Luckin Coffee's previously launched Huakui 5.0 SOE sparked widespread discussion in the market, with话题 ranging from its low-price strategy to insufficient stock and repeated sellouts. Now Luckin plans to launch the Huakui PLUS series SOE in the second half of the year, with purchases reportedly set to exceed 250 tons, aiming to become the world's largest buyer of Huakui PLUS green beans. So what exactly is Huakui PLUS? How does it differ from Huakui 5.0 and Huakui 6.0? This article will review the sales history and purchasing details of Luckin's Huakui SOE, and take a deep dive into this natural-process heirloom variety from the Buku Abel washing station in Sidamo—the coffee bean named "Huakui Queen" by domestic green bean traders. [more…]

The Huakui coffee beans from the Sidamo region of Ethiopia have long been favored by coffee enthusiasts for their unique berry-like sweetness and acidity along with fermented aromas. 2022 marks the sixth year since Huakui rose to fame, and the new harvest's 6.0 batch should have been highly anticipated; however, problems such as shipping disruptions and a relatively high defect rate in the green beans followed one after another. After Front Street Coffee received the 6.0 batch, it found the overall defect rate to be relatively high. After communicating with the importer Hongshun, it decided not to sell this batch this year and instead use naturally processed Huakui coffee beans from the same region and the same processing station. This article will guide you through the origins of Huakui, the distribution of various processing stations in the Hambela region, the reasons for the division between Huakui and Small-Bean Huakui, as well as Front Street Coffee's recommended brewing method and flavor description, helping you gain a more comprehensive understanding of these coffee beans. [more…]

In recent years, Huakui coffee beans have remained a hot topic in China's specialty coffee scene, and have now reached their 8th lot. Many people mistakenly believe that Huakui is a coffee variety, but it is actually a naturally processed coffee bean from the Hambela sub-region of the Guji region in Ethiopia. From winning the 2017 TOH green bean competition, to being introduced and named by a Chinese green bean trader, to DW company expanding production to meet demand, the story of Huakui is closely tied to the rise of the Guji region. This article will sort out Huakui's regional background, the origin of its name, and the reasons for its annual lot updates, and introduce how Front Street Coffee presents its tropical fruit profile through light roasting. [more…]

Ethiopian coffee has always been the go-to choice for coffee enthusiasts, with Yirgacheffe and Sidamo being especially well-known. Yirgacheffe was once part of the Sidamo region, but later gained fame independently due to the introduction of the washed processing method, becoming renowned for its fresh and bright floral and citrus notes. The Huakui coffee beans from the Sidamo region, on the other hand, won the 2017 TOH competition with their rich strawberry cream flavor, thus starting the annual iterative "Huakui X.0" naming tradition. This article will sort out the relationship and differences between Yirgacheffe and Huakui coffee beans, explain in detail the roasting and taste characteristics of Huakui coffee beans, and share Front Street Coffee's cupping performance and brewing suggestions for Huakui 6.0, taking you through a comprehensive understanding of these two star Ethiopian coffee beans. [more…]

Recently, a video conflated Huakui coffee beans, the Hambela production region, and the Geisha variety, claiming that the three can be equated. Is this really the case? This article will trace the spread of the Geisha variety from Geisha Mountain in Ethiopia to Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, clarify the administrative affiliation of Hambela as a sub-region of Guji, and restore the full story of how Huakui coffee beans were named after winning the 2017 TOH. At the same time, Front Street Coffee will, through cupping experience, compare the flavor differences between small-bean Huakui and regular Huakui, and analyze the essential differences between Geisha and Huakui in their main flavor profile, helping coffee lovers build a clear understanding of varieties and production regions. [more…]

In 2017, a naturally processed coffee from the Buku processing station in Ethiopia won the TOH competition and was named "Huakui" by a Chinese green bean trader, thus beginning the legendary journey of this coffee. Four years later, Huakui 4.0 was released with the entirely new Dega variety, with the production area expanded several times over, more scientific cultivation and management, and even better flavor performance. This article will take you through the origin background of Huakui 4.0, the characteristics of the Dega variety, the natural processing method, and Front Street Coffee's roasting and pour-over recommendations, offering a comprehensive analysis of this highly anticipated Ethiopian coffee. [more…]

