Ethiopia and Kenya, the famous coffee bean producing countries in Africa, are well-known in the specialty coffee industry. The coffee flavor in both production areas is mainly acidic, but the difference is that the coffee flavor in Ethiopia is bright and rising acidity, with a clean and refreshing taste; while the coffee flavor in Kenya is full like berry juice, such as tomato juice. In the front street bean list, coffee beans from African production areas account for 30-40% of the beans on the shelves. From the proportion, we can clearly see that coffee from African production areas is very popular among the public.
When it comes to African coffee, Front Street believes that the first country that many people think of must be Ethiopia. As the birthplace of coffee, its coffee seeds are also planted all over the world, and various new branches have been derived. Ethiopian coffee is almost all grown on small farms.(Forest coffee, pastoral coffee, plantation coffee), and unified export management by the government. Among Ethiopia's nine producing areas, two large producing areas have become synonymous with the country's specialty coffee. They are Yirgacheffe and Sidamo. Front Street believes that medium-light roasted Ethiopian beans have a unique lemon, flower and honey-like sweet aroma, soft acidity and citrus flavor, and a fresh and bright taste. Without adding milk or sugar, the rich texture and unique soft floral aroma will brush your taste buds, leaving endless aftertaste.
Yirgacheffe has always been one of the most important coffee-producing areas in Ethiopia. It was once part of Sidamo, and later became an independent production area due to the unique flavor of Yirgacheffe coffee beans. It can be said that today Yirgacheffe is not only the name of a coffee growing area, but also a noun that describes a certain coffee flavor.
The Yirgacheffe coffee production area is considered a high-altitude coffee production area, with an altitude of about 2,000 meters. There are currently more than 40 cooperatives in the Yirgacheffe coffee-producing area, which mainly manage coffee cultivation on a family-owned business model. There are also many familiar micro-producing areas under them, such as Kocher, Foggy Valley, Godibey, etc. These micro-producing areas all have excellent cooperative teams, and the Yirgacheffe coffee beans produced also have unique flavor characteristics. The so-called Yirgacheffe flavor refers to the rich aroma of jasmine, lemon, sweet aroma of peach, almond and tea. Front Street believes that "flowers in bloom" is the most appropriate way to describe it.
Sidamo(Sidamo, also translated as Sidamo, Sidamo)It is a province in Ethiopia and is also the superior administrative unit of Yirgacheffe. The Sidamo production area is the production area in Sidamo Province except Yirgacheffe. It is the southernmost coffee production area in Ethiopia. The average altitude here is 1,400-2,000 meters. The coffee produced is obviously sweet and is known as "sweet coffee". Front Street feels that the taste of sun-dried Sidamo has a light pink floral aroma, rich berry acidity, and a slight sense of fermentation. It has a smoother taste than washed Sidamo.The real name of Oiran coffee beans is actually "Hambella". The literal translation in Chinese is Hambella coffee beans. It is the 2017 TOH green bean competition.（the Taste Of Harvest）The last green bean from the Hambera production area in Guji stood out with its strong aroma of strawberries and cream. It won the championship in the Ethiopian TOH sun-drying group with a high score of 88.21. Later, it won the ever-victorious Gesha, making the originally mediocre Hambera coffee become a veritable "Hua Dan". As its exquisite flavor made it popular in some brewing competitions, this high-quality Hambera coffee beans also began to be known to the Chinese people.
2017 Award-Winning Sun-Dried Hambella(i.e. the first generation of oiran)It was discovered and promoted by a green bean merchant in Beijing. Of course, it would be a pity if such a wonderful name was short-lived. Therefore, since 2017, coffee beans from the "Buku Abel" processing plant in the Hambera production area have continued to be introduced, and they are called Oiran 2.0, Oiran 3.0, and Oiran 3.1 to distinguish the previous Oiran coffee and represent different batches or production seasons. At this time, Oiran coffee still maintains certain characteristics, and the production area is still locked in the sun-dried batches of the "Buku Abel" processing plant in Humbera. Today, Oiran coffee has also come to the 2025 version.Ethiopian coffee bean varietiesMost Ethiopian coffee beans are called "Heirloom", which is translated into "native species" or "heirloom" in Chinese. This is because in Ethiopia, the pastoral planting system is the cultivation model that most small coffee farmers rely on to survive, and the original Heirloom species are "unknown varieties" from their backyards. The coffee trees may have been left behind by the original owner of the land, or they may have been shared among neighbors, or they may have been cultivated from seeds from another origin. Various coffee plants are planted together with other cash crops on the land, and are picked and sold when they are mature.Therefore, Heirloom does not refer to a certain type of coffee variety. It represents the blending of green beans in the production area. The coffee is a collection of harvests from multiple small farmers at the same time, and then combined with each other. A single batch may cover dozens or hundreds of unsubdivided varieties. Precisely because there are differences between varieties and the mixing method is different every time, the particle size, size and shape of these coffees are different, some are large and some are small, some are long and some are round, which can be understood as "blended batches".
