovered this earthly delicacy, Hongshun has also been working diligently for the "Queen" IP, maintaining relationships with the production region for many years. 2022 has already begun, which also means that the new season's Queen of Coffee beans will soon arrive. According to the naming convention of previous years, this season's Queen of Coffee beans should be called "Queen 6.0". However, FrontStreet Coffee has learned that the 2022 new season Queen of Coffee beans are still in the origin and are expected to arrive at the port in April 2022. FrontStreet Coffee, of course, has also pre-ordered this batch at the first opportunity. When the Queen of Coffee arrives, FrontStreet Coffee will share it with everyone.

The Evolution of Queen of Coffee Naming

Earlier, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned Queen 6.0, but what you can see on the market are mostly Queen of Coffee beans called "Queen 5.0". Those who've caught the pattern may have already discovered that Queen of Coffee beans are named following the "Queen X.0" format. Queen 2.0 in 2018, Queen 3.0 in 2019, Queen 4.0 in 2020, so 2021's would be Queen 5.0, and 2022's would naturally be Queen 6.0.

Currently, FrontStreet Coffee's bean list not only includes Queen 5.0 but also a small bean Queen of Coffee. Since 2017, FrontStreet Coffee has observed and tasted to learn that the unique aroma in Queen of Coffee mainly comes from those small-sized Queen of Coffee beans. By 2020, DW company's Buku Abel processing station directly processed the small-sized Queen of Coffee beans separately and made them a separate product, meaning that small bean Queen is not included in the "Queen X.0" series.

Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee learned that in 2021 alone, domestic green bean merchants imported only 30 to 40 tons of Queen of Coffee beans, yet in Li Guoqing's public diss, he claimed Luckin bought out 90 tons of Queen of Coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee also mentioned earlier that Queen of Coffee is produced at the Buku Abel processing station in the Hambela sub-region.

The Buku Abel Processing Station

The Buku Abel processing station is a natural process coffee processing plant managed by DW company, which has 20 years of experience. The processing station is located in Buku village, 400 kilometers from Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The land around the coffee growing areas in this village is planted with the local staple food—false banana. FrontStreet Coffee believes that what can be called Queen of Coffee beans are all natural process coffee beans produced at the Buku Abel processing plant.

Flavor Profiles and Brewing Methods

Through cupping and comparing two Queen of Coffee beans from the Buku Abel processing station, both from the 2021 season, FrontStreet Coffee found that Queen 5.0's flavor is closer to the citrus and berry tones characteristic of the Guji region, with light floral notes and tropical fruit juice sensations; while small bean Queen of Coffee's flavor is closer to the strawberry cream flavor of the 2021 Ethiopia TOH natural process championship batch.

When FrontStreet Coffee roasts these two Queen of Coffee beans, they use a medium-light roast level to preserve more berry acidity and bright mouthfeel. For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 91°C water temperature, Hario V60 dripper, and medium-fine grind.

Since the V60 dripper's ribs are distributed in curved patterns from top to bottom with varying lengths, it allows for smooth ventilation and relatively fast flow during brewing. Therefore, this dripper is generally chosen with a segmented extraction method—one is to slow down the water flow, and second is to improve extraction, which to some extent can reduce under-extraction caused by fast flow.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 91°C
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve

When pouring water for brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a three-stage pouring method to give the coffee richer layers. First, pour 30g of hot water in a "の" shape to completely wet the coffee grounds and bloom for 30 seconds. Then, inject with a small stream at the center point and slowly circle to 125g for segmentation. Wait until the water level in the dripper drops to just about to expose the coffee bed, then continue pouring gently and circling slowly to 225g and stop pouring. Wait until all water in the dripper has completely dripped into the lower pot, then remove the dripper. The total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

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