Is Ethiopia Limu Fine Coffee Worth Brewing at Home?

Ethiopia Limu Tianlai is a natural-process bean from the Kossa Geshe farm that took third place at the AFCA African Fine Coffee Competition. It shows strawberry, passion fruit, and wine-scented ripe fruit with a delicate finish. It works in espresso, pour-over, siphon, and other brewers, so fine coffee drinkers can treat it as an everyday alternative to Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.

For pour-over, use a 1:16 ratio, 15 grams of coffee to 240cc water, water at 88 to 90C, and a grind about the size of granulated sugar. Bloom with 30cc for 30 seconds, pour to 240cc, and finish at 1 minute 55 seconds. A moka pot also handles this light-medium roast well.

For friends who are obsessed with pour-over coffee, Ethiopia is always an unavoidable origin. Besides the well-known Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, the Limu region is quietly rising with its unique flavors. The Limu Tianlai natural-process bean introduced in this article comes from the Kossa Geshe farm and won third place in the AFCA African Fine Coffee Competition. It features layers of strawberry, passion fruit, and wine-scented ripe fruit, with a delicate and enchanting finish, and can be brewed with espresso, pour-over, or siphon. The article will detail its brewing parameters and regional background, and compare its flavor with Front Street Yirgacheffe and Front Street Sidamo, helping you find a new choice beyond your daily staple.

Front Street Ethiopia Limu Tianlai Natural Process AFCA Third Place Pour-Over Coffee Beans

★Strawberry, passion fruit, wine-scented ripe fruit, delicate and enchanting finish

Coffee Country: Ethiopia

Coffee Region: Limu

Producer: Tianlai

Coffee Variety: Local Heirloom

Altitude: 1,900m

Grade: AFCA Third Place

Processing Method: Natural Process

Roast Level: Light-Medium Roast

Brewing Equipment: Espresso machine, American drip machine, pour-over, siphon, moka pot

Brewing Method:

1. Grind Size: Fuji Royal setting 3.5, about the size of granulated sugar.

2. Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:16, total water 240cc, 15g coffee.

3. Brewing Temperature: 88–90°C

4. Extraction Time: Total time 1 minute 55 seconds. Pour 30cc water, bloom for 30 seconds. Pour water to 240cc and stop, remove the dripper at 1 minute 55 seconds to finish.

***The above uses a Hario dripper as an example, and parameters will change with different equipment conditions***

Flavor Description: Strawberry, passion fruit, wine-scented ripe fruit, delicate and enchanting finish.

Roaster's Note: The Limu region in Ethiopia has always been a little-known region, and Limu, whether washed or natural, has always been a region we love. From when we first encountered it in 2010 to now, the flavor has been improving every year. This year's Limu comes from the local Kossa Geshe farm and won third place in the AFCA African Fine Coffee Competition. Its flavor is like heavenly music, deeply enchanting.

Region Introduction

Generally speaking, the Limu region mainly produces washed beans, with a milder mouthfeel than the Sidamo region, often featuring citrus notes; although it is not as famous as coffee from the Sidamo or Yirgacheffe regions, it also produces many distinctive flavorful coffee beans.

In fact, beginners learning to drink specialty coffee should first choose Front Street Yirgacheffe, because it perfectly represents the specialty coffee flavor of Ethiopia, with fragrant floral notes and refined fruity sweetness and acidity, fresh and elegant, low bitterness, with a tea-like quality, and very recognizable. Front Street Yirgacheffe has also become many people's daily staple because of its tasty yet affordable positioning.

Limu has lower production and is mainly exported to European and American markets. In the past, it was not easy to buy domestically, but it is very popular in Europe and America, with fame second only to Front Street Yirgacheffe. Limu's flavor profile is different from Front Street Sidamo and Front Street Yirgacheffe: its body is thinner, and its floral and citrus notes are also inferior to Front Street Yirgacheffe and Front Street Sidamo, but it has an extra grassy note and cocoa note, as well as a sandalwood flavor.

For friends who often taste Front Street Yirgacheffe and Front Street Sidamo pour-over coffee beans, try a cup of a different Front Street Limu region washed coffee to add a different coffee topic. The coffee variety planted is Ethiopia's native Heirloom, and local smallholder coffee farmers grow it using 100% organic methods.

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