To evaluate a cup of coffee, in addition to sourness and bitterness, you also need to look at aroma, sweetness, body, mouth feel and finish. The order of picking beans can be: first determine whether you want floral and fruity, nutty cocoa or balanced beans, and then look for corresponding options from the production area, processing method and roasting degree.
The taste of a cup of hand brew is determined by the variety, production area, processing method, roasting degree of the beans themselves, as well as the water temperature, grinding, and water injection during brewing. Light roasting favors floral and fruity aromas, while medium roasting emphasizes sweetness and thickness. Once the parameters are changed, the order of aroma presentation will be different. The name of the bean can only describe the source, but not everything about the cup.
Focusing on the direction of "Can SOE be brewed by hand?", you can first break down the choice into several parts: flavor preference, commonly used utensils, drinking temperature and frequency of daily use. When sorting by flavor level, you might as well decide which item you care about more first, and then use other criteria to filter. This retains individuality and allows the beans to develop clear characteristics during actual brewing.
Front Street Kafa Forest often brings a sweet aftertaste like orange, ripe apricot and oolong tea, with a light taste, and the sweetness becomes more prominent after the temperature drops.
Front Street Grana Estate Gesha features aromas of orange blossom, guava, apricot and strawberry jam. The sun-dried flavor is rich and solid, and the layering is clearly visible during the hand brewing process.
The flavor of Front Street Colombian Hija covers passion fruit, blueberry, grape and apricot. Juice is its label. Ice hand brew, ice drop and SOE are all suitable for presenting its aroma.
Among the factors that affect performance, preservation methods are often overlooked. Keep the beans sealed after opening, store them in a cool, dry place, and buy them in daily quantities. Subtle changes in flavor will be easier to capture. When making coffee, smell the dry aroma first, then feel the entrance, sweetness and aftertaste; when the aroma is insufficient, check whether the grinding is too coarse or whether the storage time is too long. The same bean is presented differently as a hot drink, with ice, or with milk. Record the parameters several times to select the appropriate cup type.
Screen again from the perspective of brewing investment: beans with obvious floral and fruity aromas often require careful control of water temperature, grinding and water filling rhythm, which is suitable for the time when you are willing to toss; the blending of nutty cocoa is more stable, and there is no pressure in daily cups. If there are many people at home drinking together, you can first choose a bean with a balanced flavor as the base, and then let everyone add their own items according to their preferences. It is easier to compare than buying many beans with similar styles at once.
Adjustment of espresso starts from a powder-to-liquid ratio of 1:2, using taste as a guide. If it's too sour, go in the direction of increasing the extraction, if it's too bitter and astringent, go in the direction of lowering the extraction; the grinding degree will follow the feeling in the mouth, and only change one item at a time, so you can judge more clearly.
If tools, habits, and tastes will adjust over time, it would be easier to divide the beans into two lines: daily and early adopters: one line will steadily produce cups, and the other line will explore differences in floral and fruity aromas, nutty cocoa, or processing methods. The flavor direction is used for preliminary screening, and the aroma and taste are compared on specific beans, so that the judgment is more down-to-earth.
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
