How Does Coffee Farm Processing Shape Washed and Natural Hualkui?

Washed and natural Hualkui from Hambela in Ethiopia's Guji region show how much processing changes a cup. The natural version delivers intense aromas of passion fruit, strawberry, and jackfruit, while the washed version is cleaner, with green tea, green tangerine, and a black tea finish. Both come from the Buku Abel estate.

Authentic Huakui is sun-dried coffee from Buku Abel, a small village at about 2,280 meters in the Hambella Wamena area, where harvest starts each December and cherries dry on raised African beds. The lots use Ethiopian heirloom varieties grown between 2,250 and 2,350 meters. Cupping scores differ between the two styles, so the choice comes down to preference.

Also from the Guji region of Ethiopia, Hambela's Huakui — what completely different flavor expressions do the sun-dried and washed processing methods bring? This article systematically compares Front Street sun-dried Huakui and Front Street washed Huakui, from origin background, green bean appearance, cupping data to pour-over suggestions. The sun-dried version wins with explosive aromas of passion fruit, strawberry, and jackfruit, while the washed version stands out with a clean mouthfeel of green tea, green tangerine, and black tea finish. Although cupping scores differ, both styles have their own followers and suit coffee lovers with different preferences.

At the China Regional Brewers Cup held in Shanghai this March, a coffee bean from Ethiopia, Africa challenged multiple expensive Geisha beans as an underdog, defeating opponents all the way and ultimately losing to the Finca Deborah Geisha (the bean used by Wu Zelin in last year's championship) chosen by the champion by only a tiny margin, taking second place. This bean is precisely the Front Street sun-dried Huakui from Hambela, Ethiopia. It has outstanding layers when pour-over brewed, and is refreshing and cool when made as cold brew, offering a very pleasant drinking experience.

Origin Information

Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui Coffee Beans

Continent: Africa

Country: Ethiopia

Origin: Guji production region, Hambella Wamena area, Dimtu village, Buku able estate.

Coffee variety: Heirloom (Ethiopian native variety)

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Introduction to the Buku able Processing Station in Hambella Wamena, Guji Production Region, Ethiopia

Only the sun-dried coffee beans produced by "Buku Abel" in the Hambella production region can be considered authentic Huakui.

Hambella is located in Guji, Ethiopia's largest coffee production region, facing Yirgacheffe Kochore across the mountains to the west, and is Ethiopia's highest-altitude sub-region.

Currently, the Hambella production region has nearly 20 processing stations, but among all estates and processing stations, only the sun-dried coffee from Buku Abel estate is what we call this Huakui.

Buku Abel is a small village on the African continent at an altitude of 2280 meters, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Every December, the coffee harvest season begins, when the mountains are covered with ripe red coffee cherries. The neatly arranged African drying beds in the village are precisely where "Huakui" undergoes processing.

The coffee trees of Buku Abel estate are all planted above the mid-slope, at altitudes between 2250 and 2350 meters. The coffee farmers only begin sun-drying processing after the red cherries they pick reach a sugar content of 30 or above. During the first two days of sun-drying, the humidity of the red cherries must be maintained to give them enough time for full fermentation. After nightfall, the local temperature drops to around 12 degrees, thereby preventing over-fermentation of the red cherries.

After 18 days of sun-drying, the skin and pulp have completely dehydrated, making it easy to extract the green coffee beans inside. After bagging the green beans, they are placed in a warehouse at 12-22 degrees Celsius with 45-55% humidity for about 50 days of resting and further dehydration. Once the moisture content reaches around 11%, they are hulled and sorted, then formally enter the market for sale.

Awards

2016/2017 Harvest Season Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition Champion

2017 Regional Africa Taste of Harvest Competition Runner-up

Sun-Dried Huakui VS Washed Huakui

Two different [green bean] processing methods:

Natural sun-dried (African drying beds):

Coffee cherries are spread directly on concrete ground or drying racks to dry, with the purpose of making the coffee dry and easy to preserve. Usually depending on weather changes, the drying time is roughly 2-4 weeks.

Coffee for general commercial use is spread on concrete ground to dry, requiring constant and timely turning of the coffee cherries to ensure even heating on both sides for better drying, while avoiding mold from prolonged contact between the bottom and the ground.

Hand-picked cherries and coffee beans used for specialty coffee are processed using African Beds for sun-drying. The coffee cherries are spread on breathable mesh beds to sunbathe, and the thickness of the layer on the racks varies depending on local conditions.

Washed fully washed method:

Using washing and fermentation methods to remove the skin, pulp, and mucilage. Processing stations using the washed method must rely on water sources, building washing pools and being able to introduce a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in the pool and pushed back and forth, using the friction between beans and the force of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean.

