Ethiopia, as Africa's largest coffee-producing country and the widely recognized birthplace of coffee, is deeply favored by enthusiasts for its distinctive floral and citrus flavor notes. When it comes to the representative of Ethiopian natural-process beans, many people immediately think of "Huakui." This naturally processed coffee from the Buku Abel washing station in the Guji Hambela region rose to fame after winning the natural-process category at the 2017 TOH green bean competition. So what exactly is the TOH competition? And what kind of organization is AFCA, its organizer? This article will walk you through the membership structure of the African Fine Coffees Association, the competition format and tiers of the TOH, and how the event helps African coffee-producing countries improve quality and expand international trade. [more…]

At the 20th African Fine Coffee Conference held in Addis Ababa, officials from the African Coffee Association (AFCA) issued a clear call to traders: efforts should focus on promoting the export of specialty-processed coffee and gradually reducing the share of traditionally processed coffee in the international market. AFCA pointed out that Africa possesses world-class coffee resources, yet weak marketing and a single processing approach have made it difficult for growers to obtain fair returns. To change this situation, the association recommends that exporting countries strengthen brand building, upgrade processing technology, and pay close attention to external factors such as the EU Deforestation Regulation. Africa's coffee industry stands at a crossroads of transformation, and how to break through amid climate change and market access challenges has become the focus of attention for all parties. [more…]

Africa, as the core region of the coffee-growing belt, has nurtured many high-quality coffee-producing countries, among which Ethiopia is widely recognized as the birthplace of coffee. The African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), established in 2000, launched the Taste of Harvest (TOH) competition, whose format is similar to that of the Cup of Excellence (COE) and is divided into national competitions and the Africa regional final. In 2024, the Ethiopia TOH competition was held in Addis Ababa, with a total of 75 companies and 212 Arabica coffee entries participating. This article will introduce in detail the origin backgrounds and processing details of the natural group champion Testi Trading Plc, the washed group champion Eseham Trading plc, and the honey process group champion Yihonal Trading plc, and will also include relevant recommendations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Ethiopia, as Africa's largest coffee-producing country and the birthplace of coffee, is renowned worldwide for its coffee's floral and citrus notes, thanks to its exceptional natural conditions. When it comes to the representative of Ethiopian natural-process beans, many people first think of "Floral Queen." This coffee, from the Buku Abel processing station in the Guji Hambela region, rose to fame after winning the 2017 TOH green bean competition. What exactly is the TOH competition? How does it differ from the COE Cup of Excellence? How does the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) organize this grand event? This article will give you a comprehensive understanding of the TOH Harvest Season Flavor Competition—its origins and development—as well as the rise to fame of Floral Queen coffee. It will also introduce the flavor profile of Floral Queen 8.0, currently available at Front Street Coffee. [more…]

TOH stands for the Taste of Harvest competition, a green coffee cupping event initiated by the African Fine Coffees Association, and is ranked alongside 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 up to 2,300 meters, displaying rich layers of jasmine, lemon, berry, pomelo, honey, and green tea. The roaster at Front Street Coffee used a Yangjia 800N roasting machine, 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-stage pour are used 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. [more…]

In 2019, the washed category crown at the Ethiopia TOH green bean competition went to a bean named "Hero" from the Uraga processing plant in the Guji region. It has a fascinating flavor profile weaving together jasmine, bergamot, lemon, apricot, and honey. Coffee Review gave it 88 points, it grows at an altitude of up to 2,150 meters, and it is washed processed and medium roasted. This article will guide you through the origin background of this champion bean, the uniqueness of Ethiopia's native Heirloom variety, and the significance of the TOH competition, and it also includes the pour-over parameters recommended by Front Street Coffee—90°C water temperature, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and extraction completed within two minutes—so you can recreate this bright floral aroma of the African highlands at home. [more…]

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of coffee, has nurtured countless native varieties. Among them, the Yirgacheffe region stands apart as its own appellation thanks to its distinctive floral and citrus notes, making it a focal point of attention for coffee lovers worldwide. Within Yirgacheffe's Konga Cooperative, the Armetilalo processing station cultivates coffee cherries at 2,200 meters on red soil and employs an Anaerobic Slow Dry (ASD) process, undergoing 120 hours of sealed fermentation and 5 weeks of slow drying to create a full-flavored specialty coffee. These Armetilalo coffee beans won both the Ethiopian National Competition and the Africa TOH championship in 2019/2020, with a cupping score of 90.7. Front Street Coffee has selected these beans and presents them with a medium-light roast, bringing out layers of citrus, berry, cream, rose tea, and white grape. This article will take an in-depth look at their regional background, processing method, and brewing performance. [more…]

