Ethiopian Coffee Regions, Guji Zone, the History of Guji Coffee, and Introduction to Guji Coffee 7.0

Ethiopia: The Birthplace of Coffee

When it comes to coffee, many people think of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the largest Arabica coffee-producing country in Africa, with a long and storied coffee history. The country boasts numerous coffee varieties—according to estimates, Ethiopia now has between 10,000 to 15,000 coffee varieties, most of which have not yet undergone formal genetic identification.

Ethiopia is the world's largest coffee gene pool. As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia has multiple coffee-producing regions, with Guji, Yirgacheffe, and Sidama being particularly renowned. Among these, Guji is home to the famous Flower Queen coffee beans.

Guji Region: Home of Flower Queen Coffee

The Guji region, formerly part of the Sidama region, was independently designated as a new region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010. The most famous coffee beans from the Guji region are Flower Queen, which originated in one of Guji's sub-regions, Hambella. The western part of Hambella faces the Kochere mountains of Yirgacheffe, with cultivation altitudes reaching 2100-2300 meters. To the southeast, east, and north, it borders other Guji sub-regions: Shakiso and Uraga. Currently, there are about 20 processing plants of various scales in the Hambella region, with harvest periods from November to January of the following year.

Flower Queen gained fame in the 2017 TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition), where it won the championship with its outstanding strawberry and cream flavor profile. In the same year, the runner-up of the World Coffee Brewing Championship China region, Li Jianfei from Beijing, also used Flower Queen coffee beans to achieve second place, adding significantly to the reputation of these coffee beans.

The Evolution of Flower Queen Coffee

The championship-winning Flower Queen coffee beans were a natural processed batch from the "Buku Abel" processing plant in Hambella, owned by DW company. This coffee was named "Flower Queen" by Chinese raw bean importers due to its rich strawberry and cream aroma. Later, DW company expanded its processing plants in Hambella to four, adding "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye" to the original "Buku Abel," capable of producing approximately 1100 tons of coffee annually. Among all these estates and processing facilities, strictly speaking, only the natural processed coffee from the "Buku Abel" processing plant can be called "Flower Queen coffee beans"—this explains why Flower Queen 2.0, Flower Queen 3.0, and Flower Queen 3.1 appeared in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

In 2018, Flower Queen 2.0 was introduced, followed by 3.0 and 3.1 in 2019. Since then, a Flower Queen x.0 series has been released each year, with Flower Queen 7.0 launched in 2023. However, with DW company's gradual expansion and development of processing plants and increased production, its flavor profile has noticeably diverged from the original Flower Queen coffee beans that gained fame in 2017.

Flower Queen 7.0: Tasting Notes

Currently, FrontStreet Coffee offers Flower Queen 7.0, which comes from the Buku Abel processing plant and uses natural processing. When brewed using V60 with a 1:15 ratio, it presents citrus, apricot, and passion fruit-like sweet and sour notes upon entry, with a slight fermentation sensation, smooth mouthfeel, and tea-like qualities.

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