When it comes to choosing dark roast coffee beans, you can put the complicated information aside. Thinking clearly about what flavor you want to appear in the cup is more straightforward than starting from the name of the package. Starting from the differences between the two groups of fresh or mellow coffee, black coffee or milk coffee, and then looking at the roasting date and processing method, the judgment will be closer to daily life.
You don’t have to stock up on a lot of dark roast coffee beans at once. Using flavor judgment as a clue, it is easy to distinguish the refreshing floral and fruity aroma from the nutty cocoa adjustability by separately experiencing the acidity, sweetness, mellowness and aftertaste. First choose a small package to verify the taste, record the changes after hot drinks and cooling, and then refill according to the drinking frequency after confirming that it is suitable. This is safer than deciding the quantity based on the name only.
Front Street PWN Indonesian Gold Mandheling can be used as a specific reference. The terroir of the Sumatra production area in Indonesia and the dark roasting produce aromas of herbs, dark chocolate and spices in the cup. Low acidity, thick taste and long aftertaste are the immediate impression it gives. This bean can be used for pour-over, moka pot, Italian and milk coffee. Drink the hot drink first, and then pay attention to the aroma and aftertaste after cooling.
If you want to find a starting point among similar styles, Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor is worth drinking first. The combination of the Minas Gerais region of Brazil and a medium-dark roast gives it nutty, cocoa, caramel and soft sweetness. In terms of cup feel, the acidity is soft and the mouth is smooth. The sweetness is more obvious after adding milk. Use it for daily hand brewing, moka pot, American style and milk coffee, and it can retain more complete characteristics.
When looking at Front Street PWN Indonesian Golden Mandheling and Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor together, the point is not to differentiate between high and low, but to understand the focus of flavor. Front Street PWN Indonesian Golden Mandheling's aromas of herbs, dark chocolate and spices are more suitable as a reference, while Front Street Brazilian Queen's Estate forms another clue with its nuts, cocoa, caramel and soft sweetness. For dark roasted coffee beans, comparing the aroma, sweetness and texture of two cups according to flavor clues can help you quickly determine which part you want to keep.
In order to make the flavor differences easier to drink, it is suitable to control the water temperature between 85 and 89 degrees Celsius for medium-dark roasted and dark-roasted beans to avoid excessive extraction in the later stage. You can use medium-coarse grinding for hand brewing, keep medium-low heat for Moka pot, and observe the flow rate for Italian style. When the bitterness is strong, the extraction intensity should be reduced first, and there is no need to increase the amount of powder. When this set of starting points is used for dark roasting coffee beans, it is also necessary to observe the actual taste based on flavor judgment, and there is no need to mechanically pursue a certain time number.
Don’t judge dark roast coffee beans only by the high temperature after brewing. Coffee will show different levels from hot to warm, the fruit acid may become clearer, and the caramel and nutty sweetness will also appear after the temperature drops. Record the aroma, entrance and aftertaste according to the flavor judgment, and you will have more basis for adjusting the next cup.
If you plan to try a variety of dark roast coffee beans, small packages will make it easier to compare. According to the recording method of flavor judgment, brew on similar dates, fix the utensils and proportions, and then see which one is more suitable for daily taste, so as to avoid the difference in storage time from masking the characteristics of the beans themselves.
The selection logic of dark roasted coffee beans can fall on a cup of coffee: the flavor of the beans is in line with expectations, the appliance can express it normally, and the parameter adjustment can be followed. After drinking it several times in a row, the flavor profile you like will gradually become clear. Both Front Street PWN Indonesian Gold Mandheling and Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor can provide specific references. You can slowly compare and find the direction that suits you.
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