Yirgacheffe is a name impossible to avoid in the world of specialty coffee, and Aricha, as the 2019 African TOH Natural Group champion, pushes the floral and fruity character of this producing region to the extreme. This article begins with Aricha's origin background, heirloom varietal characteristics, and the prestige of the TOH competition, then moves on to Front Street Coffee's roasting approach and brewing recommendations, helping you see clearly why this bean is called a "fruit bomb." If you are looking for a daily staple that combines fermented winey aromatics, ripe fruit sweetness, and a juicy mouthfeel, you may want to follow Front Street Coffee's cupping notes and V60 three-pour method to fully extract Aricha's flavors together. [more…]

Aricha is a highly recognizable representative of natural-process coffee from the Yirgacheffe region, noted for its honeyed fruit aromatics and "fruit bomb"-like complexity. Starting from the growing environment, variety origins, and TOH competition background, this article reviews the cupping performance and flavor characteristics of natural Aricha and compares it with the washed process. At the same time, Front Street Coffee, drawing on a medium-light roast approach, provides V60 three-pour brewing parameters along with recommendations for grind size, water temperature, and coffee-to-water ratio, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a more complete understanding of this bean's style and brewing direction. [more…]

At the Amederaro processing station in Ethiopia, at an altitude of 2,200 meters, a coffee bean named Amederaro was born, one that went on to win both the national and African regional finals of the 2019/20 TOH competition. This bean, brought to you by Front Street Coffee, undergoes anaerobic slow drying; after being harvested as fully ripe cherries and carefully sorted, it is slowly fermented in an anaerobic environment, creating layered flavors of passion fruit, honey, champagne, and white grape, with abundant juiciness and a balanced fermented character. This article will provide a comprehensive introduction to this coffee—both powerful and refined—from the perspectives of its origin background, processing method, flavor profile, and the meaning of the TOH competition. [more…]

Yirgacheffe, as a representative producing region of Ethiopian specialty coffee, saw the Adorsi processing station win the natural group championship at this year's TOH harvest-season flavor cupping competition, with its Aricha lot standing out with a high score of 91 points. This article will introduce in detail the origin background, processing station information, competition journey, and flavor characteristics of this champion bean. At the same time, Front Street Coffee will also guide you through the authority of the T.O.H competition, the concept of the Heirloom native variety, and the rich layers of grape juice, jackfruit, fermented wine aroma, citrus, and lemon that this bean displays in cupping, making it suitable for enthusiasts who love Ethiopian natural coffee to gain a deeper understanding. [more…]

The Yirgacheffe region has long been famous for its bright floral and fruity notes, and Aricha is one of its most notable lots. This natural-process bean from the Adorsi processing station won first place in the natural category at the 2019 Africa TOH competition, with a cupping score as high as 91 points. Front Street Coffee uses a medium-light roast, striving to present its fermented wine aroma, ripe fruit sweetness, and creamy smooth finish. This article will guide you through Aricha's origin background, the history of the TOH competition, and share Front Street's roasting curve and V60 three-pour brewing parameters, helping you recreate this "fruit bomb"'s enchanting flavor at home. [more…]

The 2019 TOH (Taste of Harvest) Ethiopia Natural Group national champion was won by a Yirgacheffe submitted by the Adorsi processing plant, with a cupping score as high as 91.38 points. The processing plant is located in the Aricha production area, at an altitude of 1,950-2,100 meters. The combination of red volcanic soil and the ancient native Heirloom variety, together with hand-selected 17-18 mesh green beans and a precise anaerobic fermentation process, gives this coffee its outstanding cup performance. Front Street Coffee provides you with a detailed introduction to this champion bean's origin background, competition journey, and flavor characteristics, and shares its richly layered flavor profile of strawberry, berries, guava, brandy, and liqueur chocolate, as well as the changes in acidity and sweet aftertaste after the coffee cools. [more…]

Front Street Coffee recently launched a highly anticipated coffee bean—the 2020 TOH Washed Group Champion, produced in Ethiopia's Uraga region. This bean impresses with its fresh flavors of citrus and green tea. Geographically, the Uraga region is close to Yirgacheffe and was often sold under the name Yirgacheffe in the past, until the ECX issued Announcement No. 1051 in 2017, after which it was able to be traded independently and gradually emerged. This article will introduce the region's background, the meaning of the TOH competition, the processing details of the champion lot, and the cupping flavors, as well as provide a horizontal comparison with the Yirgacheffe Gedeb Cooperative, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the unique charm of this champion coffee. [more…]