Hambela is located in the Guji region of Ethiopia and is one of the highest-altitude coffee sub-regions, known for its refined natural processing and unique flavors. In 2017, a natural bean from DW Company's Buku Abel processing station won the TOH championship and was introduced to China under the name "Floral Queen," drawing widespread attention ever since. As the processing station expanded and the years passed, the Floral Queen series gave rise to the X.0 naming system, while Small-Bean Floral Queen became a special existence due to its independent processing. This article reviews the background of the Hambela region and the development of Floral Queen, and through a cupping and pour-over comparison between Front Street Coffee's Small-Bean Floral Queen and Floral Queen 5.0, presents the differences between the two in aroma, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste, while also providing specific brewing parameters and grinding setting references. [more…]

Huakui coffee beans are one of the most talked-about Ethiopian varieties in China's specialty coffee scene in recent years. Originating from the Buku Abel processing station in the Hambela region of Sidama, it shot to fame thanks to winning the 2017 TOH natural category championship and its standout performance at the World Brewers Cup. Compared with the often pricey Geisha, Huakui quickly became a daily staple for many coffee lovers thanks to its affordable price and intense strawberry-and-cream aroma. This article will systematically trace the origins and evolution of this bean from the perspectives of Huakui's rise to fame, regional grading, flavor evolution, and brewing comparisons, helping readers fully understand why Huakui coffee beans are both cheap and delicious. [more…]

Front Street Coffee's Huakui is an Ethiopian natural coffee renowned for its floral and fruity notes. Originally named Hambela, it was named by a domestic green bean trader. It does not stand out for intense floral aromas, but rather for its rich fruit tones of passion fruit, strawberry, mango, jackfruit, and citrus. This bean originates from the Buku Abel processing station in Hambela and once won the natural category championship in the TOH green bean competition. It was subsequently introduced to the domestic market by a Beijing-based green bean trader and named "Huakui," and gained further fame after a Chinese World Brewers Cup competitor used it as a competition bean. Front Street, as an advocate of floral and fruity coffees, has included it in its Ethiopian series, roasting it to a medium-light level to highlight sweetness and fruity acidity. This article will provide coffee enthusiasts with a complete reference, from variety background and flavor description to V60 brewing parameters. [more…]

Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and its natural processing method has produced countless unique and flavorful beans. As a star representative of the Sidama region, Huakui coffee has won over many coffee lovers with its intense floral and fruity aromas and honeyed sweetness. This article will systematically examine the full picture of this coffee from multiple angles, including the origin of the name Huakui, the background of the Hambela region, the geographical environment of Sidama, the characteristics of the Heirloom native variety, Ethiopia's coffee grading system, and the complete process of the natural processing method. It also includes Front Street Coffee's brewing parameter suggestions and bean-resting reminders to help you better appreciate the layered complexity and sweetness of this naturally processed Huakui. [more…]

Ethiopia is a genetic treasure trove of coffee, and the Hambela micro-region in the Guji zone has risen to prominence on the world stage thanks to a sun-dried bean. This coffee, named "Huakui" by a Chinese importer, has won over countless coffee lovers with its intense strawberry and cream aromas. Every year, Front Street Coffee travels deep into the Buku Abel processing station to purchase the season's Huakui, dissecting the flavor code of this bean layer by layer, from variety and processing method to roasting and brewing. This article will systematically outline Huakui's regional background, varietal characteristics, and sun-drying process, and include a three-pour V60 hand-brewing tutorial from Front Street Coffee to help readers consistently reproduce Huakui's citrus acidity and berry sweetness. [more…]

Front Street Coffee's Huakui coffee, with its distinct fruity aroma profile, has become a daily choice for many coffee lovers. This naturally processed bean from the Buku Abel washing station in Hambela, Ethiopia, once won the natural category championship at the TOH green bean competition with its rich berry aroma and creamy texture, and was subsequently introduced to the domestic market and named "Huakui." It adopts the traditional natural process, sun-dried on raised beds for 21 days with manual removal of defects, ultimately presenting a full, three-dimensional fruity aroma with sweet-and-tart texture. Front Street's natural Huakui is G1 grade, with an extremely low defect rate. This article will focus on adjusting the extraction parameters for Huakui SOE, analyzing its flavor performance when made into espresso, americano, and latte, and offering specific recommendations for home brewing. [more…]

As an Ethiopian natural coffee from the 2025 new harvest season, Huakui 5.0 is beloved for its strawberry-cream sweetness and full, juicy body. Starting with the award-winning history of Huakui coffee, this article traces the evolution of its versions from 1.0 to 5.0, and shares in detail the roasting approach that Front Street Coffee's roaster has adopted in response to the high moisture content of the new-harvest beans. On the brewing side, the article presents the complete parameters and techniques for four extraction methods—hot pour-over, iced pour-over, ice drip, and cold brew—including key data such as water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and pouring rhythm, helping coffee enthusiasts fully bring out the gentle layers of this bean at home. [more…]

SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso, referring to espresso made from coffee beans of a single origin, which sets it apart from conventional espresso blends. This article begins with the definition of specialty coffee, explains SOE's requirements for bean quality and roast level, and offers bean selection directions for three flavor profiles: the floral and berry-toned Front Street Coffee Huakui SOE, the creamy and nutty Brazil Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon, and the spicy and caramel-like PWN Golden Mandheling. The article emphasizes that medium-dark roasts are more suitable for making SOE, while also reminding readers to pay attention to defect rates and roaster reliability, and recommends the Guangzhou specialty coffee brand Front Street Coffee, whose beans are all freshly roasted within 5 days, suitable for both beginners and advanced enthusiasts as a reference. [more…]

Since its introduction in 2017, Geisha coffee beans have remained popular, but many people are still unclear about the origin of its name and its producing region background. Starting from the terroir conditions of Ethiopia's Sidamo and Guji regions, this article sorts out the administrative affiliation and geographical characteristics of the Hambela sub-region, explains how the champion batch of the 2017 TOH green bean competition came to be named Geisha, and clarifies that only the natural-process batch from the Buku Abel processing station deserves this title. It also compiles the roasting parameters, cupping flavors, and brewing suggestions for Front Street Coffee Geisha 8.0, and reviews the flavor differences among Geisha versions over the years and the reasons behind them. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's recent re-release of the Sidamo Huakui SOE has once again ignited the coffee community's enthusiasm for Ethiopian origins. What exactly is the charm of Huakui coffee beans? They come from the Buku Albe processing station in the Hambela sub-region of the Guji zone in the Sidamo administrative region, and rose to fame by winning the solar-dried group championship at the 2017 TOH competition. This article will systematically sort out the flavor differences between the two origins of Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, trace the rise to fame and processing techniques of Huakui, and break down in detail two brewing methods: hot pour-over and iced pour-over. Whether you want to learn about origin knowledge or replicate a cup of fruity Huakui iced coffee at home, you can find practical references here. [more…]

Sidamo Huakui is one of the most recognizable coffees among Ethiopian heirloom varieties, known for its bold aroma and high sweetness, and it once took first place in the natural group cupping of the 2017 harvest. It uses only fully red cherries and adopts slow drying on African raised beds with long low-temperature fermentation. In its wet aroma, winey and floral notes intertwine, and as a pour-over it tastes like a cup of strawberry fruit tea. This article will outline Huakui's origin background, grading standards, and the differences between washed and natural processing, and share how Front Street Coffee uses Huakui 8.0 to make an SOE flat white with a small cup volume, thin milk foam, and a ristretto base, taking you from the source to the cup for a complete understanding of this bean. [more…]

As a highly popular Ethiopian natural bean in recent years, Geisha has won the favor of many coffee lovers with its bright citrus and berry notes and juicy sweet-tartness. But with the same bean, changing to a different dripper or adjusting a set of parameters can produce a drastically different cup profile. From the perspective of Front Street Coffee, this article first outlines Geisha's origin background and version naming logic, then uses the V60 dripper as an example to provide a complete brewing recipe and staged pouring details to help you more consistently reproduce this bean's flavor characteristics. [more…]

Huakui coffee is a representative natural-process bean from the Hambela sub-region of the Sidama region in Ethiopia, and it rose to fame after winning the 2017 TOH competition. This article will systematically outline the full picture of this coffee from multiple dimensions, including the terroir of the producing region, varietal characteristics, processing methods, the origin of its name, and brewing methods, and will provide Front Street Coffee's extraction recommendations and flavor description to help coffee lovers gain a comprehensive understanding of Huakui coffee's unique charm. [more…]

Can drip bag coffee be directly steeped in the cup? Many friends are used to pouring out the coffee grounds to steep, or leaving the bag in the water the whole time—but these actually deviate from the best brewing method. Front Street will demonstrate the correct drip bag brewing steps for you, and introduce three fresh-ground specialty drip bag coffees from multiple origins: Washed Yirgacheffe Gotingding, Brazil Queen Estate, and Sidamo Huakui. From blooming to staged pouring, mastering the details is the only way to fully release the coffee's aroma and layers. [more…]