What Defines the TOH Champion Washed Bean From Guji Uraga?

This washed Ethiopian lot from Uraga in Guji won the 2020 Taste of Harvest washed group with 89.8 points. It was washed at the Sela Gajaba station at about 2,300 meters and shows jasmine, lemon, berry, pomelo, honey and green tea. Roasting on a Yangjia 800N with adjusted dehydration and first crack keeps the cup clean.

TOH is run by the African Fine Coffees Association and gathers entries from 12 African producing countries, in the same cupping tradition as Brazil's Cup of Excellence. For brewing this fine coffee, a coarser grind, 91°C water and a three-pour method bring out the floral and citrus juice character without flattening the acidity.

TOH stands for the East Africa Taste of Harvest Competition, a green bean cupping event initiated by the African Fine Coffees Association, on par with Brazil's Cup of Excellence. In 2020, this washed bean from the Uraga sub-region of Ethiopia's Guji producing area won the washed group championship with a score of 89.8. It was carefully washed at the Sela Gajaba processing station at an altitude of 2,300 meters, presenting rich layers of jasmine, lemon, berries, pomelo, honey, and green tea. The roaster at Front Street Coffee used a Yangjia 800N roaster, adjusting the dehydration phase and first crack time to preserve its clean mouthfeel and white floral and fruity notes. For brewing, a coarser grind, 91°C water temperature, and a three-pour method were chosen to highlight the floral and citrus juice character. This article will provide a complete analysis of this champion bean's origin background, processing method, roasting curve, and brewing parameters.

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Many customers are particularly fond of Front Street's TOH coffee beans, but many friends are also unclear about what TOH actually refers to. For this reason, Front Street has specifically sorted out the ins and outs of this bean.

What is TOH?

TOH stands for "East Africa Taste of Harvest Competition," organized by the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), bringing together green bean cupping competitions from 12 African coffee-producing countries, similar in nature to the Cup of Excellence (COE) green bean cupping competition led by Brazil. This year, Uraga stood out with a score of 89.8, taking the 2020 TOH washed group championship.

Champion Bean Uraga

This coffee comes from Uraga, a sub-region of the renowned Guji producing area in Ethiopia. Guji was originally part of the Sidamo producing area, but became independent due to its unique flavor similar to Yirgacheffe. This area has also produced many well-known coffees, such as the Hambela series that everyone often drinks, which comes from the Hambela sub-region of Guji.

Uraga is a sub-region within the Guji producing area, with altitudes reaching 2,300 meters. Although Uraga town is located within the Guji producing area, its geographical position is closer to the high mountain terrain of Yirgacheffe at 2,200 meters. The soil in this area is nutrient-rich black soil (Vertisol), and the high-altitude terrain gives Uraga rich fruity flavors.

Processing Station and Processing Method

This champion bean was washed at the Sela Gajaba washing station. Located about 12 kilometers from Uraga town, it is one of the best processing stations in the area. The processing is basically completed indoors, greatly reducing the risk of coffee bean contamination.

Freshly picked coffee cherries need to go through two rounds of sorting to select fully red, flawless fruit, then the skin and pulp are removed. The green beans with residual pulp and mucilage are placed in water and fermented for about 18 to 36 hours; after fermentation is complete, the parchment beans are moved to a flowing water channel for washing to remove pulp and mucilage; after washing, they are dried in the sun or with a dryer to reduce moisture content to about 12%. Finally, the parchment is removed from the green beans.

Coffee processed this way combines Ethiopia's traditional floral, citrus, and tea notes, while cleanliness is also significantly improved.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Analysis

The roaster at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that as a washed champion bean, its clean mouthfeel should be preserved, with emphasis on highlighting white floral and fruity flavors. By fine-tuning the dehydration phase duration and first crack timing, the following roasting curve was ultimately determined.

The Front Street roaster used a Yangjia 800N (300g batch): charged at 180°C, heat 130, airflow opened to 3; turning point at 1'36", when temperature reached 140°C the airflow was opened to 4, heat remained unchanged; at 151°C the bean surface turned yellow, the grassy smell completely dissipated, entering the dehydration phase, heat reduced to 110.

At 8'37", the bean surface showed rough wrinkles and dark patches, the toast aroma clearly turning to coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this point, one must carefully catch the sound of first crack. At 9'39" first crack began, airflow not opened to 5, developed for 1'00" after first crack, dropped at 193.2°C.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Parameters

Through cupping, Front Street determined the flavors of this bean to be jasmine, lemon, berries, pomelo, honey, and green tea.

This time, the barista at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) decided to highlight this coffee's jasmine floral, pomelo, honey, and green tea main notes. The following brewing parameters were used:

Also using 15 grams of coffee powder as an example, after brewing tests, Front Street found that this coffee tends to develop a tea-like astringency when steeped too long, so the final grind size chosen was coarser than normal pour-over, with a 70% pass rate through a No. 20 standard sieve.

A 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio was used; a larger coffee-to-water ratio better highlights floral and fruity notes. Water temperature was 91°C, a temperature very suitable for brewing Ethiopian coffee beans, easily highlighting citrus and other fruity notes.

Brewing Method

This time, Front Street's three-pour brewing method was also used: first preheat the coffee pot and dripper, pour in 15g of coffee powder, and gently level it. Inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom; it is not recommended to bloom for too long, otherwise astringency is likely to occur.

For the second pour, inject 120g of water in a concentric circle from the center outward, with the pouring completed at about 1 minute. When the coffee bed is almost visible, pour the final stage, injecting 90g of water in the same manner. After all the water has flowed into the server, remove the dripper to end extraction. Total brewing time is 2 minutes 5 seconds.

Brewing flavor description: The wet aroma has faint jasmine and citrus notes; the front section offers a citrus-like juice character, while the middle and back sections reveal a honey pomelo tea-like taste, with an oolong tea-like sweet aftertaste in the finish.

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