What is Ethiopian "Flower Champion" Coffee Bean?

Ethiopia is universally recognized as the birthplace of coffee. It has a long history of coffee cultivation and stands as Africa's largest coffee producer. The coffee grown there is beloved by enthusiasts for its rich fruity flavors and floral aromas.

At FrontStreet Coffee we offer several varieties of Ethiopian coffee, and the most renowned of them is the Flower Queen bean. We have now reached Flower Queen 8.0, which makes this the eighth year of this exceptional coffee. But what earned this bean its fame?

The Origin Story of Flower Queen

This bean first gained fame in 2017, when Ethiopia hosted the Taste of Harvest (TOH) competition organized by the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA). DW Coffee Company entered a naturally processed coffee from its Buku Abel processing plant (then called "Hambella"). The coffee impressed the judges with its intense berry aroma and creamy texture, winning the championship in the natural processed category that year.

According to the traceability information from that time, the bean came from Ethiopia's renowned Guji zone, specifically the Hambella sub-zone, and was processed at the Buku Abel processing plant. It was therefore initially named after its sub-zone of origin.

How "Flower Queen" Got Its Name

The name "Flower Queen" came about in the same year, when a Beijing-based green coffee trader recognized the bean's potential, named it "Flower Queen" (implying "the best among all flowers"), and introduced it to the domestic market. This Flower Queen was also chosen by a competitor for the World Brewers Cup (China region). Although it took only second place, it defeated many rivals using Geisha beans, won public recognition, and offered excellent value for money - which is how it became famous almost overnight.

Expansion and Evolution

After Flower Queen became famous, DW Company expanded production to meet demand, establishing five additional processing stations in Dimtu town, the core area of Hambella, and sourcing beans from nearby villages for Flower Queen production. It is reported that at this point DW Company's annual output of Flower Queen had reached tens of millions of tons.

Coffee, however, is an agricultural product, and its quality is influenced by many factors: the climate of the year, rainfall, fertilization, and even subtle differences in processing such as temperature, humidity, and sun-drying conditions. So from 2018 onward, even when DW Company cultivated and harvested coffee in the same region and processed it at the same plant, the flavor differed somewhat from the championship-winning Flower Queen of 2017.

Flower Queen 8.0: The Latest Evolution

To distinguish each batch from the original, domestic green coffee traders began naming successive batches "Flower Queen X.0." The 2018 batch was Flower Queen 2.0, the 2019 batch Flower Queen 3.0, and this year's 2024 batch is Flower Queen 8.0. This year's FrontStreet Coffee Flower Queen 8.0 brews with the tropical fruit flavors of dried mango, citrus, and jackfruit. It has a full, juice-like body, a smooth mouthfeel, a black tea-like aftertaste, and rich, layered complexity.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this story makes you want to taste the bean for yourself, the obvious starting point is FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui - Flower Queen. The version in our lineup comes from the Hambella area of Guji Sidamo and is naturally processed, a method that lets the beans absorb abundant sweetness from the fruit pulp and skin. Roasted medium-light, it shows light fermentation, florals, citrus, and mango, with honey sweetness, a cocoa tone, a touch of spice, a full body, and a long finish.

For a variation on the same region, try FrontStreet Sidamo Natural Hamasho. Produced mainly from the JARC 74 series of disease-resistant varieties - with 74158 standing out for its compact beans and pronounced floral-fruity character - it earned a regular place on Ethiopian green bean competition lists. FrontStreet Hamasho 74158 offers an enticing aroma of perfume lemon, strawberry, and star fruit, with obvious strawberry, star fruit, and green grape sweetness on the palate and a delicate florality emerging afterward.