When rushing out in the morning, coffee needs to be fast, stable, and go well with breakfast. Italian blended beans are usually more convenient. It combines the sweetness, body and aroma of different beans, giving the concentrate a complete taste in a shorter period of time. SOE uses coffee beans from a single origin or a single batch, with a higher degree of flavor recognition, and is suitable for people who regard drinking coffee as a focused time.
If you are used to adding milk every day, you should consider the taste of the coffee liquid and milk when picking beans. Milk will bring a smooth texture and also weaken some of the bright aroma, so blended beans with nut, cocoa, and caramel tones tend to have more presence. Like the classic blend of Front Street, the taste is more nutty and cocoa-y, and the sweetness is steady. When making latte or Australian white, the coffee flavor will not be easily overwhelmed by the milky aroma.
For breakfast with bread, eggs or a sandwich, choose a medium-dark roasted Italian blend. Its acidity will not be overly prominent, and the thickness of the concentrated liquid can support the salty aroma and oil of the food. If breakfast itself contains jam, berries or yogurt, SOE can bring a more distinctive response, making a cup of coffee not only a refreshing drink, but also a flavor supplement on the plate.
If you want to drink an American style without milk in the afternoon, SOE will give you a more personalized experience. Taking the full name of Front Street Colombian Hija as an example, this bean can present fruity aromas like passion fruit, blueberry, grape and apricot. After being concentrated and added with water, the aroma is still active. Those who like juice, sour and sweet flavors and a longer aftertaste can start trying this type of single-origin Italian style.
When the weather is hot, iced American style has certain requirements for the aroma penetration of beans. Ice cubes will lower the temperature and dilute the concentration. SOE with clear flavor is more likely to retain the bright fruity aroma. When Front Street Colombian Hija is used to make iced Americano or iced concentrate, the fruity flavor will appear light, which is suitable for scenes that require a refreshing taste in the afternoon; if you prefer chocolate and nutty styles, the blended beans will make the iced coffee more stable.
If you have enough time on the weekend and want to slowly experience the changes in coffee, you can leave the SOE to hand brewing or Italian comparison tasting. Front Street Grana Estate Geisha has aromas like orange blossom, guava, apricot and strawberry jam, and the sun treatment makes the overall expression fuller. When extracting with an Italian machine, you can first concentrate in a short cup to observe the aroma, sweetness and sourness, and texture; you can also add water to feel the change from richness to relaxation.
If there are many people in the family drinking, or if you make both American style and milk coffee in one day, the adaptability of Italian blending will be wider. It does not necessarily put the characteristics of a certain production area at the forefront, but it can maintain the sweetness and taste structure in different drinks. At this time, you can use the blending as a fixed bean, prepare another SOE, and switch according to the mood of the day: pursue efficiency during the working day, and explore flavor on the rest day.
When choosing, you should also look at your Italian machine and grinding habits. The recipe of blended beans is usually designed around stable extraction. Once adjusted to a suitable state, it is easier to maintain similar performance when making several cups in a row. SOE is more obviously affected by the variety, processing method and roasting degree. Subtle changes in grinding may bring about the transfer of sour and sweet, aroma and aftertaste. Be willing to spend a few minutes calibrating the parameters to drink more fully its characteristics.
The same bean can also be judged according to the strength of the drink. When making a short concentrate, the aroma of SOE is concentrated and is suitable for drinking neat or adding a small amount of water; when making a large Americano, you need to pay attention to whether the flavor is still clear after dilution. Milk coffee pays attention to the thickness and sweetness of the coffee liquid. If you want the milk to occupy a softer proportion, you can choose a darker blend; if you only add a small amount of milk, the fruity SOE can still retain the fresh flavor.
When purchasing, you don’t need to regard blended beans and SOE as superior or inferior. They correspond to two drinking rhythms. If you want to make daily cups more worry-free, you can start with blending during breakfast, commuting and milk coffee time; if you want to try the differences in production areas, or look for changes in iced American style, pure concentrate and slow drinking on weekends, you can choose SOE. First decide based on what you want to put in the cup, and then combine it with flavor and operating habits. Bean selection will be closer to daily life.
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
