【Foreword】
Recently, many friends like to drink Pour over(V60) coffee with less sour taste. In addition to the light-medium roasted [Front Street Sun-Dried Red Cherry] and [Front Street Sidamo Oiran], there are also medium-dark roasted [Front Street Brazilian Queen], [Front Street Honduras], [Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling], and [Front Street Huilan] to choose from. If you prefer a mellow and rich taste, Front Street recommends the [Mandheling] series of coffee beans. Why? Can’t medium-light roasted beans be made richer in taste? We can understand it from several aspects:
1. Baking process:
Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. It takes ten to twenty minutes and the temperature is as high as more than 200 degrees Celsius. It undergoes multiple chemical changes, making a popcorn-like sound and losing moisture. This causes the green beans to expand and change their color, taste, smell and density, thus producing the special flavor of coffee.
Green beans contain similar acidity, protein, and caffeine as roasted beans, but lack the delicious flavor. Green beans contain a large amount of chloric acid. As the roasting process progresses, the chloric acid will gradually disappear, releasing familiar and pleasant fruit acids, such as acetic acid, citric acid, and malic acid contained in wine. Roasting is the perfect way to bring out these beautiful sour flavors in moderation. The baking process requires sufficient heat to accelerate the Menard reaction and caramelization reaction. As the color deepens, the fragrant oil is gradually released, and the texture becomes crispy.
What is caramelization reaction?
The sugar in the coffee beans undergoes a caramelization reaction at about 170 to 200°C, which is exactly the melting point of sucrose (185°C) and the temperature of the first cracking stage when the coffee beans are roasted. The caramelization reaction is the "reaction" of the heated sugars."oxidation" or "browning" reaction, the product is divided into two parts:
1. The dehydration product of sugar isCaramel or sauce color
2. The pyrolysis products are mainly volatile aldehydes and ketones.
Simply put, the caramelization reaction produces a roasted aroma, caramel and color, as well as other aromatic substances such as maltol, Cyclotene, furan compounds, etc. These compounds can also be found in red wine, juice, cream and other foods.
However, if the caramelization is too much during the roasting process, it is not a good thing. Instead, it will cause carbonization and make the coffee dry and bitter. If there is insufficient caramelization, the aroma will be dull and lacking in layers.
What is the Menard reaction?
Simply put, it is the degradation and polymerization reaction of sugar and protein or amino acids in beans. The color will also become darker and produce a unique fragrance, such as burning plant fiber.Burnt smoke smell, creamysweet aroma, toasty brownThe smell of breadThe various flavors come together, and most of these rich flavors come from the Menard reaction during baking.
In the early stage, the Amadori molecule is rearranged through the condensation of carbonyl amine; in the middle stage, the rearrangement product of Amadori molecule, fructosamine, is dehydrated into HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural), and fructosamine is deaminated into reducing ketones, which is the role of amino acids and dicarbonyl compounds; in the final stage, aldol condensation leads to the polymerization reaction to generate melanin;
If sugar is cooked with proteins or amino acids, a Maillard reaction occurs. In addition to caramelization of sugary foods, some sugars will interact with the latter to undergo a series of chemical reactions to produce more diverse compounds. In short, the flavor is richer than caramelization. Not only coffee beans, but also chocolate, maple syrup, brewed beer, etc. are all products of the Menard reaction.
2. How does the roasting process affect flavor?
Caramelization and Menard reaction each produce the following aromas:
（1）caramelization: Sweet, sour, bitter, fruity, sherry-like smell, butterscotch, caramel, nuts
（2）Mena reaction: Salty, floral, onion and meat, green vegetables, chocolate, potato and earthy, incense, stuffy, choking and caramelized aromas mentioned above
The two reactions occur simultaneously. However, the complex chemistry of caramelization and Menard reaction has not yet been completely deciphered by scientists, and many flavor-rich compounds cannot be fully identified. Different roasting degrees have different flavor expressions. In our【36 scent bottles】Medium, basically includes the flavor expression of light, medium and dark roasting, respectively[Enzyme Group], [Caramel Group], [Cyrodistillation Group], [Defect Group]。
Most of the lightly roasted beans show the sour fruity flavor of the [Prunus Group], such as lemon, coffee blossom, apricot, etc.; the majority of the medium roasted beans show the caramel aroma of the [Caramelization Group], such as roasted almonds, hazelnuts, roasted peanuts, etc.; the dark roasted beans show the【Crytic distillation group】The choking fragrance, such asfir, pepper, clove。
For medium-dark roasted beans, the caramelization reaction is nearing the end and is dominated by the Menard reaction., producing aromas such as resinous aroma, spicy aroma, carbonized aroma, etc. Our Front Street Golden Mandheling performs better in medium-dark roasted flavors, with elegant woody aroma, cedar, fir aroma, and turpentine flavor. It has a smooth taste and thick texture.
