How is African Ethiopian Coffee? Introduction to Guji Coffee Region Characteristics

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Ethiopian Coffee and Guji Region

Ethiopia possesses the world's most diverse coffee ecosystem (forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and plantation coffee), which has preserved its rich Arabica genetics. Combined with diverse processing methods including natural, washed, and semi-washed, it presents complex and varied flavors. It can be said that most of the "flavor profiles" from global coffee regions can be found here, embodying Ethiopia's inclusive "king of flavors."

Ethiopian coffee regions are divided into eastern and western parts by the East African Rift Valley, with lakes, volcanoes, lowlands, plateaus, and woodlands interspersed, each evolving independently. The eastern part is mostly highland with good coffee bean taste quality, such as Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, which became popular for their bright acidity, and Harar with its charming "complex aromas." The western half is largely covered by primeval forests, mostly in completely natural evolution, resulting in more diverse coffee varieties. The coffee varieties in the Kaffa forest in the southwest have extremely strong disease resistance. Due to natural evolution with minimal artificial selection, their overall flavor quality is slightly inferior to the eastern half.

Guji is Ethiopia's largest coffee region, and the "Horse Champion" (Horse Champion is likely a specific coffee variety or grade) comes from one of Guji's sub-regions, Hambella, produced and processed as natural coffee by Buku Abel Estate.

Processing Method

Natural processing is very particular. The cherry sugar content must reach 30 degrees before they meet picking standards and can undergo natural processing. The first two days of natural processing are very important - the cherry's moisture must be maintained at a certain value. Under these conditions, the fructose inside the cherry begins to ferment. In addition to moisture, temperature is also one of the factors affecting coffee bean processing. During the annual coffee harvest season, Ethiopia's climate is cool, with night temperatures at processing plants around 12 degrees Celsius. The coffee beans on drying beds avoid over-fermentation and off-flavors due to the lower temperatures.

During the hotter midday hours, coffee cherries are covered to prevent sun damage; at night, thick plastic sheets cover the surface to protect them from sudden rain wetting the coffee fruits. After about 18 days of careful handling, the moisture content of the raw beans drops to about 13%, completing the natural processing. The raw coffee beans are packed in jute bags and stored in a warehouse for 50 days to further reduce their moisture content. When the raw bean moisture content drops to around 11%, they are transported to processing plants for hulling, grading, and sales.

Knowledge Bonus: Uraga region is a very new small region located within Guji. It has always been overshadowed by Guji's fame and remained unknown to most people until this year when it won the championship in the washed category of TOH (Taste of Harvest - a competition for raw coffee beans from African producing countries), officially entering public awareness. It is Ethiopia's highest altitude coffee production area, making coffee from this region full of lively and varied flavors.

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