What are the Differences in Flavor Characteristics Between Ethiopian Coffee Beans Guohua 6.0 and 7.0? Introduction to Guohua Coffee Roasting Levels

For beginners in specialty coffee, the most well-known coffee beans often come from Ethiopia, with two varieties that many who have been drinking pour-over coffee for some time frequently encounter in various specialty coffee shops: washed Yirgacheffe and natural Sidamo.

Ethiopia is a treasure trove of coffee, but just these two coffee beans alone can overwhelm customers visiting FrontStreet Coffee to select their beans. When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas encounter this situation, they'll ask: Would you prefer something with a cleaner taste or something more juice-like?

When customers want coffee that tastes like juice, FrontStreet Coffee recommends Guoji Coffee beans. Recently, Luckin Coffee launched the Guoji 5.0 series, making more people who don't normally drink specialty coffee eager to try it. So, FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce Guoji coffee beans to everyone:

Origin and Production Area

Guoji coffee is produced in the Hambella sub-region of the Sidamo region. The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia. This famous coffee-producing area features various types of soil, including fertile red volcanic soil, with diverse coffee varieties generally labeled as local native species. Such diverse elements contribute to the flavor variety of Sidamo region coffee.

With such superior growing conditions, coffee beans from the Sidamo region always rank high in the East African Taste of Harvest (TOH) competition. In the 2020 TOH competition, the washed category champion was from the Guji region of Sidamo. FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection also includes this coffee bean for purchase.

The natural Sidamo coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce come from the Hambella sub-region, which has the highest altitude coffee farms in Ethiopia. It is separated from the Kochere area of the Yirgacheffe region by just one mountain. Hambella is actually a coffee farm belonging to the well-known local METAD Agricultural Development PLC. It serves as both an independent coffee farm and the main processing station for nearby planting areas, processing coffee from the surrounding region and selling it as independent batches.

The entire Hambella farm covers 200 hectares and is located about 75 kilometers from Yirgacheffe, in Ethiopia's best coffee-producing heartland. Its processing station is quite professional and well-equipped in terms of equipment, management, and scale. Additionally, fertile volcanic soil, natural organic farming methods, and relatively mature post-processing methods are key factors that have made this area one of the most popular sub-regions in recent years. The place where Guoji coffee beans are produced is the coffee processing station near Buku village in the Hambella region, also called the "Buku Abel Processing Station." Local coffee farmers there grow cash crops such as bananas around the coffee plants. When these crops wither and fall, they rot in the soil, becoming natural fertilizer for the coffee trees.

The Story Behind the Name "Guoji"

Actually, since Guoji coffee beans are produced in the Hambella sub-region, why are they called "Guoji" instead of "Hambella coffee beans"? This dates back to 2017 when DW Company sent natural coffee beans processed by Buku Abel to participate in the TOH competition. Their rich strawberry cream flavor captured the hearts of international judges, winning the champion title in the natural category of TOH's Ethiopia division that year. Beijing green bean merchant Hong Shun, after tasting such wild berry cream flavors from the same batch of championship beans, decided to name it "Guoji," meaning "the best among flowers," expressing high hopes for this bean. In the same year, at the China competition of the World Brewers Cup, Geisha variety coffee beans dominated the field, but contestant Li Jianfei won second place using the same batch of Guoji coffee beans. For a time, many people became very curious about this coffee bean, and Guoji coffee beans gained widespread fame.

Evolution of Guoji Versions

Those who pay attention to Guoji coffee beans each year might notice that the names of Guoji coffee beans vary each year, with a string of numbers following the characters "Guoji" that increase annually. Actually, Guoji coffee is named in the format "Guoji X.0," with 2018 being Guoji 2.0, so 2021 naturally became Guoji 5.0. The 2022 Guoji beans were named "Guoji 6.0," and in 2023, the first batch of Guoji 7.0 arrived at Shanghai Port on April 17th, so the latest seasonal Guoji coffee beans should be available for tasting by late April.

Like everyone else, FrontStreet Coffee is eager to know how the flavor of Guoji 6.0 differs from Guoji 5.0 and even from the award-winning batch of Guoji coffee beans from the original year. However, the latest seasonal Guoji coffee beans are still being processed at their origin and are expected to arrive in April 2022. Of course, FrontStreet Coffee has also pre-ordered a batch at the earliest opportunity. When the new seasonal Guoji coffee beans arrive, that's when FrontStreet Coffee will launch this popular coffee bean to the public.

For now, everyone can only taste the two Guoji coffee beans available on FrontStreet Coffee's menu: Guoji 5.0 and Small Bean Guoji coffee beans.

Differences Between Guoji 5.0 and Small Bean Guoji

Everyone might wonder what the difference is between Small Bean Guoji and Guoji 5.0. In fact, as early as 2017, FrontStreet Coffee noticed that there were some small coffee beans among Guoji coffee beans. In the Guoji coffee beans of the following two years, FrontStreet Coffee similarly found small-bean Guoji coffee beans. Later, through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee discovered that these small-bean Guoji coffee beans were the source of Guoji coffee's aroma. In 2020, DW Company's Buku Abel processing plant separately processed these small coffee beans and distinguished them as the Small Bean Guoji coffee bean product.

Through cupping both Guoji 5.0 and Small Bean Guoji from the 2021 production season, FrontStreet Coffee found that Guoji 5.0's flavor is closer to that of the Guji region: light floral notes, combined berry acidity, and full juice-like body. The flavor of Small Bean Guoji is closer to the award-winning batch from 2017: prominent strawberry flavor, full and solid juice-like mouthfeel, with a long-lasting creamy aftertaste.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use a medium-light roast level for these two Guoji coffee beans, preserving more and higher-quality acidity, resulting in a brighter taste. When brewing these two coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a Hario V60 dripper, water temperature of 91°C, and a medium-fine grind level.

Brewing Parameters:

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

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a three-stage pouring method when brewing coffee, giving the coffee more rich layers. First, pour 30g of hot water for a 30-second bloom, then pour from the center with a small stream and slowly spiral to 125g for segmentation. When the water level in the dripper drops to just about to expose the coffee bed, continue spiraling to 225g. The total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473