How Does a Moka Pot Handle Ethiopian Sidama Coffee?

Ethiopian Sidama Aricha beans, including the Hambela Huakui selection, are natural-process coffees with strong strawberry and cream notes. A moka pot can brew them well: use a medium-fine grind, fill the basket level without tamping, and preheat the water before assembly. The result is a dense, syrupy cup that keeps the fruit aroma instead of flattening it.

Timing matters more than most brewers expect. On a low flame, a moka pot usually finishes in four to six minutes; how long it takes to brew depends on water temperature, grind size, and flame height. Remove it from the heat as soon as the flow turns pale and sputtering begins, since the Sidamo region grows coffee between 1,400 and 2,000 meters and lighter roasts extract quickly.

The Sidamo region in Ethiopia is an important part of the specialty coffee landscape, and the Huakui coffee bean is a star bean that emerged from here. Since winning the TOH championship in 2017, Huakui has captivated numerous coffee enthusiasts with its rich strawberry and cream aroma. In this article, Front Street Coffee will guide you through the terroir of Sidamo and its sub-regions such as Guji and Hambela, trace the version evolution of Huakui from 1.0 to 8.0, and share in detail the grind setting, operating steps, and flavor performance for extracting Huakui 8.0 with a moka pot, helping you brew a cup of juicy Ethiopian natural coffee at home.

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When you unfold the map of Ethiopia's coffee origins, you will find that many familiar names appear repeatedly—specialty coffee regions such as Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, and Guji have long entered the public eye. Among these regions, the Huakui coffee bean stands out remarkably, having gone through eight years since its debut in 2017. Today, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will take you to gain an in-depth understanding of this renowned Hambela Huakui coffee bean, and also share some practical tips for brewing it with a moka pot.

Sidamo Coffee Region The Sidamo region is located in southern Ethiopia, bordering the Arsi and Bale administrative zones to the east, and extending to the Gamogofa administrative zone to the west, with coffee cultivation at altitudes between 1,400 and 2,000 meters. The local economy is based on agriculture, and the main coffee-growing areas surround the Great Rift Valley. In recent years, Sidamo has developed rapidly and has become an important coffee export hub. The coffee flavors of Sidamo are extremely diverse; different soil types, microclimatic conditions, and countless native coffee varieties make the coffee produced in each town show distinct differences and personalities in flavor.

Front Street believes that as a large region, Sidamo has seen more and more small regions become independent as coffee region divisions have become increasingly refined. Among them, the most famous coffee-growing areas in the Sidamo region are Guji (GUJI) and West Arsi (West Arsi). In terms of green bean processing, the Sidamo region mostly adopts the natural processing method, and Front Street believes that it is precisely the natural processing method that gives Sidamo coffee beans their rich fruity aroma and smooth mouthfeel.

The Guji region was formerly part of the Sidamo region, but in 2010 it was separated by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) and became a new region. The Guji region is located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with complex and varied terrain, where high mountains, canyons, and plains are interlaced. The soil in this area is fertile black soil (Vertisol), with a soil layer nearly two meters deep, and an average altitude of over 1,800 meters. The unique geographical conditions create a significant temperature difference between day and night, giving this place all the terroir conditions needed to produce high-quality specialty coffee. And when it comes to what made the Guji region famous, Front Street must mention the Huakui bean.

The Huakui bean is produced in Hambella, located within Guji, Ethiopia's largest coffee-producing region, and administratively under the Oromia Region. Western Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across the mountains, with a highland about 30 kilometers wide and 3,200 meters above sea level lying between the two regions. To the southeast and north, it borders Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region.

Hambella Producing Region Hambella (usually translated as "Hambella") is located in Guji (GUJI, formerly part of the Sidamo coffee region), a famous specialty coffee region in Ethiopia, and is administratively under the Oromia Region. Western Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochore across the mountains, with a highland about 30 kilometers wide and 3,200 meters above sea level serving as a barrier between the two regions. It is adjacent to Guji's Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha sub-regions to the southeast and north respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region (Harrar is Ethiopia's highest-altitude main producing region).

