"Eh? Why does this coffee smell like soy sauce?" A customer carefully asked this question with a puzzled face after sniffing the dried coffee powder handed to him on the front street.In fact, this is not the first time Front Street has received such a question. In addition to "soy sauce", there are also other aroma descriptions such as "doujang", "tempeh", "five-nut mooncake", etc., which you can probably hear in Front Street stores. These descriptions, without exception, point to a strong salty aroma. So the question is, why does coffee have this salty aroma similar to soy sauce and miso?Where does the "soy sauce" flavor in coffee come from?There are many reasons for the "soy sauce taste" in coffee, but the most common one is the way it is processed. As we all know, coffee has many different processing methods. Different processing methods will give coffee different flavor characteristics. For example, washed coffee tastes cleaner, while sun-dried coffee tastes richer. The coffee will smell strong "soy sauce", which is a characteristic created by some special processing methods.Regardless of the processing method, coffee beans will ferment during the processing process, but different processing methods will cause different degrees of fermentation. For example, the difference in characteristics between washing and sun-drying mentioned above is mainly caused by the different degrees of fermentation.In the process of coffee bean processing, the more substances involved in fermentation and the longer the fermentation time, the more fermented the coffee beans will be. When the degree of fermentation is heavier, the coffee beans will develop a more complex flavor and produce a fermented aroma, making the taste more intense.When the aroma reaches a certain level, a salty aroma similar to "soy sauce", "doenjang", "tempeh", etc. will begin to appear. Because the aroma concentration at this time is too high and a lot of aroma substances are concentrated together, our senses cannot quickly identify each delicate aroma, so we simply directly package the information and transmit it to the brain, and then generate"Soy sauce", "Doenjang", "tempeh"Waiting for the taste, anaerobic treatment is the "place" where these sauce aromas occur.But as Front Street has always shared, these aromas similar to "soy sauce and miso" are actually just appearances. When we calm down and smell it carefully, we can peel away the surface and feel the unique flavor hidden underneath.For example, the Front Street Divide Manor Hija in the Front Street bean list is a double anaerobic-processed coffee bean. Many friends will frown at the strong "sauce aroma" when they first come into contact with it, but after sniffing it deeply, they immediately catch the fruit flavors hidden behind the surface, including grapes, apricots, passion fruit, and preserved fruits. Then they decisively order a glass, and after tasting it, their taste buds are completely conquered by the full juice flavor of Xiju.
In addition to the aroma, we can also taste the "sauce aroma" from the taste of some coffees. Similarly, the reason for the formation of soy sauce flavor is that the concentration of the flavor is too high, and the taste buds cannot easily distinguish the detailed flavor, so it is packaged and sent to the brain. In a situation like this, we only need to dilute it with water to release the concentrated flavor and disperse the "sauce" flavor. In addition, the sauce flavor in coffee also comes from improper extraction!As we all know, sour, sweet, bitter, and salty are the four main flavors in coffee. Among these four flavors, salty taste is the least common in coffee, because as long as we extract it properly, we can avoid the salty taste in coffee.But when we don’t extract properly(Under extraction), because there are not many sweet and sour substances to cover up, and the salty taste will be exposed. Combined with the rich aroma, it forms the familiar "sauce flavor".If this is the case, Front Street recommends that you make corrections by adjusting parameters. Especially for espresso, due to its high concentration and the saltiness caused by insufficient extraction, the "soy sauce taste" appears countless times. Front Street believes that barista friends who make morning drinks must be deeply aware of this.So the above are the main reasons why coffee smells like "soy sauce", "bean paste", etc. when it smells/drinks. It should be noted that although the front street mentioned that anaerobically processed coffee is the most common place where these flavors appear, this does not mean that all anaerobically processed coffee will have this kind of flavor. In the end, it still depends on the specific fermentation degree of the beans~
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
