Huakui is a specialty Arabica coffee bean that every beginner must try. It comes from Hambella in the Guji region (GUJI), processed by the Buku Abel processing plant there, and is famous for its classic Ethiopian floral and fruity aroma.

Buku Abel cultivates at an altitude above 2250 meters, with local rainfall exceeding 1200mm and a large temperature difference between day and night, providing a good environment for the coffee cherries. Huakui coffee only selects fully red, fully ripe coffee cherries, all hand-picked, dried on African raised beds, with limited fruit layer thickness and continuous turning every 24 hours, undergoing low-temperature fermentation under the estate's unique natural conditions.

During the harvest and processing season (December-January), its unique growing environment and natural climate create Huakui's distinctive flavor. The picked red cherries must reach a sugar content of 30 or above before sun-drying begins. In the first two days of sun-drying, the humidity of the red cherries must be maintained to allow the fructose to fully begin fermentation reactions. At the same time, the high-altitude geographical location allows the processing plant's nighttime temperature to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius, without producing overly fermented odors due to excessively high temperatures. When the midday temperature is relatively high, shading is applied to prevent the red cherries from sunburn.

At night, to prevent sudden rainfall, thick plastic sheeting is also used for wrapping. This allows the red cherries to ferment and dehydrate at a relatively low temperature.

The variety of Huakui coffee belongs to local landraces, with overall uneven sizes, including small-bean types with a relatively round appearance, as well as longer-bodied ones, with plump beans, mostly between screen sizes 14-15. The appearance and size vary greatly, and this is also a characteristic of most Ethiopian coffee beans, unrelated to taste.

Front Street Coffee Sun-Dried Huakui Coffee Beans

Region: Hambella, Guji, Ethiopia

Processing Plant: Buku abel 

Altitude: 2235m

Roast Level: Medium-Light Roast

Flavor: Floral aroma, the sweet-tart sensation of berries, citrus, and orange, mango juice, honey, with a finish of black tea sweetness and a clean mouthfeel.   

There are many brewing methods for Front Street Huakui coffee, with pour-over, drip bags, smart cups, and siphon brewing being the best, each capable of showcasing Huakui's charm.For those seeking convenience and time-saving, it is recommended to prioritize purchasing Front Street Huakui drip bag coffee. Each bag contains 10g of coffee powder, and after brewing you can get a cup of 150ml fresh black coffee, with a sweet-tart and aromatic taste, economical and affordable, very suitable for busy office workers.

If conditions permit, it is recommended to use pour-over extraction for Front Street Huakui coffee, because only this can better display the delicate floral and fruity aroma. In addition, we must also ensure the freshness of the coffee beans. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it is at its optimal flavor.

When grinding the beans, you can already smell the striking sun-dried fruity aroma, with an obvious sweet blueberry note, carrying faint tropical fruit and guava.

A good cup of coffee is nothing more than balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness along with a smooth mouthfeel, and the dripper's design is meant to present these characteristics of coffee. However, the style presented by coffee brewed in different drippers is also different. Huakui is suitable for a resin V60 dripper, allowing the coffee to have richer acidity changes from hot to cold, making this cup of coffee more refined, and the resin material can enhance aroma intensity.

Front Street uses a medium-fine grind / fine granulated sugar coarseness (80% passing rate on the China No. 20 standard sieve). Use 15g of coffee powder, then pair with a V60 dripper, 91 degrees Celsius water temperature, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and a three-stage pouring technique for brewing.

Using three-stage extraction, use 2 times the coffee powder amount of water for blooming, that is, 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. The reason the blooming process is needed is to allow the coffee powder to release its internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the later extraction more stable. Pour in a small stream in a circular motion until 125g, then pause, continue pouring until 225g and stop. After the water in the dripper has dripped through, remove the dripper. Starting timing from the beginning of pouring, the extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee, shake it evenly, and then pour it into a cup for tasting.

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