At present, there are nearly 20 processing plants of various sizes in the Hambella region. In 2017, a natural bean from the "Buku Abel" processing plant under DW Company won the Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest Competition championship. A Chinese green bean importer named this bean Huakui, and at that time it displayed a rich strawberry and cream aroma. Since then, DW Company's processing plants in the Dimtu core production area of Hambella have expanded from one to four, namely Buku abel, Buku saysay, Haro soresa, and Tirtiro Goye, with an annual coffee output of about 1,100 tons. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also offers coffee products produced by the Buku abel processing plant.

Buku Abel Processing Plant Buku Abel means "NEW" in the local Ethiopian language, that is, a new place. In this ancient country with more than two thousand years of history and a population of over one hundred million, the Great Rift Valley blocks the road to Asia, but on this plateau, new virgin lands are still constantly waiting to be developed. Compared with thousands of years of cultural accumulation, this is a fairly young newly developed land.

Buku Abel is located in southeastern Ethiopia and is a very high-altitude indigenous tribe in the Hambela area of the Guji region, with a population of about 30,000. Like most Ethiopian coffee gardens, this small village has coffee trees growing naturally among wild virgin forests. Coffee farmers here pass down their craft from generation to generation and cultivate native bananas, interplanting local native coffee varieties among the banana groves.

The Origin of the Name Huakui Coffee In 2017, Ethiopia's DW Green Bean Company sent its coffee beans to the TOH (the Taste Of Harvest) green bean competition hosted by the African Coffee Association. A natural batch from the "Buku Abel" processing plant won the TOH Ethiopia championship with its rich strawberry and cream aroma. That year, this batch of green beans was introduced into China by Beijing green bean trader Hongshun. In the same year, Li Jianfei used this bean to win second place in the 2017 World Brewers Cup China region. This Ethiopian bean stood out remarkably among many Geisha competition beans, and was therefore given the name "Huakui." (Geisha means geisha in Japanese, while Huakui refers to the leading courtesan among geisha, thus highlighting the extraordinary excellence of this bean.)

Therefore, if Huakui coffee is understood in a narrow sense, then only the batch that entered China as the champion of the 2017 TOH natural group can be called Huakui coffee.

Since the 2018 harvest season, Huakui (natural G1 coffee beans) from the same growing origin and the same processing station has already shown some changes in taste. At that time, Front Street found through cupping that although the 2018 and 2019 Huakui still carried flavors similar to the 2017 Huakui, they were inferior to the "first-generation Huakui" in aspects such as body and aftertaste. Therefore, in order to continue selling this natural coffee from Hambella while distinguishing it from the original version, domestic green bean trading companies calculated year by year after 2017 and created an X.0 suffix for each subsequent year's batch. For example, the 2018 batch was called "Huakui 2.0," the 2019 production was called "Huakui 3.0 and 3.1"... Last year's release was "Huakui 7.0," and so on. In this way, we can identify which year's batch the Huakui we bought belongs to through this suffix.

The Huakui produced in the new 2020 harvest season was named Huakui 4.0 to distinguish it from previous Huakui. 2020 was the fourth year of this Huakui coffee bean, and its producing area had expanded to several times its original size. Combined with more scientific cultivation management, the flavor of Huakui 4.0 was even better and received praise from many coffee enthusiasts. Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also purchased this batch of new-season Huakui 4.0 for roasting and cupping.