Kenya is also an African production area. It is located in eastern Africa, with the equator running through the middle and the East African Rift Valley running across the north and south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. With the "Connoisseur's Cup"”(Connoisseurs' Cup)Known as Kenyan coffee, the flavor is often known for its rich aroma, round acidity, full and elegant body, as well as an endless aftertaste of multi-layered taste and juice-like sweet and sour taste.Kenyan coffee mostly grows at an altitude of 1,500--2,100 meters, and is harvested twice a year. Coffee from different production areas will also have different flavors due to differences in microclimate. Kenya's coffee production areas are the most famous of the seven major production areas, Thika, Kirinyaga, and the west side of Mount Kenya (Mt. Kenya). West, Nyeri, Kiambu, Ruiri and Muranga.Kenyan coffee bean varietiesCommon coffee varieties in Kenya include SL28, SL34, and Ruiru11 and Batian, which have appeared more frequently in recent years. In 1922, Kenya established the Scott Agricultural Laboratory.（Scott Labs）Engaged in coffee planting research, in the more than 10 years since its establishment, the laboratory has selected SL28 and SL34 from 42 types of coffee, which are suitable for planting in the production area, providing a good start for the development of the coffee industry.
Both SL28 and SL34 are high-quality varieties selected after repeated breeding. The only Kenyan coffee on the Front Street Bean List - Cherry Tomato is composed of these two varieties. SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group and carries the bright tones and rich acidity of original Bourbon. The SL34 bloodline is closer to Typica’s genes, and its acidity is milder than that of SL28. These two varieties, SL28 and SL34, still account for the majority of Kenyan coffee production. As the reputation of this variety continues to increase, many coffee producing countries in South America are also actively introducing SL28 as a planting variety.Ruiru11 was born due to the global rust outbreak. At that time, many Arabica species were suffering from diseases. In order not to reduce coffee production, the hybrid variety Ruiru11 was developed. It had excellent disease resistance, but the flavor and quality were far inferior to SL28 and SL34.Kenyan coffee beans have a wonderful, satisfying aroma, balanced and delicious acidity, well-proportioned grains and a great fruity flavor. Front Street compared the coffee beans of Ethiopia, Kenya’s neighboring country, and found that although both are dominated by fruit-acid tones, they present completely different feelings. Kenya’s acid is strong and thick, while Ethiopia’s acid is soft and translucent. If you are trying African coffee beans for the first time, Front Street recommends trying Ethiopian coffee beans first, and then slowly transitioning to Kenyan coffee beans.Ethiopian coffee bean processing methodTraditionally, Yirgacheffe uses the oldest sun-drying method, but in 1972, Ethiopia introduced washing technology from Central and South America in order to improve the quality of coffee, making the jasmine and citrus aroma of Yirgacheffe clearer and more translucent. Front Street believes that the most essential difference between the washed method and the sun-dried method is that the washed method presents the most basic flavor of coffee and can most intuitively reflect the essential characteristics of the production area, while the sun-dried method adds sweet aroma and fermentation to this basic flavor. Because of the introduction of the washed method, Yirgacheffe has become a representative of the world's specialty coffee. After the 1970s, the area has been dominated by washed coffee, becoming the most popular washed bean producing area in Ethiopia.
