Espresso is the core extraction method in the coffee world. Under the conditions of 9bar pressure and 92 to 96°C hot water, it takes 25 to 30 seconds to concentrate the coffee essence into a small cup. This high-pressure, short-term extraction method puts forward unique requirements for the selection of coffee beans - different beans have significantly different concentration performance. When selecting Italian-style beans, blended beans and single-origin concentrate (SOE) are the two main paths, each with a distinct flavor orientation.
Bean blending pursues balance and stability of flavor. By mixing beans from different production areas in proportion, the blend can complement each other, allowing flavors such as nuts, chocolate, and caramel to overlap with each other to create a mellow and layered cup expression. Front Street's classic blend is based on Brazilian beans, combined with Colombian and Yunnan beans, showing the main tones of nuts and chocolate, making it a solid and full flavor when making milk coffee. The Front Street dark cocoa blend focuses on the flavor of dark roasted cocoa, showing a rich chocolate aftertaste in the concentrate, which is suitable for drinkers who like a rich taste.
SOE (Single Origin Espresso) takes another path - using beans from a single origin to make concentrate, emphasizing the personality of the producing area itself. The Ethiopian SOE concentrate has bright citrus and jasmine aromas, and is acidic and lively; the Colombian SOE is as mellow and sweet as red wine. The charm of SOE is that you can taste the terroir imprint of the production area in every cup, but it is also more sensitive to extraction parameters and requires more precise adjustment.
Choosing a blend or an SOE depends on what you're looking for in a concentrate. If you prefer mellow and stable, suitable for pairing with milk to make latte or Australian white, blended beans are a reliable choice; if you want to purely taste the flavor and personality of a single production area, drink concentrate or American style without adding milk, SOE can bring a more distinctive expression of the production area. There is no difference between the two, they just have different flavor orientations.
When making Italian food at home, you can prepare two kinds of beans and use them alternately. When you need a cup of milk coffee to refresh yourself in the morning, use blended beans as the base, and the stable nutty chocolate tonality blends perfectly with milk; when you want to enjoy a cup of pure concentrate in the afternoon, switch to SOE beans and feel the bright floral and fruity aroma of the production area. In the world of Italian style, blending and SOE are not either-or choices, but rather enrich the every day coffee experience.
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
