Sidamo is one of Ethiopia's three major specialty coffee regions, alongside Yirgacheffe and Harar. The region stretches south of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley, at elevations of 1,500 to 2,200 meters, with a mild climate that allows the fruit to mature slowly and develop full flavor. Sidamo is known for its natural processing method, displaying wild berry notes and a creamy texture. In recent years, Sidamo has repeatedly achieved excellent results in TOH and COE competitions. The Huakui series currently offered by Front Street Coffee originates from Hambela in the Guji zone of Sidamo, and its popularity has remained strong since winning the TOH championship in 2017. This article provides a detailed explanation of Sidamo's terroir, the origin of the name Huakui, the evolution of its various versions, and brewing recommendations for Front Street Huakui 8.0.

Africa, the birthplace of coffee, and Ethiopia in particular is known as a gene pool of varieties, and the coffees it produces often have bright, elevated acidity that is highly sought after by seasoned enthusiasts. Due to differences in terrain and climate, the country is home to multiple coffee-producing regions. Many people who are just beginning to explore coffee, even if they are not yet familiar with the division of producing regions, often mention Sidamo and Yirgacheffe in front of the baristas at Front Street Coffee, which shows just how significant these two regions are in the coffee world.

Unlike the clean, transparent profile of washed Yirgacheffe, Sidamo uses natural processing to display bold berry and creamy aromas along with a rich, smooth mouthfeel, often leaving a deep impression on those who taste it. For this reason, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harar are ranked together as Ethiopia's three major coffee-producing regions.

The Sidamo producing region spans the fertile area south of Lake Awasa in the East African Rift Valley, at elevations between 1,500 and 2,200 meters. This altitude brings cool, mild temperatures, lengthening the development cycle of the coffee fruit and ultimately creating pronounced fruity sweetness and acidity along with outstanding aroma.

The unique flavor of Sidamo coffee can be seen in recent green bean competitions. Whether COE or TOH, Sidamo frequently appears among the top winners. On the bean shelves of Front Street Coffee, a Huaxu coffee bean that won the washed group championship at TOH 2020 comes from the Guji zone of Sidamo, with citrus acidity and, as it cools, notes of honey citron tea, offering enthusiasts who prefer a fresh-style profile another option.

Sidamo coffees have won many awards, but many beans fade from attention after a single harvest season. Huakui coffee, however, is the exception. Huakui has now reached its sixth harvest season, and before each new season arrives, enthusiasts always come to Front Street Coffee stores to ask the baristas: Have the Huakui coffee beans from the latest harvest arrived? How do they taste?

The continued rise in Huakui's popularity is related to a collaboration between Luckin Coffee and a well-known figure, which quickly made this bean famous nationwide and even led to it selling out for a time. During that period, many coffee enthusiasts went to Front Street Coffee stores to ask: Where do Huakui coffee beans come from? Why is it called Huakui?

The original producing area of Huakui coffee beans is Hambela, a sub-region under the Sidamo producing region, adjacent to Yirgacheffe and also one of the highest-elevation sub-regions in Ethiopia. In 2017, the Ethiopian green bean trader DW submitted a naturally processed bean from the Buku Abel processing station to the TOH competition. Its rich strawberry and cream flavor won over the international judges and took first place in the natural group of that year's TOH Ethiopian competition.

A Beijing green bean trader introduced the same winning batch into China and named it "Huakui," meaning "chief of all flowers," hoping it could succeed Geisha as the next popular bean. In the same year, in the Chinese national round of the World Brewers Cup, competitor Li Jianfei used Huakui coffee beans to win second place. In an era when Geisha was sweeping competitions, Li Jianfei, with Huakui's rich strawberry and cream flavor, left many Geisha users behind and made Huakui completely famous in the coffee world.

Through Front Street Coffee's introduction, I believe many friends now understand the origin of the name "Huakui." So how did names like Huakui 4.0 and Huakui 5.0 come about? Huakui coffee has a unique flavor, and the "Huakui" brand has been managed well, now developing to its sixth-generation product.

The naming of the Huakui series follows the "Huakui X.0" rule. 2017 was the year the Huakui series was born, so the second-generation product in 2018 was naturally "Huakui 2.0"; 2019 was Huakui 3.0; 2020 was Huakui 4.0; 2021 was Huakui 5.0... This year, everyone welcomes Huakui 8.0 together.

Longtime fans of Front Street Coffee all know that with each new harvest season, Front Street releases new-season coffee beans, and the Huakui series is naturally no exception. Huakui coffee beans are an agricultural product and are easily affected by uncertain factors such as the region's climate and rainfall that year, so their flavor performance varies from year to year.

These past few days, the Huakui 8.0 that Front Street purchased has finally arrived. Since it is freshly out and we have waited another year, we naturally had to taste it properly. In order to present the refined floral and fruity profile of the Sidamo producing region while preserving the coffee's caramelized aroma, Front Street's roaster used a medium-light roast to showcase this bean.

Front Street Coffee: Sidamo · Huakui 8.0 Coffee Beans Country: Ethiopia Region: Sidamo · Guji Zone Altitude: 2,250–2,350 meters Variety: Local heirloom varieties Processing Method: Natural

Flavor: floral, jackfruit, dried fruit, apricot, juicy

In the dry aroma, the new-season Huakui 8.0 shows a more intense fruity profile than 7.0, with dense aromas such as guava, jackfruit, apricot, dried fruit, citrus, and pink floral notes. After hot water is poured, honey, berry, and chocolate sweetness can be smelled.

Through slurping, Front Street first perceived in this 8.0 a interwoven sweet-and-tart blend of multiple fruits such as dried mango, jackfruit, orange, and passion fruit, with a clear juicy quality and a round mouthfeel. After the temperature drops slightly, the delicate sweetness of peach and the bright acidity of berries begin to emerge, and after swallowing, a lingering sweetness reminiscent of black tea can be felt, with very rich layers.

Suggested pour-over parameters for Huakui:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Dose: 15 g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: fine granulated sugar (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve)

The coffee beans shipped by Front Street are freshly roasted within 5 days, and by the time they arrive they have already rested for 4 to 7 days. Even during the optimal tasting period, Front Street Coffee still recommends blooming during brewing to reduce the coffee's harshness.

Pour 30 g of hot water and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour from the center with a fine stream and slowly circle outward to 125 g for the first stage. When the water level in the dripper drops to the point where the coffee bed is about to be exposed, continue pouring in circles to 225 g, with a total extraction time of about 2 minutes.

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