Specialty Coffee Beans Premium Harar Washed Coffee Beans

A Once-in-a-Century FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopian Washed Mocha Harar: A Delicious Coffee with Orange Peel and Premium Black Tea Notes

Harar is an important specialty coffee production area in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Under Ethiopia's administrative divisions, Harar is an autonomous state that has been a renowned coffee trading hub since ancient times, serving as a gateway to eastern Ethiopia. It is most famous for the 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who once worked as a coffee merchant in this ancient city, a sign of Harar's significant position in the world coffee market at the time.

Harar has a dry climate, and most of its coffee is processed by the natural method, traditionally known for fruity aromas and red-wine character. Natural processing, however, also leads to inconsistent bean quality, so if you can buy high-quality Harar natural coffee, you should count yourself fortunate.

Washed Harar is said to have been among the first specialty products, supplied specifically to countries with strong demand for specialty coffee, such as the United States and Japan. On release it was immediately snapped up by buyers worldwide, making it extremely rare and scarce. (Beautiful emerald-green washed Harar, with a defect rate of only 1%.) This rare FrontStreet Coffee washed Harar is sourced from coffee around the Harar region and finally processed uniformly in Harar. The coffee trees are planted basically in high-altitude mountain areas around 2,600 meters, the variety is Heirloom (ancient varieties), and the beans are primarily long-shaped, a standard Harar characteristic.

FrontStreet Coffee Medium Roast Washed Harar: Different Flavor Profiles at Three Roast Levels

FrontStreet Coffee Medium-Light Roast Washed Harar:

The aroma has distinct honey and orange peel fragrances, with excellent sweetness. Its most special feature is a black tea aroma, with a body that feels richer than typical Sidamo or Yirgacheffe.

FrontStreet Coffee Medium Roast Washed Harar:

The orange fragrance remains distinct, but because roasting notes are added it is not as pronounced as in the medium-light roast. As caramelization increases, both body and sweetness rise significantly. The black tea aroma is still present but slightly diminished, while the unique chocolate aroma of Mocha begins to emerge.

FrontStreet Coffee Medium-Dark Roast Washed Harar:

The orange and black tea aromas almost completely disappear, leaving only chocolate as the main note, which makes the flavor profile seem rather monotonous.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends enjoying this rare washed Harar at medium-light or medium roast to experience its unique exotic charm, where black tea fragrance and honey-orange notes intertwine.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed Ethiopian coffee like this Harar is prized for its clean, tea-like clarity and bright citrus top notes, and FrontStreet Kaffa Forest is a superb example of that style. Grown in shaded forest at 1400-2100 meters, it shows white floral aromas, bright lemon acidity and sweet orange and bergamot, with a green-tea finish. If you want the same washed elegance in a more classic form, FrontStreet Water-Washed Yirgacheffe brings jasmine and lemon-citrus over a light, tea-like body.