Single Origin Coffee Bean from Sidamo Region: What are the Characteristics and Taste of Natural Process Guji 8.0 Coffee?

When FrontStreet Coffee recommends Ethiopian coffee beans, we often ask customers: "Would you prefer an Ethiopian with brighter acidity or one with more juice-like qualities?" When customers struggle to decide which Ethiopian beans to choose, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas help them quickly select their preferred flavor by explaining the bright citrus-like acidity characteristics of the Yirgacheffe region and the rich fruit aroma and juice-like qualities of the Sidamo region.

Understanding Natural Process Flavor

Generally speaking, "natural process flavor" in single-origin coffee is a rather vague concept. It's considered elegant and fragrant by those who enjoy this coffee flavor, while others describe it as peculiar. Even coffee connoisseurs might immediately determine that a coffee bean has undergone natural processing after one sip, but if you ask them to describe exactly what "natural flavor" tastes like, they might hesitate and struggle to articulate it.

Natural flavor actually refers to the taste that coffee beans acquire during the natural processing method. In the process of coffee cherries transforming into green beans, two different methods are commonly used: washed and natural. Natural processing involves drying the entire coffee cherry directly, allowing the beans to absorb sugars from the fruit pulp and mucilage. This results in coffee beans with a subtle fermented aroma and a more pronounced sweetness when brewed.

How Coffee Beans Are Naturally Processed

During the coffee harvest season, farmers in the Sidamo region only pick mature red cherries, placing them one by one in baskets. The harvested coffee cherries are uniform in size, similar in maturity, and free from other impurities. During processing, defective coffee beans and unripe or overripe coffee cherries are first manually sorted. Then the red coffee cherries are spread evenly on raised wooden frames or entire drying racks for sun drying, which avoids the risk of beans absorbing unwanted flavors from the ground.

During the drying process, the cherries are constantly turned to ensure even exposure and uniform dehydration. Every three to five days, farmers manually remove defective and moldy beans. Once the fruit skin has dried and hardened, a hulling machine is used to remove the dry, hard fruit skin. After obtaining the green coffee beans, farmers perform one final sorting to pursue the perfect flavor profile.

Are Naturally Processed Sidamo Coffee Beans Delicious?

Ethiopia, as one of the world's most important coffee exporting countries, has major growing regions including Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Kochere, Harar, and Jimma. Sidamo is a major specialty coffee producing region, known for coffee beans with excellent fruity characteristics and delicate, elegant flavors.

The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia, extending eastward to the Arsi and Bale administrative regions and westward to the Gamogofa administrative region. Sidamo coffee is cultivated at altitudes between 1400m-2000m. Agriculture dominates the local industry, with the main coffee growing areas situated around the Great Rift Valley. Sidamo has developed rapidly in recent years and has become an important coffee export hub. The coffee flavors in Sidamo are extremely diverse, with different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties creating distinct differences and characteristics in the coffee produced by each town.

The coffee beans from this region, due to natural processing, develop fuller berry aromas and smooth body, making them popular among coffee consumers worldwide.

Representative Natural Process Coffee Beans from Sidamo Region

FrontStreet Coffee - Sidamo Hua Kui 8.0 Coffee Beans

• Continent: Africa
• Country: Ethiopia
• Origin: Hambela, Sidamo
• Processing Station: Buku Abel Processing Station
• Coffee Variety: Heirloom (Ethiopian native varieties)
• Altitude: 2250-2350m
• Processing Method: Natural Process

What is "Hua Kui Coffee"? Why is it called "Hua Kui"?

Before "Hua Kui Coffee" became known as "Hua Kui," it was actually an award-winning competition-grade Ethiopian coffee bean. In February 2017, when Ethiopian DW Coffee Company participated in the TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition) organized by the African Fine Coffee Association, they submitted a natural process coffee bean from the Buku Abel processing station in the Hambela region of Sidamo. With its rich berry aroma and creamy texture, it won the championship in the natural process category that year.

In the same year, this championship batch was selected by a Beijing green bean trader. Precisely because of its champion status, it was named "Hua Kui" when introduced to the domestic market, symbolizing "the best among flowers, surpassing all others in beauty." Shortly after, this "Hua Kui" was used as competition coffee by a coffee brewing championship contestant (China region), defeating opponents using Geisha varieties and winning the runner-up position that year. This was also the first time Hua Kui gained fame in China.

As the competition spotlight continued to grow, this traditional natural process bean from the Buku Abel processing station successfully "debuted." Coupled with its affordable price and pleasant flavors, it quickly became widely recognized within the coffee community as a high-quality Ethiopian coffee.

What is the "Hua Kui Flavor"?

To distinguish from the original version, the green bean trading company established a X.0 suffix system based on the year 2017 when Hua Kui was born. For example, the 2018 batch is called "Hua Kui 2.0," the 2019 production is called "Hua Kui 3.0 and 3.1"... Last year's release was "Hua Kui 7.0," so the 2024 batch naturally became Hua Kui 8.0, and so on. This way, we can identify which year's batch the Hua Kui we purchased belongs to through this suffix.