Tanzania is an important coffee-producing country in East Africa, and the coffee grown in the Kilimanjaro region is considered the country's flagship, accounting for about 75% of national output. This article provides a systematic introduction to the Kilimanjaro coffee-producing area's terroir, flavor characteristics, historical background, and cooperative system, along with a comparative analysis with Kenya AA. At the same time, Front Street Coffee uses a Kilimanjaro coffee bean as an example to share specific operational plans from the roasting curve to V60 pour-over parameters, including coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, grind size, and staged pouring technique, helping coffee enthusiasts recreate the citrus, berry, and honey-tea flavor expression at home. [more…]

Tanzania is an important coffee-producing country in East Africa, and the Kilimanjaro region is the country's most renowned coffee calling card. This snow-capped peak on the equator, with its volcanic ash soil, dramatic temperature swings, and abundant rainfall, nurtures coffee that combines bright acidity with a full-bodied mouthfeel. Front Street believes that Tanzanian coffee has a prominent aroma and a rich yet refreshingly smooth oiliness, with notes of wild forest, caramel sweetness, and creamy chocolate, a delicate and lingering finish, and an acidity reminiscent of Kenyan wine-like qualities. This article will provide a complete overview of the flavor profile of Kilimanjaro coffee, from the region's background, historical development, and cooperative system to brewing parameters, along with Front Street's roasting and pour-over recommendations for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

Yirgacheffe, as an iconic specialty coffee region in Ethiopia, has always drawn attention to its natural process lots. This article focuses on the Yirgacheffe Aricha Natural G1 launched by Front Street Coffee. This lot comes from the Adorsi processing station and won first place in the natural group at the 2019 Ethiopia harvest season cupping competition, with a score as high as 91 points. The article will guide you through Yirgacheffe's regional terroir, the background of the Adorsi processing station, an overview of the TOH competition, and the varietal characteristics of the Heirloom landrace. It also breaks down in detail the five steps of the natural processing method and provides complete product information and cupping flavor notes for this coffee. [more…]

Every year, the new-crop Ethiopian Flower Queen captures the attention of many coffee lovers. This sun-dried specialty from the Guji Hambela region, named for its 2017 TOH championship honor, has now become a star among single-origin coffees. This season's Front Street Flower Queen continues the African raised-bed drying process, with fine fermentation under low-temperature conditions, presenting layered notes of floral aromas, red wine, and tropical fruit. Depending on the roast level, a light-to-medium roast preserves elegant floral notes and citrus acidity, making it suitable for pour-over and other atmospheric-pressure brewing methods; a medium roast enhances body and can be used to make SOE and moka pot coffee. This article will comprehensively cover the Flower Queen's origin background, variety characteristics, processing method, and flavor performance, taking you deeper into this bean's unique charm. [more…]

Yirgacheffe is the specialty coffee origin that serves as an introduction for many coffee enthusiasts, and Aricha, a village located about 8 kilometers to its east, has become a representative presence in Ethiopian sun-dried coffee thanks to its wins in the TOH sun-dried category in 2009 and 2019. At an altitude of over 1,850 meters, the coffee here is harvested from Heirloom varieties growing in native forests and, after sun-drying, presents a rich flavor interweaving strawberry, mango, apricot, and lemon, described by Front Street Coffee as a "fruit bomb." This article will systematically sort out Aricha's origin background, the history of the TOH competition, and the sun-drying process, and, combined with Front Street Coffee's cupping performance and V60 three-pour brewing method, provide coffee enthusiasts with a complete reference from understanding to hands-on practice. [more…]

The Yirgacheffe region in Ethiopia is home to numerous cooperatives, and the Konga Cooperative is one of the most representative. It is located in the Gedeo Zone at an altitude of over 1,800 meters, holds dual certifications in Fair Trade and organic farming, and won the national championship in the TOH natural category in the 2020 harvest season. This Konga Cooperative Wote Station natural G1, sourced by Front Street Coffee, uses local heirloom varieties and presents a complex flavor profile of citrus, jasmine, honey, and green tea. This article will provide a complete breakdown of this coffee's story, from the cooperative's background, soil characteristics, processing methods, and variety traits to Front Street's roast profile, cupping data, and V60 brewing recipe, offering coffee enthusiasts a practical reference for purchasing and brewing. [more…]