What does the history of Ethiopian coffee tell us about Huakui?

Huakui is a natural-processed Ethiopian coffee named after the Hambela production area in Guji, and it rose to attention after winning the 2017 TOH competition. The Chinese name Huakui and the English name Hambella do not match because Hambella refers to the growing area, a sub-region of Guji that administratively belongs to the Oromia Region.

Hambela sits at high altitude with large day-to-night temperature swings and fertile black soil, and it borders Yirgacheffe's Kochere area across high mountains roughly 3,200 meters above sea level. A new harvest version appears each year. In editor history coffee writing, the bean is usually described through its Sidamo roots: bright citrus acidity, berry aromas, and an elegant sweet-tart balance.

The Sidamo region in southern Ethiopia is renowned for its bright citrus acidity, berry flavors, and elegant sweetness, making it an important source of specialty coffee. When mentioning Sidamo, one cannot avoid a coffee bean called "Huakui"—this natural-processed bean named after the Hambela production area quickly rose to fame after winning the 2017 TOH championship. As a sub-region of the Guji production area, Hambela enjoys natural advantages such as high altitude, large temperature differences, and fertile black soil. Front Street Coffee has been continuously selling Front Street Sidamo Huakui coffee beans for many years, updating the harvest version annually, with the new harvest named Front Street Ethiopia Huakui 11. This article will outline the origin of the name Huakui, the background of the production area, the history of its rise to fame through competitions, and include Front Street's roasting parameters, cup tasting flavors, and V60 brewing suggestions, providing a comprehensive reference for coffee enthusiasts.

Sidamo is located in southern Ethiopia and, with its bright citrus notes, berry aromas, and pleasantly elegant sweet-tart sensation, enjoys a global reputation as one of the important production areas in Ethiopia's specialty coffee landscape.

When it comes to Sidamo coffee, there is one bean that cannot be overlooked, and that is "Huakui." Since its introduction in 2017, Huakui coffee beans have been highly sought after. Front Street Coffee has been continuously selling this Front Street Sidamo Huakui coffee bean since 2017, and Huakui releases a new version each year; for example, the new harvest Huakui is named Front Street Ethiopia Huakui 11.

How did the name "Huakui" come about?

If you pay a little attention, you will notice that the Chinese name and English name of this bean "Huakui" do not correspond—the Chinese name is "Huakui," while the English name is mostly "Hambella," which literally translates to "Hanbella."

Why does this happen?

The reason is that Hambella is named after the production area of this coffee. Hambella is a sub-region under the Guji production area and administratively belongs to the Oromia Region. To the west, Hambella faces Yirgacheffe's Kochere across high mountains, with a highland about 3,200 meters above sea level and about 30 kilometers wide lying between the two production areas, while to the southeast and north it borders other Guji sub-regions, namely Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha.

The Guji production area was originally part of the Sidamo coffee production area, but as early as 2010 it was divided into an independent production area by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). Guji is located southeast of Yirgacheffe, with complex terrain where high mountains, valleys, and plains are interwoven. The soil in this area is fertile black soil (Vertisol), with a soil layer nearly two meters thick, and an average altitude of over 1,800 meters. The unique geographical conditions create a significant temperature difference between day and night, providing an ideal terroir foundation for producing high-quality specialty coffee.

In 2017, the Ethiopian green bean company DW sent a batch of coffee beans to the TOH (the Taste Of Harvest) green bean competition hosted by the African Coffee Association. Among them, a natural-processed lot from the Buku Abel processing station won the TOH Ethiopia championship with its rich strawberry and cream aromas. This lot of green beans was subsequently introduced by a green bean trader in Beijing and, because of its championship halo, was given the name "Huakui."

In the same year, Li Jianfei from Beijing used this Huakui coffee to win second place in the 2017 World Brewers Cup China region, further boosting Huakui's popularity. At that time, the Geisha variety held absolute dominance in competitions, and most contestants almost all chose Geisha to compete, yet Huakui, a native variety from Ethiopia, defeated many Geishas and took second place that year. Although winning second place cannot be attributed solely to Huakui's quality, Huakui's own excellence was also one of the important factors in achieving such a good ranking, so it is not difficult to understand why people would consider this Huakui comparable to Geisha coffee.

Afterward, DW established additional processing stations in Dimtu, the core production area of Hambella, namely "Buku Abel," "Buku Saysay," "Haro Soresa," and "Tirtiro Goye," with an annual coffee output of about 1,100 tons. In terms of growing regions and processing stations, among all these estates and processing stations, only the natural-processed coffee beans from the "Buku Abel" processing station can be called "Huakui."

Front Street Coffee Ethiopia Sidamo Natural Huakui Coffee Beans

Region: Sidamo Guji Production Area

Altitude: 2250-2350m

Variety: Local native variety

Processing Method: Natural Processing

Front Street Coffee Roasting Parameters

In order to highlight the floral-fruity character and aroma of this Front Street Sidamo Natural Huakui, Front Street uses a medium-light roast. By extending the drying phase to lock in the coffee beans' aroma, beans are charged at 175°C, with a turning point at 1 minute 32 seconds at 96.2°C, heat power 120, damper 3, allowing the drum to heat up at a steady rate. At 6 minutes, it reaches the yellowing point and enters the middle phase, with heat power increased to 140. At 9 minutes 50 seconds, first crack begins, and beans are dropped 1 minute 40 seconds after first crack, with a drop temperature of 196°C.

Front Street Coffee Cup Tasting Flavor

Front Street Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Brewing Equipment: HARIO V60

Parameters: 15g coffee / 1:15 / 90°C

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (78% passing rate on Chinese Standard No. 20 sieve)

Method: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, then pour directly in the center to 125g, then in stages; after the coffee bed appears, pour water to 225g, and once the coffee bed appears again, remove the dripper. Total extraction time is 2 minutes 00 seconds.

Flavor: Citrus acidity, full berry juice body, lemon black tea tea-like quality, lasting sweetness.

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