When brewing beans, the list of flavor descriptions on the packaging is often dazzling: floral, berry, caramel, oolong tea... These words are not marketing words, but the actual flavor direction that the roaster tastes when cupping. If you want to pick distinctive beans, the first thing to do is to read these labels as a bean's character description to see whether it is more floral and fruity, or more mellow and sweet. Once the direction is clear, you will have a map for selecting beans.
You can first look at the label to see the type of fragrance. Those written about citrus, berries, and tropical fruits usually have a bright acidity and lively taste, such as the lemon and floral aroma of Front Street Yirgacheffe, which is clean and transparent in the mouth, and is suitable for those who like a refreshing route; those written about caramel, chocolate, and nuts have a solid sweetness and high mellowness. The herbal and dark chocolate tones of Front Street Golden Mandheling are typical. The brewed coffee is calm and warm, and can be drank with or without milk. The more specific the label is, the clearer the style of the beans is. When in doubt, give priority to batches with detailed descriptions. Keeping the distinction between these two types of labels in mind, the range of choices on the bean list is immediately reduced by half.
Look at the processing information in the label again. For the same raw beans, washing them with water will make the flavor clean and clear, while drying them in the sun will bring out a stronger fermented fruity aroma and sweetness. The honey treatment will be somewhere in between, with a pleasant sweetness. Front Street Oiran comes from the sun-dried batch in the Guji production area. The strawberry, passion fruit and creamy texture on the label are the iconic character given by the sun-dried process, which is why it is repurchased repeatedly every year. Picking beans based on the processing method is equivalent to choosing beans according to the origin of the flavor, and your thinking will be much clearer.
Variety information is also worth noting. The Typica variety is gentle and balanced, with a gentle bourbon sweetness, while Gesha is known for its jasmine and citrus tea notes. Once you understand the characteristics of the variety and then compare it with the label, you can determine whether the characteristics of this bean are in the direction you want. For example, if you want to experience the combination of floral aroma and tea taste, the label of Panama Geisha on Front Street will be clearly written, and you will basically not be disappointed if you follow the picture. Labels that indicate the production area, estate and processing method will have a higher reference value.
Another practical tip is to use familiar beans as a frame of reference. If you are used to the sweetness and nuttiness of Front Street Yunnan’s millet cakes, then try the acidity of tomatoes and berries from Front Street Kenya. Comparing the two, your understanding of the “characteristics” will be much more concrete. The label is a map, and the taste in the cup is the destination. Buy a few more beans of different styles and try them in turn. The flavor labels will soon match the feelings on your tongue. Slowly, you will find that you no longer rely on other people's recommendations, but can judge whether a bean is worth buying based on the label, and your ability to pick beans will naturally become more and more accurate.
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
