The Origin Story and Flavor Characteristics of Ethiopia's Guji Coffee Beans

The Rise of Flower Champion Coffee

In 2017, Li Jianfei won the championship in the China division of the World Brewers Championship with this natural processed Flower Champion coffee. Since then, the popularity of Flower Champion has continued to grow. FrontStreet Coffee can even say that it ranks at the top of the specialty coffee list. This Flower Champion broke the legend of Geisha and became a coffee that could compete with Geisha coffee.

Unique Characteristics of Flower Champion Coffee

Undoubtedly, the characteristics of Flower Champion coffee beans are unique. For a long time, Guji coffee was bundled together with Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffees, but rapid commercial and cultural development elevated Guji coffee to a distinct coffee-producing region, gaining increasing recognition worldwide.

The Origin of the Name "Flower Champion"

In traditional Chinese culture, the top three in ancient imperial examinations were generally called "Zhuangyuan," "Bangyan," and "Tanhua" - Chinese terms you might not be familiar with. What many people don't know is that this Flower Champion from the Sidamo Guji region's Hambella area also originates from Chinese terminology. If you observe carefully, you'll notice that the Chinese name "花魁" (Flower Champion) and the English name of this coffee bean don't correspond directly. The Chinese call it "花魁" (Flower Champion), while the English is more often "Hambella," which literally translates to "罕贝拉" (Hambella). FrontStreet Coffee will briefly discuss the origin of the Flower Champion coffee name.

Flower Champion, literally speaking, means "the leader of all flowers." When Chinese green bean importers first encountered the Flower Champion from the Hambella area of the Sidamo region's Guji district, they were deeply captivated by this Flower Champion coffee's vanilla cream flavor. As long as the processing methods of this Flower Champion coffee bean continued to improve, it had the potential to become the next Geisha. Therefore, the Chinese green bean importers gave this natural processed coffee from the Guji region the title of Flower Champion, expressing high hopes for it.

FrontStreet Coffee reminds everyone that not all natural processed coffees from the Guji region of Sidamo are Flower Champion coffee. Generally, only natural processed coffee produced and processed by the Buku Abel estate can be called "Flower Champion," so the Buku Abel estate is also known as the "Flower Champion Estate." The area where Flower Champion is grown is surrounded by sugarcane and banana trees. Under high-altitude climate conditions, this creates a smooth mouthfeel for Flower Champion coffee, with passion fruit acidity and fermented wine notes brought by the natural processing method.

Unlike the lemon and citrus tones from the Yirgacheffe region that are very popular at FrontStreet Coffee, coffee beans from the Guji region have more intense floral aromas. When coffee beans from the Guji region use natural processing, it undoubtedly elevates the aroma and sweetness of Flower Champion coffee beans to another level. Additionally, because the flavor profiles from these two regions are so outstanding, they were separately established by the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange.

Natural Processing Method for Flower Champion Coffee

The unique flavor of Flower Champion is inseparable from its natural processing method. According to FrontStreet Coffee, coffee farmers harvest coffee fruits each year from December to January. The sugar content of the red coffee cherries must reach over 30% before natural processing can begin. The natural process is very meticulous: for the first two days, the humidity of the red coffee cherries must be maintained to allow their fruit sugars to fully undergo fermentation. When temperatures are high at noon, timely shading is necessary to prevent sun damage to the red cherries, which would be detrimental to fermentation. Then at night, to prevent sudden rain, thick plastic must be used for wrapping.

Flower Champion Coffee Natural Processing Method:

According to FrontStreet Coffee, the coffee trees at the Buku processing station are all planted on the mountainside at altitudes of 2250-2350m. Coffee farmers only begin natural processing when the sugar content of harvested coffee fruits reaches over 30%. Additionally, during the first two days of natural processing, the humidity of the red cherries needs to be maintained to allow sufficient time for thorough fermentation.

Because temperatures here drop to around 12 degrees at night, this ensures the red cherries are not over-fermented. Then after 18 days of natural processing, once the fruit skin and pulp are completely dehydrated, the green coffee beans inside can be easily obtained. The green beans are then packaged and placed in a warehouse at 12-22 degrees Celsius with 45-55% humidity for about 50 days of bean resting and further dehydration. When the moisture content reaches around 11%, the beans are hulled and sorted for formal market sale.

Flavor Profile of Flower Champion Coffee

Another point that FrontStreet Coffee must mention is that, in a narrow sense, only the 2017 TOH (Taste of Harvest) natural processing champion that entered China can be called Flower Champion coffee. However, due to its excellent flavor, Hongshun Company continues to import coffee beans from the "Buku Abel" processing station in the Hambella region each year, calling them Flower Champion 2.0, Flower Champion 3.0, and Flower Champion 3.1 to distinguish them from previous Flower Champion coffee and represent different batches or harvest seasons. At this point, Flower Champion coffee still maintains certain characteristics - namely, being procured and imported by Hongshun, with the production region still locked to the "Buku Abel" processing station in Hambella. Of course, as an agricultural product, with different climate changes each year, the flavor profile will vary.

Important Notice :

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