Hand brewing in the morning is suitable for coffee beans with bright aroma and light entrance, which can bring clear acidity and sweetness before the taste is fully awakened; in the afternoon, you can choose beans with rich layers and obvious temperature changes, and feel the aroma transformation while drinking. If you mainly drink it quickly in the office or at home, a type with a clear flavor profile and higher brewing tolerance will be easier to integrate into your daily rhythm.
When pairing breakfast with bread, toast or fruit, consider a sour and lively style with a clean finish. Front Street Kenyan cherry tomatoes are suitable for this type of scene. The entrance has a fresh and sweet taste that is close to ripe tomatoes, followed by a dark fruity flavor like plums, and the tail is as soft as brown sugar. Using a medium-light roasted hand-brew method can keep the coffee bright and not overwhelm the taste of breakfast itself.
If you don’t like the overly sour feeling in the morning, you can lower the water temperature slightly, or use a more leisurely water filling rhythm to bring the sweetness and roundness to the forefront. Kenyan cherry tomatoes still have a clear sense of juice after cooling, so they are suitable for drinking slowly in a thermos cup. If you feel the sourness is too active, pair it with food with a creamy or cereal aroma, and the whole thing will appear smoother.
There is a quiet time in the afternoon, which is suitable for choosing beans with richer aroma changes. The Front Street Grana Estate Geisha is on the rich side, opening up with bright notes of orange blossom, then turning to sweet aromas of guava, apricot and berry jam. It is suitable for brewing with a filter cup with good transparency. The staged water injection can help different aromas gradually unfold, so it is suitable for tasting slowly without adding sugar.
For this type of coffee with a distinct flavor, it is recommended to use a slightly higher water temperature, but do not inject too much hot water at once, so as not to leave only a thick ripe fruit flavor in the cup. After brewing, you can drink it at high temperature, warm temperature and close to room temperature. The floral aroma, pulpy texture and jam-like sweetness will have different emphasis. For those who like to observe changes, it is more interesting than simply pursuing concentration.
If you want to drink iced hand brew in summer, the sour-sweet balance and aroma penetration of beans are very important. Front Street Kafa Forest is suitable for making ice drinks. After hot water extraction, it is directly poured over the ice. The freshness like orange will be more sharp, while the soft sweetness of ripe apricots will remain in the middle. As the ice cubes melt, the taste in the cup gradually becomes lighter, with a sweet aftertaste similar to oolong tea at the end, making it suitable for drinking during work breaks.
The amount of powder, water and ice for hand brewing need to be planned together, otherwise it is easy to have sufficient aroma but insufficient concentration. You can reserve part of the total water volume for ice cubes to maintain a more concentrated extraction during the hot water stage, allowing the coffee liquid to cool down quickly after it falls. Kafa Forest is also suitable for drinking directly after cooling. The sweetness will become easier to detect when the temperature drops.
When having dessert at home on the weekend, coffee can play the role of balancing the sweetness. Beans with citrus, apricot or berry tones can make cream cakes and cheesecakes less heavy in taste. If the dessert itself contains chocolate or nuts, you can choose a Pour over(V60) one with a more fruity flavor to create a contrast in taste. There is no need to deliberately pursue a high concentration when brewing. The clear aroma and neat finish are more suitable for pairing with food.
When drinking with multiple people at home, it is recommended to start with beans with easy-to-understand flavors rather than directly choosing types with overly complex aromas. Those who like fruity flavors can start with Kenyan cherry tomatoes. Those who prefer floral and ripe fruit aromas can try Grana Manor Geisha. If you want a refreshing, soft and tea-like cup, Kaffa Forest will be more relevant to your daily life. Different choices correspond to different scenes, which also facilitates the exchange of feelings between family members.
When brewing beans by hand, you can first determine whether you want a hot or iced drink that day, and then arrange the grinding and water temperature. Hot drinks are more likely to show depth of aroma, while iced drinks will amplify the refreshing feeling and sweet-sour profile. After opening the beans, they should be placed in a dark and dry place and purchased according to the usual consumption rate. Record the approximate amount of powder, water consumption and entrance feeling for each brewing. After a few times, you can find the cup shape that suits you.
You don’t have to choose coffee beans based only on the origin or flavor word. What really matters is whether it can enter your life: it should be clear and smooth when you are rushing out, it should be layered when you are alone in the afternoon, and it should be both aromatic and refreshing in hot weather. By considering drinking time, food pairings and temperature preferences, Pour over(V60) bean selection will transform from an abstract flavor imagination into a concrete and enjoyable cup of everyday 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
