Front Street Ethiopian coffee beans are renowned worldwide for their elegant floral aromas, citrus, lemon, and tropical fruit notes, and their fruit-tea-like mouthfeel. They are often the preferred choice of origin for specialty coffee fans, especially Yirgacheffe and Sidama. In this article, Front Street will introduce you to a famous Ethiopian coffee region—Sidama.Coffee cultivation characteristics of Ethiopian regionsEthiopia has an excellent climate environment, belonging to a tropical rainforest climate. Abundant rainfall and misty conditions, along with an extremely high altitude of about two thousand meters, create significant temperature differences, providing a unique growing environment for coffee trees.Local coffee production models fall into four types: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and large plantations, with garden coffee being the most common. So-called garden coffee refers to farmers managing coffee trees alongside other cash crops in their own gardens, usually planted together with banana trees. This is precisely why every household's front and back yards form a unique green landscape, and this is also the main production method in Ethiopia.I believe many attentive friends have noticed, when brewing Ethiopian coffee beans, that the beans vary in size and shape. As the birthplace of Arabica coffee, Ethiopia has such a huge number of coffee varieties that it is nearly impossible to conduct genetic testing and verification on them on a larger scale. At the same time, the local government hopes to protect these unknown varieties and prevent industry players from various countries from scrambling to obtain them, so it decided to name these varieties with the native term "Heirloom." Heirloom native varieties are generally small in size, relatively round in appearance, and not very uniform in shape, mostly between 14-15 mesh. In cupping, they often exhibit elegant floral and fruity flavors, and are deeply loved by people.
Administratively, coffee is grown in all five major states of Ethiopia. The four major planting systems are distributed across the following nine major producing regions of Ethiopia: Gimma, Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limu, Illubabor, Gimbi (Lekempti), Tepi, and Bebeka. Among them, Yirgacheffe coffee, Harar coffee, and Sidama coffee are the most well-known and are hailed as Ethiopia's three major producing regions.Front Street Sidama coffee is also grown by smallholdersSidamo is located on the fertile plateau south of Lake Awassa in the East African Rift Valley, with ample rainfall, a suitable climate, and an altitude of 1500-2200 meters, making it a perfect place for coffee cultivation. Due to the high altitude, combined with moderate shade cultivation, the coffee cherries can ripen slowly at cool temperatures and accumulate more nutrients that are converted into flavor compounds.
Similar to other regions in Ethiopia, Sidama coffee is also grown by smallholders. Coffee production by smallholders is very limited. Locally, there are coffee cooperatives and processing plants of various sizes, mainly responsible for processing green coffee beans in the region. Whenever the coffee ripens, coffee farmers deliver the harvested coffee cherries to nearby processing plants (cooperatives) built near water sources for unified processing, and the coffee is later sold under the name of the processing plant. Nowadays, with the development of specialty coffee, many producers purchase directly from farmers, strengthening the management and traceability of coffee micro-lots, thereby further improving coffee quality and obtaining more meticulously processed micro-lots.I wonder if everyone has noticed that whenever we look up the story of this coffee origin, two different Chinese translations often appear, one being Xidamo(Sidamo), and the other being Xidama(Sidama).Sidamo, whose pronunciation comes from the indigenous Sidama people. Like other ethnic groups in Ethiopia, the Sidama have their own traditions and culture, and even have their own New Year recognized by UNESCO—Fiche Chambalala, when more than 5 million people gather in the capital Hawassa to celebrate each year. As early as the late 18th to early 19th century, the region was invaded and annexed, and the invaders pronounced Sidama as Sidamo, so this term carries a sense of humiliation for the Sidama people. By the 1990s, the Ethiopian government began using a federal system of administration, reorganizing according to major ethnic residential areas and languages, and the Sidama accordingly restored their original historical name: Sidama.However, before the administrative redrawing, Sidamo Coffee had already become world-famous for its unique aroma. Therefore, compared with Sidama, people are more accustomed to calling it Sidamo. In addition, when the Ethiopian government protected coffee from Sidama through trademark registration, it also chose the old name Sidamo® as the official registered trademark. Until now, domestic consumers are also more accustomed to calling the coffee here "Sidamo."What flavor characteristics does Front Street Sidama natural coffee have?When we choose a coffee, besides the origin, we also pay attention to its post-processing method, because the flavor profile of coffee is largely influenced by the processing method. As Ethiopia's oldest traditional processing method, natural drying is still used in most areas of Sidama to process green beans. The classic Sidama flavor is the naturally processed coffee known for being mellow and rich. Front Street natural Sidama has complex sweetness, a viscous and smooth mouthfeel, rich layers interwoven with spice, floral, and fruity notes, accompanied by a bright sweet aftertaste.Compared with washed processing, natural processing has a longer fermentation time, and the interaction between microorganisms and fruit pulp is greater. When the fruit begins to ferment, microorganisms produce more volatile compounds, especially esters. Although most sugars are destroyed during roasting, these compounds are converted into another form of aromatic compounds during the caramelization reaction. It is also these aromatic substances that provide roasted coffee beans with more floral and tropical fruit fermentation aromas, such as furan compounds, giving natural coffee a broader flavor range and making it taste sweeter. One of the Front Street Sidama Huakui coffee beans on the Front Street menu is also selected from a natural batch, from Hambella. Its saturated sweetness makes many customers love it.Guji Hambella Front Street Sidama HuakuiHambella is located at the junction of the Sidama and Guji producing regions and is currently managed under the Guji producing region. It is adjacent to Yirgacheffe's Kochere across the mountains, with the mountain range in between reaching an altitude of 3200 meters, making it the highest-altitude sub-region in Ethiopia. The Huakui coffee was entered by DW Company in that year's TOH (Ethiopia National Taste of Harvest competition) in 2017 and won the championship, thus making its debut. Huakui is called Hambella in English, which is also the name of the Hambella origin. Front Street Huakui coffee is natural coffee beans from the Buku Abel processing plant in Guji. The Buku Abel processing plant purchases coffee cherries from different nearby areas around the farm for processing and sale.