3. How to bake to express the best flavor of [Front Street Golden Mandheling]?
Before baking Front Street Golden Mandheling, we will roughly know the baking direction from the planting information. Front Street Golden Mandheling is planted at an altitude of 1100 to 1600 meters. It is produced in the forest east of Sumatra in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The climate is humid. In order to speed up the drying speed, wet planing is used to process single fruits and fully ripe fruits are picked by hand to ensure the quality of the initial bean selection. Put it into the barrel for dry fermentation, allowing the pectin sugar to fully ferment to increase the flavor. Allow the pectin sugar to fully ferment to increase the flavor. Usually the fermentation time is between 12-36 hours, depending on the specific situation; then expose it to the sun for 1 to 2 days. When the moisture is dried to 35-40%, use a shell grinder to grind off the bean shells, and then dry in the sun until the moisture content reaches about 12% to 15%.
Green beans with a relatively high moisture content have a higher moisture deviation value than sun-dried beans, so special attention should be paid when dehydrating. For green beans with high moisture content, you can try putting in the green beans, immediately close the damper, steam for 30 seconds, and then open the damper to 3 until the color of the raw beans turns light green or white. Open the damper to 4, and after the first explosion, open to 5 (maximum).
To put it simply, the Front Street Golden Mandheling is roasted "transparently" from the inside out, and on the basis of roasting, better roasting techniques are used to express the flavor of the beans. Caramelization is the link that most affects the flavor of coffee. The green beans are roasted for six to seven minutes, absorbing a large amount of heat energy and initiating the pyrolysis reaction. The first explosion occurs. Some sugars are converted into carbon dioxide, and the water continues to evaporate. New aromatic components gradually develop, forming the so-called coffee oil, which is combined with hundreds of aromatic substances such as nicotine acid, citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, acetic acid, and caffeine.
The pyrolysis reaction can continue until the second explosion. Although caramelization is an important process to awaken the aromatic spirit, as the baking time increases, some ingredients will be carbonized, forming bad astringent and bitter substances. How to obtain the highest caramelization while minimizing carbonization to avoid the production of defective flavors such as coke and tire.
Baking curve:
Put the pot into the pot at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius, and open the damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160 degrees, with the damper unchanged. Bake to 5°40, with a temperature of 148 degrees. The surface of the beans turns yellow, and the grass smell disappears completely. Dehydration is completed. Adjust the heat to 140 degrees, and the damper changes to 4;
At the 9th and 40th day, ugly wrinkles and black markings appear on the surface of the bean, and the smell of toast obviously changes to the aroma of coffee. It can be defined as the prelude to the first crack. At this time, you should listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. The sound will start to explode at 9°54°, turn down the heat to 60 degrees, fully open the damper (be very careful when adjusting the heat, not so low that there is no popping sound), and cook at 204.5 degrees.
Flavor characteristics:
Front Street Golden Mandheling has a high-quality herbal aroma, with a stronger caramel sweetness, a relatively calm and elegant fruity sour taste, a rich sweetness, and a mellow, wild spice flavor. Generally, Front Street Mandheling is best baked after the second crack, which can effectively reduce foreign flavors. However, Front Street Golden Mandheling has good transparency and sweetness when baked before the second crack, and the baking interpretation space is wider.
4. How to brew [Front Street Golden Mandheling]?
Medium-dark roasted beans generally have a higher dehydration rate, so they are lighter in weight. When brewing, the powder does not completely sink to the bottom. It will be absorbed immediately when water is injected. Because the air is strong, the powder is surrounded by bubbles, which creates channels. The fresher the beans are, the longer these channels will last. To make the water level drop quickly, I usually use a coarse flow of water and slowly circle it.
First brew:
1. Filter cup: KONO
2. Water temperature: 86-88 degrees
3. Grinding degree: granulated sugar
4. Roasting level: medium-dark roasting
5. Steaming time: 30 seconds
Flavor: Various layers, clean and balanced, with a long-lasting caramel sweetness in the finish.
Specific technique: 17g powder, grind with 4 small Fuji ghost-toothed knives, kono filter cup, water temperature 86-88 degrees, first inject 30g water, steam for 30 seconds, high temperature and continuous water injection all at once, water-to-powder ratio 1:14, extraction time about 1:50, extraction ends at 238g.
Second brewing:
Filter bowl: Hario V60
Water temperature: 86-88 degrees
Grinding Degree: Kofuji Grinding Degree 4
Brewing method: 1:15 water-to-powder ratio, 15g powder, first inject 30g of water, steam for 30 seconds, inject 120g of water for the second time and cut off the water, wait for the powder bed water to drop to half before adding water, slowly add water until 225g of water, extraction time is about 2:00
Analysis: Three-stage brewing is used to clarify the flavors of the front, middle and back sections of the coffee; because V60 has more ribs and faster drainage, when the water is cut off, it can extend the extraction time and better extract the nutty and chocolate flavors at the end.
Flavor: Multiple layers, clean overall, thin texture, long-lasting caramel sweetness, and a hint of bitterness.
Overall, a medium-dark roastOnly the [Front Street Golden Mandheling] can express its caramel, pine wood, high-quality herbs, and slight spices, bringing a solid taste.
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
