The turning point for many people to fall in love with coffee is when they drink a cup of "American juice like juice" one day - no burnt bitterness, no smoke, and bright fruity acidity and floral aroma in the mouth. This turning point is not luck, but an advanced path that can be actively trained. This article explains clearly the sensory logic and training methods of floral and fruity American style.
The source of the floral and fruity American flavor is a combination of three variables: bean genetics, processing methods and light roasting. The bean gene determines the possibility of flavor - Ethiopian heirloom varieties have a genetic background of floral and fruity aromas, and Kenya's SL28 and SL34 use bright fruit acids as signatures of the varieties; the processing method determines the presentation of the flavor - washed Yirgacheffe Fei Guo Ding Ding presents a clean citrus floral aroma, sun-processed Oiran presents a full tropical fruit feel, and anaerobically fermented Xiju presents a concentration like berry juice; light roasting is the guardian - as the roasting degree becomes deeper, organic acids degrade and aroma substances evaporate, and the stage of floral and fruity aroma is removed. All three are indispensable.
Once you understand the source, the training path will be organized. Establish a frame of reference at the beginning: first drink a medium-dark roasted balanced bean (such as an American made from a boutique blend), and remember the taste of the "traditional American" - nuts, caramel, slightly bitter and sweet. This frame of reference is very important, and all subsequent experiences of floral and fruity fragrances will be developed in comparison with it.
The second stage starts with light fruit acid. It’s easy to get rid of Kenyan beans, which are the most sour, so first choose flowery and fruity beans with soft acidity: When Oiran makes American style, the aroma of tropical fruits is prominent, and the sweetness is wrapped with acidity. The impact in the mouth is much milder than that of pure sour beans; the citrus floral aroma of Yirgacheffe fruit is cleaner and lighter. Learn an action at this stage - smell before drinking: the dry and wet aromas of fruity tonka beans are very informative. The aroma is the prelude to the flavor. Establish the olfactory memory first, and the identification of taste will be more effective with half the effort.
The third stage challenges bright acidity. The cherry tomato and plum flavor of Kenyan cherry tomatoes is a watershed in acid-type American tomatoes: the acidity brought by the SL28 and SL34 varieties is bright and solid, like the sweet-sour structure of freshly squeezed juice. When you can appreciate this cup of coffee, your sensory calibration has been completed - "acid" is no longer a defective word, but the skeleton of flavor.
Three key points for extraction parameters. Slightly lower water temperature: light-roasted beans have a dense structure, and a water temperature of 88 to 92 degrees can avoid extracting sharp sourness; grinding is moderate to coarse: fine powder will amplify the off-flavor of light-roasted beans; powder-to-water ratio is 1:15 to 1:16: the concentration leaves room for the flavor to expand.
Finally, some mental advice: sensory training is a gradual accumulation, not an epiphany. Have two cups of floral and fruity Americano every week, and spend three minutes concentrating on tasting each cup. After three months, you will find that you can drink layers of coffee from a cup of coffee that you have completely ignored in the past. Then look back at the original cup of "juice-like Americano" and you will understand why it makes people fall in love with coffee.
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
