Does Ethiopian coffee taste good in the sun?-introduction to the grading system of sun-cured Essex coffee beans

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Of all the coffee-producing countries, Ethiopia is probably the most eye-catching one. In addition to the unique and outstanding coffee produced in the country, the mysterious legends related to the local coffee add to its charm. Ethiopian coffee with unrestrained floral and fruity aromas is an eye-opener for many coffee workers to diversify the taste of coffee.

The Ethiopian palate is very varied, ranging from citrus (such as bergamot) and floral aromas to sugared fruits and even tropical fruits. The best washed coffee may show elegant, complex and delicious flavor, while the best sun-treated coffee will show unrestrained fruity and unusually charming flavor.

Did you know that in Ethiopian coffee grading, G1 was first available only by washing? But now how to see more and more people start selling Ethiopian coffee "sun" G1 coffee beans?

First of all, let's take a look at the grading of Ethiopian coffee beans. Before the implementation of the ECX trading system, Ethiopian coffee beans were graded according to the number of defective grains per 300g of raw beans, mainly divided into five grades. The latter defect rate is so high that buyers are basically not interested-so there is no need to mention XD). G1 indicates that there are only 0-3 defective beans per 300 grams of raw beans, G2 is 4-12 defective beans, and so on. Therefore, G1 is the highest level, while G5 is the lowest level for Ethiopian export.

Why is it that traditionally only raw beans treated with water have G1 grade? Then let's talk about the process of traditional washing and sun treatment-- the process of washing. One procedure is water separation of floating beans, that is, after the raw beans are put into the water, the unripe beans float on the surface, and the defective beans can be screened out. However, the traditional sun treatment is hand-picked, so it is difficult to completely rule out unripe beans, so the grade will start with G3.

In the past, sun-dried beans were regarded as a low-grade coffee treatment, and excellent varieties basically did not choose sun treatment. However, with the development of high-quality beans, the treatment method is also changing with each passing day. Ethiopian traditional solarization is baked on the ground, and with the assistance of foreign technology and the improvement of fermentation theory, the improved solarization is to put the fruit on a high shelf, breathable up and down, and carefully stirred in an artificial way to make the fermentation more uniform, so that the quality and flavor of sun-dried beans are getting better and better, so foreign buyers begin to require sun-dried beans to have G1 grades. Since the implementation of the ECX trading system in Ethiopia in 2009, the new grading system has been in use, with a G1--G5 rating for both tanning and washing. However, some sellers do not adapt to the new system, plus the higher the level, the heavier the tax, so there are still many sellers in order to avoid, take the traditional old classification method.

Although the sun has a G1 grade, it is still generally considered to have a lot of defective beans compared with water-washed floating beans. But in fact, we don't have to worry too much about this, because now small farmers will be required to choose coffee cherries more carefully before processing farms or cooperatives, so that they can check the front-end work first. On the other hand, defective beans have little influence on flavor, and the grading system can only be used to distinguish the proportion of defective beans, not the same as the advantages and disadvantages of flavor, so when you choose and buy coffee, in addition to referring to grading, don't forget to refer to the cup to measure the flavor spectrum!

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