How Have Sidamo Huakui Coffee Beans Changed Since 2017?

Sidamo Huakui coffee beans come from Hambella in Ethiopia's Guji region and appeared in 2017 with a strawberry-and-cream profile that made them widely known. The series has now reached its eighth release, Huakui 8.0. Many drinkers report that recent crops taste different from earlier ones, which is why the version history, terroir and processing matter when judging a given lot.

Guji was administratively part of Sidamo until the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange separated it as its own region in 2010. Hambella sits at roughly 2,000 meters on fertile black soil nearly two meters deep, with large day-night temperature swings. Alongside coffee classification and grading, these coffee producing nations conditions shape how each Huakui version tastes from year to year.

Since its debut in 2017, Huakui coffee beans quickly rose to fame with their signature strawberry-and-cream flavor. This renowned bean from Hambella in Ethiopia's Guji region has now evolved to version 8.0, yet many enthusiasts report that Huakui's flavor in recent years seems not as good as before. This article will comprehensively sort out Huakui's name origin, regional terroir, and natural processing method, and introduce each version of Huakui that Front Street Coffee has acquired over the years, from G1 to 4.0, with roasting curves and brewing parameters, to give you a full understanding of this coffee bean's past and present.

When talking about Sidamo, one bean must be mentioned, and that is "Huakui." Since its launch in 2017, Huakui has had a large and loyal following. Its vivid and bright strawberry-cream tonality has conquered almost every cafe. However, precisely because it is so famous and started from such a high point, whenever each year's new-crop Huakui comes onto the market, people inevitably compare it with previous years. Now this series has advanced to its eighth generation—"Huakui 8.0"—but Front Street has heard many friends say, "This year's Huakui doesn't taste like Huakui," and "The flavor is different from before." What exactly has caused this feeling?

Guji Region

In terms of administrative divisions, Guji once belonged to Sidamo, and in 2010 the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) separated it into a new region. It is located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with complex terrain covering high mountains, valleys, and plains. The soil here is fertile black soil (Vertisol), with a soil layer nearly two meters deep, and an average altitude of more than 1,800 meters. The unique geographical conditions bring significant temperature differences between day and night, providing an ideal terroir foundation for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

Guji Sub-region—Hambella

To the west, Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore region across the mountains, and to the southeast and north it borders other Guji sub-regions: Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha. At present, there are about 20 processing plants of various scales within Hambella's jurisdiction.

In the Hambella mountains, villagers have lived for generations deep in the mountains at an altitude of 2,000 meters, without roads or electricity. The water tap built with government aid at the village entrance is the whole village's only source of drinking water. Although people and livestock commonly live under the same roof, the air here is filled with freedom and happiness. Local children drive small donkeys to fetch water at the village entrance; they are always overjoyed, shyly using corn and avocados obtained from who knows where to trade with people coming in from outside the mountains for candy. On the drying beds, the coffee farmers turning the red coffee cherries are barefoot, singing, with simple and moving smiles. The Huakui coffee beans everyone loves are precisely hand-selected one by one by these honest villagers before finally appearing in the cup.

In 2017, a natural-process lot from DW Company's "Buku Abel" processing plant won the TOH championship. A Chinese green bean importer named it Huakui, and this bean at the time displayed rich strawberry and cream aromas. Afterward, DW Company expanded its processing plants in Dimtu, the core production area of Hambella, to four: "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with an annual output of about 1,100 tons.

Strictly speaking, among all estates and processing plants, only naturally processed coffee produced by the "Buku Abel" processing plant can be called "Huakui coffee beans." This also explains why Huakui 2.0, Huakui 3.0, and Huakui 3.1 appeared in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

First, where did the name "Huakui" come from?

If you pay attention, you will notice that this bean's Chinese name and English name do not correspond—the Chinese name is "Huakui," while the English name is "Hambella," which literally translates as "Hambella." In 2017, Ethiopian green bean company DW sent coffee beans to the TOH (the Taste Of Harvest) green bean competition hosted by the African Coffee Association. A natural lot from the "Buku Abel" processing plant won the Ethiopia division championship with rich strawberry and cream aromas. This lot of green beans was subsequently introduced by a Beijing green bean trader, and because of its championship status, it was given the name "Huakui."

