What is the TOH Competition? What is the AFCA Organization?

Exploring Ethiopia's "Huang Kui" Coffee

Ethiopia is the largest coffee-producing country in Africa and widely recognized as the birthplace of coffee. Its rich natural resources give its coffee the floral and citrus character that so many drinkers love, and when people talk about a representative Ethiopian sun-dried bean, the name that comes up most often is "Huang Kui."

"Huang Kui," named by Chinese coffee traders, describes a sun-dried bean processed and produced at the Buku Abel processing station in Ethiopia's Guji Hambella region (its full name is Ethiopia Guji Hambella Buku Abel). FrontStreet Coffee now offers "Huang Kui 8.0," which brews into tropical notes of dried mango, citrus, and jackfruit, with a full, juicy body, a smooth mouthfeel, a black-tea-like finish, and rich layering.

The bean made its name in 2017, when Ethiopia's DW Coffee Company entered it in the TOH green bean competition, where its rich berry aroma and creamy texture won the sun-dried category championship.

Understanding the TOH Competition

So what exactly is the TOH competition that made "Huang Kui" famous? TOH, or Taste of Harvest, is also known as the Harvest Season Flavor Competition and is similar in spirit to the world-renowned COE (Cup of Excellence). But TOH is a green bean competition organized by the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA).

AFCA is a membership-based non-profit association established in July 2000, representing coffee producers, traders, governments, and supporting organizations. It currently has 11 member countries: Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.

TOH Competition Structure

At the start of each year, AFCA runs the Taste of Harvest competition, an annual coffee quality contest held across its member countries. TOH first separates national competitions from the regional finals. Because some countries grow both Arabica and Robusta, both types have national competitions, and the Arabica category is further divided into washed, sun-dried, and honey processing groups.

Winners of the national competitions go on to represent their countries at the African Regional Finals, held at the annual African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition, which member countries host in rotation. Every participating sample is graded using the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) scoring system and cupping protocol, and a panel of experienced, certified judges ultimately selects the top 5 from each of the three Arabica processing groups and from the Robusta category.

Purpose and Recent Developments

AFCA organizes the Taste of Harvest competition to promote the highest-quality coffees from across Africa. Each country's winning coffees are showcased at the African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition and promoted at international trade fairs and other coffee events. The aim is to help African producing countries develop their coffee trade, improve quality, and attract the attention and purchasing power of international buyers.

Earlier this year, AFCA partnered with the Ethiopia Coffee and Tea Authority to hold the 2024 Taste of Harvest competition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a competition-winning Ethiopian natural sounds appealing, FrontStreet Coffee's most direct match is the FrontStreet Natural Huakui, which comes from Hambella in the Guji zone of Sidamo, the same area that produced this style of bean. The farm covers 200 hectares and uses traditional natural processing: ripe cherries are dried on raised beds for 21 days, turned regularly for even drying, and hand-sorted every three to five days to remove defective or moldy fruit. Roasted medium-light, it shows a gentle fermented-wine note, florals, citrus, and mango, with honeyed sweetness, a cocoa edge, a touch of spice, a full body, and a long finish.

For a cleaner, washed expression of Ethiopia, the FrontStreet Gotiti Cooperative is traditionally washed and offers bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine perfume and no bitterness, while the FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe remains the classic entry point with white jasmine, lemon acidity, and a tea-like body.