If we consider the literal meaning of "Hua Kui," we might think it's a coffee with "abundant floral aromas." In reality, Hua Kui's floral notes are not particularly strong; instead, fruit aromas are especially prominent, such as creamy strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus, and blueberry. It possesses the unique mature tropical fruit flavors characteristic of Sidamo natural process beans, often leaving a deep impression. Moreover, it was precisely this rich berry fragrance that helped "Hua Kui" win first place in the TOH green bean competition that year.

However, as everyone knows, coffee is essentially an economic agricultural crop. The annual yield and quality are first affected by factors such as climate, rainfall, altitude, soil, fertilization, and weeding. Then, differences in processing details (sunshine duration, temperature, humidity) will present different flavor profiles. Hua Kui is no exception. Therefore, there will always be some differences in taste between Hua Kui beans produced each year compared to the previous year.

Is Natural Process Hua Kui Coffee Bean Suitable for SOE?

Many coffee enthusiasts have a habit when they encounter a coffee bean they admire: they're not satisfied with just one extraction method to taste the coffee. Instead, they want to use all available tools to extract it in every possible way. The highly personalized SOE (Single Origin Espresso) is one of the most popular approaches. For example, the Ethiopia Hua Kui 8.0 recently introduced by FrontStreet Coffee, with its rich fermented fruit aroma and the unique mellow sweetness of natural process coffee, has become the daily choice for many players. It also makes those with espresso machines at home eager to try replicating a cup of Hua Kui SOE latte or SOE americano just like in coffee shops—just thinking about it is delightful.

Compared to dark roast blends, making floral and fruity SOE tests the barista's extraction skills. It not only requires consideration of the coffee bean's roast level but also adjusting different extraction parameters according to the actual situation to present the best flavor and texture in the espresso. If we don't choose the right beans and are unfamiliar with the espresso-making process, it's easy to fail, resulting in coffee that is either bitter or astringent and hard to swallow. In FrontStreet Coffee's view, choosing a coffee bean suitable for SOE extraction not only makes it easy to produce delicious espresso but also makes making americanos or lattes by adding water or milk twice as effective.

Take the Hua Kui coffee we're discussing today. Considering that customers may use different brewing methods after purchase, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters have specially introduced two different roasting curves: one is a medium-light roast suitable for cold brew and pour-over, and the other is a medium roast suitable for espresso machines and moka pots. For example, if someone prefers simplicity and convenience and chooses cold brew, or pursues a sense of ritual by extracting in the form of pour-over, they can choose the medium-light roast. If you prefer golden crema or hope to create delicate patterns on your latte, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the SOE roasting curve.

Extraction Parameters for Hua Kui SOE Espresso

• Coffee Beans: Ethiopia Hua Kui 8.0
• Coffee Dose: 20g
• Liquid Yield: 40g
• Brew Ratio: 1:2
• Extraction Time: 26-32 seconds
• Grind Setting: Galileo 2.0

FrontStreet Coffee's coffee machine is the commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," which can adjust extraction by changing pressure, with a maximum pressure of 11 bar. Home coffee machines only need to reach 9 bar pressure to satisfy extraction and milk frothing functions, paired with a Galileo espresso grinder.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a double portafilter basket, requiring 20 grams of coffee grounds each time, with an extraction ratio of 1:2, meaning 40 grams of liquid coffee is produced within a reasonable time. Extraction time is related to the flow rate of the coffee grounds. Generally, a single extraction duration is controlled between 20-35 seconds. If less than 20 seconds, the coffee flavor tends to be thin and weak, while exceeding 35 seconds may lead to over-extraction, causing burnt and bitter flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee controls the espresso time within the range of 26-32 seconds.

Before extraction, we need to first wipe the portafilter dry, turn on the grinder, grind double shots of coffee, and place them on an electronic scale to measure and adjust until reaching 20 grams. Then use a distributor to level the coffee grounds, and apply vertical downward pressure with a tamper to compact the coffee puck, ensuring more stable coffee extraction.

Then turn on the extraction switch and run water for 1-2 seconds to moisten the group head while also washing away any coffee residue stuck above it. Place an electronic scale under the cup that will receive the espresso and zero the weight, then place it under the group head during extraction.

Gently lock the portafilter into the group head and start the extraction switch. Observe the changes in the extraction liquid. When the electronic scale shows 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, at approximately 30 seconds, pull down the extraction switch. The brewing parameters will vary subtly based on daily air humidity and coffee bean conditions, so adjustments to coffee dose, grind setting, and liquid extraction amount may be needed.

The extracted Hua Kui SOE can be enjoyed directly. Remember to have a glass of water to cleanse your palate. At this time, you can taste the dense crema and the rich tropical fruit sweetness and acidity of the underlying coffee liquid, as well as gentle, light floral notes.

If you find the intense bitterness of espresso unacceptable, you can also add 160g of ice water or warm water at a 1:4 ratio according to your preference to create a refreshing SOE Hua Kui americano. Friends who prefer milk coffee can also add 240g of steamed warm milk at a 1:6 ratio to soften the texture of the espresso. Finally, you'll get a SOE Hua Kui latte that tastes like creamy strawberry cookies.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473