In the same year, Li Jianfei from Beijing used this Huakui coffee to win second place in the China division of the 2017 World Brewers Cup, further increasing Huakui's popularity. At that time, Geisha varieties were at their peak, and most competitors almost uniformly chose Geisha, while Huakui, an Ethiopian heirloom variety, defeated many Geishas to take second place (of course, achieving a good ranking cannot rely only on bean quality, but Huakui's excellent quality was undoubtedly one of the important factors). Therefore, it is not surprising that people thought this Huakui was worthy of standing alongside Geisha.

Huakui Coffee Bean Natural Processing

Every year during the coffee harvest and processing season (December to January), the red coffee cherries picked by farmers must reach a sugar content of 30 or above before natural processing can begin. During the first two days of natural drying, the moisture of the red cherries must be maintained so that the fruit sugars fully undergo fermentation reactions. At the same time, the high-altitude location allows the processing plant's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius, without causing over-fermentation due to excessively high temperatures. When the midday temperature is higher, the cherries are timely shaded to prevent sunburn. At night, thick plastic sheeting is used to wrap them in case of sudden rain.

In this way, the red coffee cherries complete fermentation and dehydration at a relatively low temperature. After 18 days of natural drying, when the green bean moisture content drops to about 13%, drying is stopped, and they are put into burlap sacks and stored under natural conditions of 12-22 degrees Celsius and 45-55% humidity for about 50 days of green bean resting and further dehydration. When the green bean moisture content reaches about 11%, they are then transported to the processing plant for hulling, screening, and sale.

Introduction to the Huakui Coffee Beans Acquired by FrontStreet Coffee Over the Years

FrontStreet Coffee—Ethiopia Huakui G1 Coffee Beans

Region: Guji Hambella Processing Plant: Buku Able Altitude: 2,250-2,350 meters Variety: Local heirloom Grade: G1 Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Strawberry, passion fruit, berries, pineapple, cream, nuts

FrontStreet Coffee—Ethiopia Huakui 2.0 Coffee Beans Region: Guji Hambella Processing Plant: Goro Processing Plant Altitude: 2,316 meters Variety: Local heirloom Grade: G1 Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Floral, tropical fruit, red wine, nuts

FrontStreet Coffee—Ethiopia Huakui 3.0 Coffee Beans Region: Guji Hambella Processing Plant: Goro Processing Plant Altitude: 2,300 meters Variety: Local heirloom Grade: G1 Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Floral, berries, mango, pineapple, apricot

FrontStreet Coffee—Ethiopia Huakui 3.1 Coffee Beans Region: Guji Hambella Processing Plant: Mansa Shantang Processing Plant Altitude: 2,125 meters Variety: MANSA heirloom Grade: G1 Processing Method: Natural Flavor: Tropical fruit, citrus, caramel, cream

FrontStreet Coffee—Ethiopia Huakui 4.0 Coffee Beans Region: Guji Hambella Processing Plant: Buku Able Altitude: 2,350 meters Variety: Dega Processing Method: Natural Lot: 2020 new lot Flavor: Rose, cream strawberry, citrus, passion fruit, oolong tea

The batch of Huakui 4.0 purchased by FrontStreet Coffee has smaller bean size than Huakui 3.0, which comes from varietal differences. Huakui 3.0 uses Ethiopian heirloom varieties, while Huakui 4.0 is the Dega variety.

What Is the Dega Variety?

This year Ethiopia held the Cup of Excellence (CoE) for the first time, and the detailed classification of coffee varieties among the top 28 finalists was surprising. Dega, ranked 21st, has two completely different explanations for the origin of its name. One explanation is that Dega's name comes from a firewood, and the aroma Dega releases during roasting is very similar to the smell of this wood burning.

Another explanation is that "dega" is the root word in Ethiopian languages for "highland and shady place," and Dega indeed often grows in high-altitude areas. Unfortunately, because Dega did not enter the top 14 in this CoE competition, no related flavor description was collected. The Huakui 4.0 that FrontStreet Coffee acquired this time is precisely coffee beans of the Dega variety.

