What are the characteristics of Ethiopia's Guji region? What is the Guji coffee bean?

Ethiopian Coffee: The Birthplace of Coffee

When it comes to African coffee, everyone immediately thinks of Ethiopia. This is because Ethiopian coffee enjoys extremely high recognition in the global coffee market, is widely recognized as the birthplace of coffee, and serves as the world's largest coffee gene bank. With numerous coffee varieties, it is estimated that Ethiopia currently has approximately 15,000 different coffee varieties.

Currently, Ethiopia is the largest Arabica coffee producing country in Africa, benefiting from its exceptionally favorable natural conditions for coffee cultivation. Located in northeastern Africa, it consists mainly of mountains and plateaus, predominantly belonging to the Ethiopian Highlands, and is traversed by the East African Rift Valley that runs through the entire country. On both sides of the rift valley, numerous mountain ranges and volcanoes are arranged, with these mountains averaging nearly 3,000 meters in altitude. Although Ethiopia lies in the tropics, the influence of high altitude keeps the country's average annual temperature at around 16°C. The significant temperature difference between day and night allows for a longer coffee growing cycle and richer flavor development.

Ethiopia's Coffee Regions

Currently, Ethiopia is divided into 12 states and 2 autonomous administrative regions, and further divided into 10 coffee-producing regions. Many of these are globally renowned coffee regions, such as Sidamo, Jimma, Harrar, Guji, and Yirgacheffe. Among them, Guji and Yirgacheffe were originally part of the Sidamo region but became independent coffee regions due to their unique flavors.

Yirgacheffe: The Jewel of Ethiopian Coffee

Yirgacheffe was originally a sub-region of the Sidamo coffee-producing region and also belongs to the Sidama region in Ethiopia's administrative divisions. However, due to its distinctive flavors of elevated white floral aromas, bright lemon acidity, and fresh green tea sensations, it became an independent coffee-producing region.

In FrontStreet Coffee's staple bean series, Yirgacheffe coffee beans from this renowned Ethiopian region are included. Selected from Heirloom varieties and processed using the washed method, they yield floral, citrus, and berry flavors after brewing, with lemon-like acidity and a refreshing mouthfeel.

Guji: The Rising Star

Like Yirgacheffe, Guji was previously a sub-region of Sidamo. Due to its excellent and highly distinctive flavors, it was independently designated as a new coffee-producing region by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2010. In Ethiopia's administrative divisions, Guji belongs to the Oromia region, named after a local tribe. Guji is located southeast of Yirgacheffe and features complex and varied terrain with numerous mountains, valleys, and plains, with an average altitude of 1,800 meters, creating diverse microclimates. Currently, Guji region is further divided into several sub-regions, with the most famous being Hambella, Uraga, and Shakiso.

Hambella: Home of the Champion "Flower Queen"

Among these, the Hambella sub-region enjoys the highest recognition. This area is one of Ethiopia's highest-altitude sub-regions, with coffee cultivation reaching 2,100-2,300 meters. The region possesses dense forests with fertile, mineral-rich soil that is extremely suitable for coffee cultivation.

In 2017, Ethiopia's DW Coffee Company selected sun-dried coffee beans from the Buku Abel processing plant in Dimtu town, Hambella sub-region, to participate in the Taste of Harvest (TOH) raw bean competition organized by the African Fine Coffee Association. This coffee bean won the championship in the sun-dried category that year with its rich berry aroma and creamy texture. Later in the same year, this champion coffee batch was purchased by a Beijing raw bean trader, who named it "Flower Queen" and introduced it to the domestic market. Although a Chinese barista championship competitor only won second place when using this coffee, the reputation of "Flower Queen" began to gain recognition in China.

Evolution of Flower Queen Coffee

Due to the rising popularity of "Flower Queen" and increasing demand, DW Company established five independent coffee raw bean drying processing stations in Dimtu town, Hambella sub-region. In addition to Buku Abel, they incorporated four small villages: Buku Saysay, Haro Soresa, Tirtiro Goye, and Seke Bokosa. In 2018, Flower Queen 2.0 was launched, followed by 3.0 in 2019. Since then, a Flower Queen X.0 series has been released every year, now reaching Flower Queen 8.0.

At FrontStreet Coffee, we also offer Flower Queen 8.0 coffee beans from this renowned region. Sun-dried processed, they yield tropical fruit flavors such as dried mango, citrus, and jackfruit after brewing, with a full-bodied juice sensation, a round mouthfeel, black tea-like aftertaste, and rich layering.

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