Ethiopia Washed Coffee Beans: 2020 TOH Champion Guji Uraga Washed Process Coffee

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In the 2020 TOH competition, the Sela Gejaba processing station from Ethiopia's Guji Uraga region won the championship with a score of 89.9. This championship coffee bean arrived in China in early December, and FrontStreet Coffee was among the first to acquire this coffee bean for an "in-depth analysis."

FrontStreet Coffee - Ethiopia 2020 TOH Washed Category Champion Coffee Bean

Region: Ethiopia, Guji Uraga

Processing Station: Sela Gajaba Processing Station

Variety: Ethiopian heirloom varieties

Altitude: 2170m

Processing Method: Washed

Taste of Harvest (TOH) Green Bean Competition

The TOH Green Bean Competition is the most important annual green bean competition among African coffee-growing countries. The full name is "East Africa Taste of Harvest Competition" (TOH). This event is similar to the Cup of Excellence (COE) in Central and South America. Since its establishment, the TOH competition has become a platform for discovering the finest coffees from 12 African producing countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo, and others.

The TOH competition process is as follows: In the preliminary round, batches with cupping scores below 80 are eliminated. Gradually, the highest quality green beans from each region are selected to enter the national-level competition. Then, domestic and international judges together conduct cupping and scoring based on standards from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). The highest-scoring coffee becomes the national champion of the year.

Uraga

The coffee beans acquired by FrontStreet Coffee this time come from the Uraga sub-region of Ethiopia's Guji region. Since the Guji region became independent from the Sidamo region, it has undoubtedly been the most noteworthy coffee-producing region in recent years. The Guji region is located southeast of Yirgacheffe and is an area with complex topographical changes including towering mountains, valleys, and plains. The region's geology consists of fertile black soil (Vertisol) with soil depth reaching nearly two meters, and an average altitude above 1,800 meters. The significant day-night temperature differences created by geographical characteristics provide the local area with all the terroir conditions necessary to produce high-quality specialty coffee.

Uraga is a sub-region within the Guji region, with altitudes reaching up to 2,300m. Although Uraga town is located within the Guji region, geographically it is closer to the high-altitude area of Yirgacheffe at 2,200m. Before the Guji region became famous, coffee beans processed by Uraga's processing plants were mostly sold under the name of Yirgacheffe. After the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) designated Guji as an independent region, the western highland areas of Uraga or directly used village or cooperative names as production units, marked on gunny sacks. The Uraga region has also won the TOH championship multiple times in recent years.

Sela Gajaba Processing Station

The Sela Gajaba washed processing station is located 12 kilometers outside Uraga town. The surrounding area is shaded by green trees, and several mountains away create the perfect environment for growing quality coffee. The Boye River flows through the area, irrigating the coffee farms of small and medium-sized farmers.

Washed Processing Method

The TOH champion beans acquired by FrontStreet Coffee this time are from the washed category. Becoming a champion bean is no easy task - it's like a beauty pageant where absolute strength is necessary to become world-famous. Of course, coffee beans must also possess both "civil and martial" qualities (balance of complexity and strength). The coffee processing must undergo strict and careful control and screening at every stage. Hand-picking fully ripe fresh coffee cherries as raw material is the first step in ensuring coffee quality. Before processing, one can see the beautiful, mature red fruits appearing particularly enticing under sunlight. After careful selection, the harvested coffee cherries enter the washed processing stage.

The selected coffee cherries are placed in a depulper to initially remove their skin and pulp; the coffee beans with remaining pulp and mucilage are placed in water to ferment for about 18-36 hours; after fermentation, the coffee beans with parchment are placed in flowing water channels to wash away their pulp and mucilage; after washing, the coffee beans are dried in the sun or with dryers to reduce moisture content to about 12%. Finally, the parchment is removed from the green coffee beans. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the washed processing method highlights the brightness of acidity in Uraga region coffee beans, with an overall profile leaning towards the floral notes and citrus acidity characteristics of the Yirgacheffe region.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

FrontStreet Coffee's roaster used a Yangjia 800N (300g batch size): Preheat the drum to 180°C, heat power at 130, damper opened to 3; Turning point at 1'36", when drum temperature reaches 140°C, open damper to 4, heat power unchanged; when drum temperature reaches 151°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering the dehydration stage, heat power reduced to 110.

At 8'37", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'39", first crack begins, damper not opened to 5, develop for 1'00" after first crack, unload at 193.2°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's barista uses 200ml standard cupping bowls, with a grind size that passes through a #20 standard sieve at 70%-75% rate, using 11.1g of coffee, water temperature at 94°C. First grind and smell the dry aroma, then add water to fill the bowl. Confirm wet aroma, break crust and remove grounds after 4 minutes, then proceed with flavor evaluation.

Dry Aroma: Floral

Wet Aroma: Citrus

Flavor: Jasmine, lemon, berries, pomelo, honey, green tea

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Experience

Dripper: V60#01

Coffee Amount: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 91°C

Grind Size: Medium-fine (78% through #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: First wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour with small circular motions to 125g for the first pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait for the water level to drop until it's about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the dripper (timing starts from the beginning of bloom). Total extraction time is 2'05".

Brewing Flavor: Front notes of citrus acidity and jasmine aroma, middle notes of pomelo tea and honey aftertaste.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473