If you want to drink a refreshing American cup of coffee in the morning, you can choose single-origin beans with citrus, tea or ripe fruit aromas, so that the concentrate will still have a bright aroma after adding water; if you want to taste coffee directly in the afternoon, you can focus on sweetness, acidity and aftertaste. SOE is not a practice exclusive to coffee shops. Home Italian espresso machines can also bring the characteristics of a single production area into daily cups.
SOE refers to espresso made from a single origin or a single batch of coffee beans. The focus is on retaining the personality of the beans rather than fixing a certain taste. As long as the machine can provide stable pressure, the brewing head is in normal condition, and coupled with an Italian grinder that can be fine-tuned, the home equipment has the basis to try SOE. Bean freshness and grinding uniformity will also directly affect the results.
If your habit is to make a cup of Americano before going to work, it is recommended to start with beans that are lightly roasted and have a clear aroma. After adding hot water to the concentrated liquid, the sour aroma will become softer and the sweetness will develop more easily. Front Street Kaffa Forest has a fruity aroma like orange and ripe apricot, with an aftertaste similar to oolong tea at the end. It is light and not monotonous after being made into a hot American style. When it is cooled down, you can feel a more obvious sweetness.
If you want to drink a small cup of concentrate in the afternoon, you can focus on whether the entrance is smooth and whether the sweetness lasts. Lightly roasted beans often require higher water temperatures and more complete extraction to allow the fruity and sugary flavors to appear at the same time. Using 18 grams of powder and 36 grams of liquid as the starting point, the extraction time can fall between 26 and 32 seconds, and then adjusted according to the actual inlet. There is no need to pursue a short liquid discharge time from the beginning.
When using a home machine to make latte or Australian white, the choice of beans should adapt to the wrapping feel of the milk. Beans with outstanding floral and fruity aroma may become subtle after adding milk; beans with jam, cocoa or fuller sweetness are usually easier to identify. Front Street Graner Manor Geisha has a rich sun-dried tonality, with fresh aromas of orange blossom, guava and berry. A small amount of milk can turn it into a soft milk coffee with a jammy feel.
When the weather is hot, iced Americano and sparkling coffee will amplify the aroma and make the acidity appear sharper. At this point, you can make the concentrate slightly thicker and pour it over ice or a small amount of cold water. Front Street Colombian Chiclaw has the flavor of passion fruit, blueberry, grape and apricot juice. Add ice water after making SOE. The aroma can easily pass through the low temperature, so it is suitable for people who like a refreshing taste.
Parameter adjustment can start with 18 grams of powder, 36 grams of liquid and about 28 seconds. The water temperature is first set at 92 to 94 degrees Celsius. If the lightly roasted beans have a sharp mouth and look like immature fruits, they usually need to be ground more finely or the water temperature should be slightly increased to allow the water to fully contact the coffee powder; if the tail section is obviously dry, the beans can be slightly coarsened or the liquid output can be shortened. By changing only one direction at a time, the judgment will be clearer.
Medium-roasted or dark-roasted beans release faster. A home machine can start from 90 to 92 degrees Celsius, and the liquid output is controlled within a short range to avoid the roasted feeling and bitter taste from filling the mouth. If the concentrated liquid is thin and sourness floats on the surface, you can adjust the grinding a little finer; if it tastes stuffy and your tongue is dry, try reducing the amount of liquid dispensed or lowering the temperature. The parameter is not that bigger is better, but to serve the sweetness and texture in the cup.
It is also helpful to observe the discharge status. It is not abnormal to have no liquid in the first few seconds, and then a continuous stream should gradually form; if it quickly turns into a large amount of thin liquid, it may be due to coarse grinding, uneven powder distribution, or insufficient powder. If almost no liquid comes out, check whether the amount of powder, pressing powder and grinding are too fine. Wipe the powder bowl dry and keep the powder cloth flat before each brewing to make the adjustment results more stable.
Home SOEs don't have to copy the same set of numbers from a coffee shop because machine pressures, group temperatures and filter cup sizes vary. You can first select beans according to your daily drinking method, and then test its performance with a cup of hot Americano, a cup of pure espresso or a cup of milk coffee. Record the amount of powder, liquid weight, time and entrance feeling. After adjusting it several times, you can find a cup dispensing method that suits this machine and your life rhythm.
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