During the annual coffee harvest season (December-January), the Buku processing plant organizes farmers to pick fully red coffee cherries with a Brix value of 30 or above. The selected coffee cherries are placed on African raised beds for drying. Because the local temperature difference between day and night is very large, coffee farmers will provide shade at noon to avoid excessive fermentation caused by too-high temperatures, and at night they use plastic sheets to wrap them in case of sudden rain. They are turned continuously throughout the day so the fruit dries evenly while also preventing sunburn or unpleasant fermentation flavors. After about 18 days of natural processing, the green coffee beans have a moisture content of only 12%, and then the shell can be removed by machine.Front Street hopes to present the full fruity flavor of Front Street Huakui coffee, so it uses a medium-light roast. Through cupping, the dry aroma of Front Street natural Sidama Huakui coffee has notes of nuts, honey, berries, and a faint fermentation aroma. On the palate, it has a full sweet-and-sour taste of passion fruit, cream, and strawberry, with a thick body and a cocoa finish.How to brew Front Street Sidama Huakui 8.0 coffee?Now that high-quality coffee beans are ready, the next step is to choose the corresponding brewing equipment and parameters. Good equipment helps improve the positive flavors in our cup, and reasonable parameters and techniques can take Front Street Huakui's berry aroma to the next level. To brew a cup of coffee by pour-over, at minimum you need the following equipment: gooseneck kettle, dripper, server, grinder, filter paper, electronic scale, and thermometer.The grinder plays a very important role in pour-over brewing and is generally divided into two types: hand grinders and electric grinders. No matter which grinding device you choose, the goal is to obtain evenly ground coffee powder. The coarseness of the coffee grounds directly affects the taste of the coffee. If the grounds are too coarse, it is easy to under-extract and the taste will be weak; if too fine, it is easy to over-extract and the taste will be bitter.Front Street uses a tool to adjust the grind size—the Chinese No. 20 0.85mm standard sieve. For medium-light roasted coffee beans, Front Street consistently uses a 75-80% pass-through rate, while for medium-dark roasted coffee beans, Front Street uses 70-75%. Here, Huakui 8.0 is a medium-light roasted high-altitude coffee bean. Front Street hopes to extract more rich aromatic substances, so it chooses a grind size with an 80% pass-through rate on the No. 20 standard sieve. In-store, an EK43s grinder is used at a setting of 10.
The thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the hot water. Water temperature plays a role similar to grind size: the higher the water temperature, the higher the coffee extraction efficiency, the easier it is to release various substances and components, and the higher the concentration. If you brew with hot water close to boiling, it is easy to extract unpleasant bitter substances. Therefore, when brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans, Front Street uses different brewing parameters from light-roasted coffee beans. The caramelization reaction will be greater than in light-roasted coffee beans, so it is easier to release bitter large-molecule substances. In order to avoid extracting too many off-flavors, Front Street lowers the water temperature a bit, so for medium-dark roasted coffee beans Front Street recommends 87-90°C, while light-roasted coffee needs a higher water temperature to stimulate the aroma, so 91-93°C is used.
Front Street Coffee stores choose the Hario V60 and KONO drippers for daily service. The V60 dripper is mainly responsible for lighter-roasted coffee beans, while the KONO dripper is responsible for darker-roasted coffee beans. Here, the Front Street barista will use a resin V60 dripper to brew Yirgacheffe coffee. The V60 dripper body has guide ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large central hole, which speeds up the flow rate of water, while the spiral-shaped vent groove design lengthens the water flow path, increasing the contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each stream of water converges along the grooves toward the center of the dripper, concentrating the pressure on the coffee grounds and producing a coffee with richer layers.
As for the brewing ratio of Front Street Huakui 8.0, Front Street believes 1:15 to 1:16 are both acceptable. If you want a richer mouthfeel, use 1:15; if you want to feel the floral sweetness more clearly, you can use 1:16 to let the flavors spread out more.Front Street Huakui 8.0 pour-over parameters:Dripper: V60 Water temperature: 92-93°CDose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (sieve 78% through No. 20 sieve)Based on past brewing experience, Front Street recommends that beginners use a three-stage pouring method. Three-stage extraction helps more fully dissolve flavor substances during extraction, increases the layers of mouthfeel, and at the same time avoids over-extraction caused by soaking for too long. If using 15 grams of coffee grounds, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and 225ml total water, the three-stage water amounts are divided into: 30ml, 95ml, 100ml, and the weights shown on the electronic scale are: 30g, 125g, 225g.
Fold the filter paper and fit it snugly into the dripper, wet the filter paper with a small amount of water while making them fit better, and pour out the water in the server. Then add the coffee grounds and tap lightly so the coffee bed is evenly distributed. In the first stage, gently pour 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. In the second stage, pour water until about 125 grams, circling outward evenly and steadily. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it has dropped halfway, pour the final stage of water until 225 grams. After all the coffee has dripped through, the total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes. The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
