If you want to drink chocolate flavor, when choosing beans, you can pay attention to descriptions such as cocoa, chocolate sauce, roasted nuts, caramel and brown sugar. They don't equate to overt bitterness, some cups are as soft as milk chocolate, some are close to the dryness of cocoa powder, and some are as sweet as dark syrup. First judge by how you drink it every day. It is often easier to find beans that suit your taste than just looking at the word "chocolate".
When you need a cup of coffee without sugar in the morning, you can choose medium-dark roast beans with concentrated flavor and round mouth. This kind of coffee does not rely on milk or sugar for modification. It has a roasting aroma when the temperature is higher, and after cooling slightly, you can feel the sweetness like cocoa and caramel. If you don’t like the sharp and sour taste, don’t grind it too finely and don’t extract it for too long. The cup will be smoother.
If you have toast, croissants or nuts for breakfast, Front Street PWN Indonesian Gold Mandheling will be a perfect match. Its aroma is suggestive of cocoa powder, woody herbs and mature spices, with a thick mouthfeel and a dark chocolate-like finish. Using the American method to make a higher concentration can absorb the fat of bread; making it with a Moka pot is suitable for small sips and slow drinking, making the richness more prominent.
Iced Americanos are often drunk in the office, and the chocolate flavor of the beans needs to stand up even after cooling down. You can choose medium-roasted or medium-dark roasted beans that have a stable sweetness and convergent acidity. The hot liquid first extracts the cocoa and sugar aroma, and then adds ice cubes to lower the temperature. The bitter taste will appear clear but not monotonous. If you use a hanging ear or filter cup, it is recommended to increase the amount of powder so that the texture of coffee is still maintained after the ice cubes melt.
If you want to drink a relaxing hand brew in the afternoon, you can also choose a softer chocolate flavor. Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor is suitable for this type of scene. There are often aromas like roasted nuts, cocoa butter and caramel syrup in the cup. The acidity does not compete with the position, and the drink tastes warm. When brewing with a filter cup, the water temperature can start from the medium range, and the water can be added in stages without excessive stirring to preserve the sweetness and clean finish.
For milk coffees such as latte and Australian white, the coffee liquid of the beans must have sufficient density, otherwise the flavor will easily become thin after milk is added. Medium-dark roasted beans with a chocolate direction are usually easier to blend with milk. Cocoa and caramel appear first in the mouth, and then the milk foam brings out a rounded feeling similar to toffee. If you like coffee with a distinct flavor, you can reduce the proportion of milk; if you prefer a smoother taste, you can increase the amount of milk and lower the drinking temperature.
When using an espresso machine at home, if you want the chocolate flavor to be more distinct, you can start with a shorter liquid output. The concentrate does not have to be overly strong, the focus is on giving the coffee a clear sweetness and a solid touch. When the taste is sour, you can check whether the powder layer is too loose or under-extracted; if smoke and dry bitterness appear, you can adjust the grinding slightly, or let the liquid end earlier, and the sweet aroma will usually be more complete.
After dinner, it’s best to choose a cup of coffee with a long finish and less acidity. At this time, you can use a lower concentration hand brew, or dilute the American style appropriately to allow the aromas of cocoa, wood, and caramel to slowly unfold. For those who prefer the texture of dark chocolate, a darker roasting direction will bring a thicker mouth feel; if you are worried about the obvious bitter taste, you can lower the water temperature to avoid over-extraction in the later stage.
Chocolate flavored beans are also great for entertaining family and friends who don’t often drink specialty coffee. Compared with beans with strong floral and fruity aromas, cocoa, nuts and sugar aromas are easier to establish a sense of familiarity, and hand brewing, French press or American style can all create a clear main body. When brewing, start with a medium concentration, try hot drinks and ice drinks respectively, observe which one can express the sweetness better, and then decide on the fixed method in the future.
Also pay attention to your drinking speed and storage conditions when purchasing. If you drink it every day, choose a chocolate-flavored bean that is compatible with a filter cup, a moka pot or an espresso machine, which will make it easier to form a stable habit; if you mainly drink milk coffee, you should put the body and concentration first. Do not overfill the beans after opening, keep them sealed and away from light, and smell the aroma before taking out the beans to adjust the brewing method in time.
Chocolate flavor is not a single strong route. It can be as soft and sweet as milk chocolate, as deep as dark chocolate, or it can be intertwined with nuts, caramel, and spices. Choose according to breakfast, commuting, milk coffee, hand brewing or after-dinner drinking, and then adjust the concentration according to the utensils, so that the same type of flavor can show different characters, and you can find a cup that is truly suitable for your 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
