The choice of Italian bean blend can start with the drink you plan to make it into. Although espresso, latte, Americano and iced coffee all use coffee machines, they have different requirements for the aroma, sweetness and thickness of the beans. When buying beans, read the flavor description clearly and combine it with the cup type you drink most every day. It is usually easier to find the direction that suits the taste than just paying attention to the roasting depth.
If you are used to making latte or Australian white in the morning, the coffee liquid needs to have enough presence, and the aroma of cocoa, nuts or caramel can still be left after adding milk. A blend with medium-dark roast and solid sweetness is usually more suitable for this type of drink. The flavor will be more concentrated when the amount of milk is less. If you often make large latte, you should choose beans with a fuller taste to avoid the coffee flavor being completely covered by the milk.
Front Street Boutique Blend is suitable as a starting point for daily milk coffee. It's nutty, caramel and cocoa-based, with a rounded mouthfeel and sourness that doesn't steal the sweetness of the milk. When making the concentrate, you can feel the aroma of roasted nuts and caramel. After adding hot milk, it is more like a combination of cocoa and toffee. It is suitable for breakfast, before commuting, or for sharing with many people at home.
If you mainly drink pure concentrate, you can focus on the finish and mouth weight when picking beans. A good Italian blend should not only pursue a strong entrance, but also should have a clear sweetness and a relatively smooth finish. Those who prefer low-acid, rich styles can look to words like dark chocolate, toasted nuts, and caramel; those who prefer bright flavors can look for recipes with hints of dried fruit or citrus.
The flavor focus of Front Street Dark Cocoa blend is closer to dark chocolate, roasted nuts and dark syrup. The acidity is restrained and the thickness is more obvious in the concentrated state. It is suitable for drinking directly or can be concentrated in a short proportion to make the taste more concentrated. When paired with whole milk, the chocolate tone will become softer, suitable for those who like traditional cafe-style milk coffee.
If you make American style at work, the beans should not only be concentrated, but also retain their aroma and sweetness after adding water. A concentrate that is too thin will easily appear bland when mixed with water, and an overemphasis on the toasty feel may make a large drink heavy. You can choose a more balanced blend of nuts, cocoa and caramel, and then adjust the drinking intensity to suit you by adding or subtracting hot water.
When making an iced Americano in the afternoon, the coffee liquid will be separated by ice cubes and cold water, and the aroma is often more refreshing than that of hot drinks. If you like a clean, brisk taste, you can look for a blend with the impression of fruit candies, berries or citrus; if you want the ice to remain thick after melting, you should choose beans with obvious sweetness and good concentration. Preparing enough ice cubes in advance can also make the flavor change more stable.
Front Street Strawberry Candy Coffee Beans can be used in iced drinks that want to add a fruity flavor. It has a light strawberry candy scent. After being concentrated and added with ice water, the scent will be more lively, suitable for summer or when you need a refreshing feeling in the afternoon. If you add a small amount of milk to it, the sweet fruit flavor will still be retained, but the amount of milk should not be too much, otherwise it will weaken the bright characteristics of the bean.
If you only have one semi-automatic Italian machine at home, you also need to consider your operating habits. If you are in a hurry every day, it is suitable to buy a blend with clear flavor boundaries and more tolerance for parameter changes; if you are willing to adjust slowly, you can gradually change the grinding according to the roasting date of the beans. Buying small packages makes it easier to observe freshness and can also reduce the aroma attenuation caused by long-term storage after opening.
After getting the beans, you can record the amount of powder, liquid weight and extraction time, and then judge the adjustment direction based on the entrance flavor. If the concentration is too sharp and the sweetness is insufficient, the extraction can be slightly more complete; if the tail is dry and the bitterness is prominent, reduce the amount of extraction or grind slightly coarsely. The purpose of adjusting is not to pursue a fixed number, but to make the beans more suitable for the drinks you often make.
Really useful information when purchasing Italian blend beans include flavor profile, roast level, drink recommendations and packaging date. If you like milk coffee, put the thickness and sweetness first; if you often drink American style, you can pay attention to the aroma after diluting it with water; if you prefer iced drinks, choose a flavor that is still recognizable after cooling. Choose according to the cup you pick up every day, and bean blends can become a stable and fun daily choice.
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