Front Street Green Bean Analysis In this batch of Huakui 4.0 purchased by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), it can be seen that Huakui 4.0 has smaller beans than the other two Huakui 3.0 beans, which is caused by variety differences. Huakui 3.0 belongs to Ethiopian native variety coffee beans, while Huakui 4.0 is the Dega variety. In addition, it can be observed that the two Huakui 3.0 beans are relatively uniform in size because the coffee beans were screened after picking, while Huakui 4.0 was not screened, so the beans appear uneven in size.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Analysis Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) first checks the flavor description provided by the green bean supplier, and then looks at the bean moisture content. The green beans just received have a fermented wine aroma of coffee flowers, completely different from the grassy aroma of ordinary green beans; moreover, Huakui green beans vary in size, with most being pointed at the head and tail (Ethiopia Heirloom Ethiopian native species). The moisture content performs well, at around 11%, but they are not very hard SHB beans. Because the beans are dense and hard, the dehydration time is extended in the initial stage, and the temperature is raised before first crack into first crack, trying to retain small-molecule aromatic substances such as floral notes and reduce their loss.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a Taiwan Yangjia 800N machine, charging beans at 190°C, completing dehydration and turning yellow at nearly 6 minutes (the yellow point is about 150-153°C), and first crack begins at around 9 minutes 50 seconds (Huakui's first crack comes later than ordinary beans, and the cracking sound is very weak). The development time after first crack is recommended to be controlled within 1 minute 30 seconds, and not less than 1 minute (it is recommended to open the damper wider and lower the heat to regulate the speed). Smell the aroma with a sampling spoon; at about 193°C, a strawberry jam aroma can be detected, and then it can be discharged. The total time is best controlled within 11 minutes.

These past few days, the Huakui 8.0 that Front Street purchased has finally arrived. Taking advantage of its freshness and heat, and after another year of anticipation, of course we have to taste it properly.

In order to present the delicate floral and fruity flavors of the Sidamo region while retaining the coffee's caramelized aroma, Front Street's roaster uses a medium-light roast to showcase this bean. The new-season Huakui 8.0 shows a stronger fruity aroma in dry fragrance than 7.0, with complex aromas such as guava, jackfruit, apricot, dried fruit, citrus, and floral notes; after pouring in hot water, honey and berry sweetness can be smelled, and on the palate one can feel multiple fruity sweet-and-sour notes such as dried mango, jackfruit, orange, and passion fruit. Therefore, it is suitable for a variety of extraction methods, such as the moka pot coffee that Front Street likes very much and that many friends choose as their first choice at home.

How to Extract Huakui 8.0 Coffee with a Moka Pot?

To extract a rich black coffee, the grind size for a moka pot should be finer than general pour-over and coarser than espresso. Too coarse a grind will lead to insufficient extraction, sputtering, and other problems, while too fine a grind will lead to over-extraction, with a heavy burnt-bitter taste that is hard to drink. Front Street stores use an EK-43s grinder with a setting of 3.5, that is, the coarseness is controlled at a 30-40% passing rate on the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve.

Step one: first pour the ground Huakui 8.0 coffee powder into the filter basket, spread it flat and fill it, smooth it with your finger, and place it into the base. There is no need to tamp it hard; too compact a coffee bed can easily block the water flow upward, thereby affecting extraction. If there is not enough coffee powder, when the water in the lower chamber enters the middle coffee bed under steam pressure, it cannot perform sufficient extraction, which will in turn cause large sputtering from the upper chamber.

Then tighten the upper chamber and lower chamber together and place it on a gas stove or induction cooker to heat. When using an open flame, be careful to control the flame so that it does not exceed the base range of the moka pot. Actually, there is no precise time rule for brewing. Wait for the moka pot to heat up. When a hissing sound is heard, turn to low heat, and the coffee liquid and oils will slowly flow out. When you see the coffee liquid in the upper chamber half full, you can turn off the heat source and use a wet towel to move the pot to the table, using the residual heat and pressure inside the pot to continue extracting the remaining coffee liquid.

Finally, pour the extracted coffee liquid into a cup and drink it directly. On the palate there is fresh berry sweet-and-sour notes and a light caramel aroma. Diluted with 80°C hot water at a 1:5 ratio, it becomes a cup of "Huakui Americano," with a comfortable juicy mouthfeel and the clean acidity of lemon black tea on the palate, and when paired with milk it has the sweet fragrance of cranberry chocolate.

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