After washing, the coffee beans are still wrapped in the parchment layer with a moisture content of 50%, and must be dried to bring the moisture content down to 12%, otherwise they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled.

Due to the relative scarcity of water sources in Africa, many washed processing stations in production regions directly purchase freshly picked coffee cherries from nearby villages or growing areas for unified processing.

Coffee Bean Appearance:

[Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui Green Beans]: Smaller bean size, green with a yellow tint, significant variation in particle size.

[Front Street Washed Huakui Green Beans]: Green coffee beans with a slight gray tint, uniform particle size.

[Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui Roasted Beans]: Light roast level, lighter color, no silver skin.

[Front Street Washed Huakui Roasted Beans]: Slightly darker roast level, slightly darker color, silver skin residue along the center line.

Starting Cupping

Cupping Preparation:

Water ratio: 8.2-8.3 grams of coffee beans with 150ml of water, water-to-coffee ratio 1:18.18, water temperature should be 94°C;

Cupping cups: Should use tempered glass or ceramic material,

Cupping capacity: Between 207ml and 266ml,

Cup rim diameter: 76–89mm, all cups should use the same volume, size, and material;

Cupping spoons: Use anti-static metal material (mostly stainless steel), each spoon should hold 4-5ml.

Cupping Procedure:

1. Grind the beans to be cupped into powder (grind size: BG : 3B).

2. Smell the dry aroma

3. Pour hot water (94 degrees) into the cup to the brim, simultaneously starting a 4-minute timer

4. At 2 minutes, smell the wet aroma

5. At 4 minutes, break the crust,

"Breaking the crust": Use a cupping spoon to push aside the floating coffee grounds on the surface, allowing the aroma trapped underneath to burst out, confirming the coffee's aroma performance. Stir gently about 3 circles with the cupping spoon and let sit for 2 minutes.

6. At 2 minutes, skim the grounds

"Skimming": Use a cupping spoon to remove the foam on the surface. The cupping spoon must be rinsed after each skim to avoid leaving unpleasant flavors that could affect the coffee.

7. Use a cupping spoon to scoop up the coffee liquid and cup by slurping. Slurping causes the coffee liquid to spread as a mist in the mouth, allowing flavor molecules to be displayed more clearly.

8. Spit the coffee liquid from the mouth into the spit cup.

[Cupping Results] Dry and wet aroma:

[Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui]: Passion fruit, jackfruit, strawberry;

[Front Street Washed Huakui]: Tea aroma, green tangerine.

[Cupping Results] Flavor description and scoring:

[Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui]: Rose floral aroma, passion fruit, jackfruit, strawberry sweet-tart;

Cleanliness: 6 points

Sweetness: 6 points

Acidity: 6 points

Mouthfeel: 5 points

Flavor: 6.5 points

Aftertaste: 6 points

Balance: 6 points

Overall: 6 points

Total score: 83.5 points

[Front Street Washed Huakui]: Green tea aroma, green tangerine, floral, black tea finish.

Cleanliness: 6.5 points

Sweetness: 6.5 points

Acidity: 6 points

Mouthfeel: 6.5 points

Flavor: 6 points

Aftertaste: 6 points

Balance: 6 points

Overall: 6 points

Total score: 85.5 points

Score summary after multiple rounds of cupping.

Pour-over Parameter Suggestions:

[Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui]: Recommended 15g coffee grounds at 90-degree water temperature, Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5, V60 dripper, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, first pour 30g, bloom for 30s, second pour 104g and stop, second pour to 225g total, discard the final drips, extraction time about 2:02s;

[Front Street Washed Huakui]: Recommended 15g coffee grounds at 92-degree water temperature, Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5, V60 dripper, water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, first pour 30g, bloom for 30s, second pour 110g and stop, second pour to 215g total, discard the final drips, extraction time about 2:05s;

Final Conclusion:

From the cupping results analysis, Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui truly deserves its reputation as an excellent champion bean. Its flavor richness is notably outstanding, and it also performs excellently in balance. I believe many people will like this bean.

Front Street Washed Huakui differs considerably from Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui in flavor, which is related to Ethiopia's coffee varieties (native heirloom) and the processing station's harvesting and processing system. But this does not diminish this bean's excellent quality — explosive sweet-tartness, unique mouthfeel, and a distinct black tea texture, even momentarily making one mistake it for a bean from the Kenya production region.

The choice between washed and sun-dried is undoubtedly a question that confuses countless coffee lovers. However, every man has his hobbyhorse — whether it's the flavor explosion of sun-dried beans or the never-tiring appeal of washed beans, both are very much worth trying and sharing. So in the cupping comparison between Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui and Front Street Washed Huakui, there is only a difference in scores, not a difference in quality.

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