In the 21st century, sun-drying technology has gradually improved, and amazing sun-dried beans are frequently launched. This is attributed to Yirgacheffe coffee trader Bagxi. He missed the traditional flavor of sun-dried beans and could not bear the gradual replacement of sun-dried beans by washing, so he improved the processing method of sun-dried beans to improve the flavor and reduce the proportion of defects, and launched three extremely famous Yirgacheffe sun-dried beans: Idido Misty Valley, Beloya, and Aricha.Kenyan coffee bean processing methodIn addition to the production area and variety, the achievements of Kenyan coffee are also due to the use of the unique K72 processing method, which is an extension of the ordinary washing method to improve the quality of coffee beans and give them a strong sour texture.This unique washing technology is also called "Double Washed" because it takes the form of double soaking. It is also called "Fully Washed" in the place of production. Since Kenya was the first region where this treatment method was popularly implemented, this type of washing is also called the "Kenyan Process". Later, everyone discovered that this kind of washed beans fermented twice according to local conditions not only facilitated stable quality control in production, but also brought rich layers of fruity acid flavor to the coffee.Front Street Baking AdviceThe most iconic flavor of Yirgacheffe coffee is its exquisite acidity and rich floral and fruity aroma. In order to maximize this flavor, Front Street Coffee believes that light roasting is the most suitable. Yirgacheffe coffee beans, whether sun-dried or washed, can maximize their special flavor when roasted lightly. But now there are Yirgacheffe coffees on the market that are medium roasted or above, which will slightly weaken its acidity and enhance its body. Front Street believes that this depends on personal preference. The mainstream is still light roasted Yirgacheffe coffee.When Front Street Coffee roasts Kenyan coffee beans, it considers the need to highlight its thick fruity acidity and tomato juice-like taste, so it uses medium-light roasting.Front Street Brewing Parameters for Kenyan and Ethiopian Coffee Beans:The brewing methods of Oiran are hand brewing and siphon brewing. When grinding the beans, you can smell the tangy sun-dried fruit aroma and the sweetness is obvious. A good cup of coffee is nothing more than a balance of sourness, sweetness and bitterness and a smooth taste. The design of the filter cup is to show these characteristics of coffee. However, the styles of coffee brewed by different filter cups are also different.Oiran is suitable for the resin V60 filter cup, which allows the coffee to have richer acid changes from hot to cold, making the cup of coffee more refined. The resin material can enhance the aroma intensity. For light roasted Oiran, we will use a medium to fine grind. The thickness of the coffee grind will directly affect the length of extraction time and the extraction rate. The finer the coffee is ground, the denser the powder layer, and more coffee powder particles are in contact with hot water, which increases the extraction resistance, making it easier to extend the extraction time and increase the extraction rate. However, it is easy to over-extract.
On the contrary, the coarser the coffee is ground, the larger the gaps in the powder layer are, and fewer coffee powder particles are in contact with hot water. The extraction resistance becomes weaker, making it more difficult to extend the extraction time, and the extraction rate is reduced, making it easy to under-extract. Therefore, the finer the coffee is ground, the extraction time will be extended and the extraction rate will be increased. The finer the coffee is ground, the extraction time will be shortened and the extraction rate will be lowered.Considering that Ethiopian and Kenyan beans are lightly roasted, Front Street Coffee will use a higher water temperature and a faster flow rate filter cup, mainly because it needs to use high temperature to extract its bright acidity, but it does not want to cause over-extraction due to high temperature, so it chooses a faster flow rate V60 filter cup and a 91-degree water temperature for brewing.Front Street uses medium-fine grinding/fine granulated sugar (China No. 20 standard sieve screening rate is 80%). Use 15 coffee powder, and then use a V60 filter cup, a water temperature of 91 degrees Celsius, a powder-to-water ratio of 1:15, and a three-stage water injection method for brewing.Three-stage extraction is used, using twice the amount of coffee powder for steaming, that is, 30 grams of water is steamed for 30 seconds. The reason why the steaming process is required is to allow the coffee powder to discharge the internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the subsequent extraction more stable. Use a small flow of water in a circle to inject water in stages until 125 grams is reached. Continue to inject water until 225 grams and stop. When the water in the filter cup has finished dripping, remove the filter cup. Start timing from the water injection. The extraction time is 2'00'. Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee and shake it evenly, then pour it into the cup and taste it.[New Season Oiran]: Floral aroma, sweet and sour taste of berries, citrus, orange, mango juice, honey, the aftertaste is the sweetness of black tea, and the taste is clear.[Flavour characteristics of washed Kenyan azalea]: obvious ebony plum, cherry tomato, honey, with a slight nutty aroma when cooled, a juice-like taste, and thick acidity.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