Roasting Records for FrontStreet Coffee's 5 Huakui Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee Huakui G1 roasting curve: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g: charge when drum temperature reaches 160 degrees Celsius, air damper set to 3.5, gas 160, turning point 1'32"; at 5'38'' and 154°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. When the drum temperature is 162°C, reduce gas to 140, set air damper to 4. When the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 8'37'', open the air damper fully, reduce gas to 80 at 191°C, set air damper to 5, first crack development time 1'20'', drop at 198.1 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Huakui 2.0 roasting curve: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g: charge when drum temperature reaches 190 degrees Celsius, air damper set to 3, gas 140, turning point 1'32"; at 5'51'' and 154°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. When the drum temperature is 152°C, reduce gas to 120, set air damper to 4. When the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 9'50'', open the air damper fully, reduce gas to 50 at 177 degrees, set air damper to 5, first crack development time 1'30'', drop at 193 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Huakui 3.0 roasting curve: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g: charge when drum temperature reaches 175 degrees Celsius, air damper set to 3, gas 120, turning point 1'32"; at 6'00'' and 152°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. When the drum temperature is 116°C, increase gas to 140, set air damper to 4. When the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 10'00'', open the air damper fully, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 195 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Huakui 3.1 roasting curve: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g: charge when drum temperature reaches 190 degrees Celsius, air damper set to 3, gas 120, turning point 1'38"; at 5'44'' and 153°C the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. When the drum temperature is 136°C, increase gas to 1146, set air damper to 4. When the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 8'28'', open the air damper fully, reduce gas to 50 at 173 degrees, keep the air damper unchanged, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 192 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Huakui 4.0 roasting curve: Yangjia 800N, charge amount 480g: charge when drum temperature reaches 175 degrees Celsius, air damper set to 3, gas 120. When it rises to 140 degrees, set air damper to 4. Roast until 6'00'', temperature 151.7 degrees, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration is complete. When the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen clearly for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 9'50'', open the air damper fully, reduce gas to 80 at 188 degrees, first crack development time 1'40'', drop at 196 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters & Technique

In order to fully extract the rich layering of Huakui coffee beans, Front Street uses a higher water temperature and a finer grind for extraction, but to avoid over-extraction caused by high temperature, it uses a faster-flow dripper such as the V60. The V60 dripper has a 60-degree cone shape, and the conical angle allows the coffee grounds to concentrate and also lets the water flow automatically gather toward the center of the dripper during pouring, ensuring sufficient contact time between water and coffee grounds, thereby extracting a suitable coffee liquid. In addition, the ribs on the inner wall of the V60 dripper extend clockwise in a spiral from the bottom to the top, leaving enough gap between the filter paper and the dripper so that water flow has good mobility. Combined with the large hole at the bottom, the flow rate is relatively faster than many drippers.

Dripper: V60 #01 Water Temperature: 90-91 degrees Dose: 15g Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15 Grind: EK43s setting 10 / caster sugar size (80% of grounds pass a No. 20 sieve)

Front Street brewing technique: First pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95 grams (electronic scale shows about 125 grams), finishing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (electronic scale shows about 225 grams), finishing in about 1 minute 40-1'45'' seconds. Dripping is completed at 2'00'' ~ 2'10'', remove the dripper, and extraction is complete.

Brewing Flavor Description [Huakui G1] Smooth, passion fruit, fermented wine aroma, jackfruit, strawberry. [Huakui 2.0] The overall mouthfeel is clean, the berry aroma is more obvious, and it has nutty notes, making the mouthfeel richer. [Huakui 3.0] Light strawberry jam, black tea tea-like body, short sweet finish. [Huakui 3.1] Floral, cream, tropical fruit, caramel, long-lasting sweet aftertaste. [Huakui 4.0] Citrus acidity, full berry juice sensation, lemon black tea tea-like body, long-lasting sweetness.

From the flavor performance of the above brews, Front Street believes that in fact it is not only Huakui; basically most coffees' flavors fluctuate every year. Why? Coffee is essentially still a plant, an economic crop. Climate, planting soil, fertilization conditions, and that year's rainfall will all more or less affect coffee yield and quality. Later, the processing technology and control of details during processing will also more or less affect the final coffee flavor. So in fact, Huakui's flavor has slight differences every year.

In addition, picking and sorting are also factors that make each year's lot different. If you observe carefully, you will find that the 2017 Huakui coffee beans were uneven in size (one characteristic of Ethiopian coffee beans is that the coffee grading system is based on defects, and another is the abundance of heirloom varieties). The next year's Huakui 2.0 coffee beans became uniform in size, and now Huakui 4.0 beans are smaller than Huakui 3.0. But differences from previous years can also be found from the appearance of the coffee beans. Now this year, Huakui's changes do not stop there. This year one can even see washed Huakui coffee beans and black honey processed Huakui coffee beans, and the name Huakui has become more diverse.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.