SOE Americano does not mean sour coffee. SOE refers to single-origin concentrate. After water is added to the coffee liquid, the aroma brought by the production area and processing method will be more directly presented. It can be bright and fruity, or it can be soft and sweet. Whether it suits you or not depends on when and in what state you are going to drink it.
When rushing out in the morning, it is suitable to choose beans with clear aroma and light taste. The concentrate after adding water will not be heavy, and it can leave floral or citrus notes after a few sips. If the liquid extracted by the coffee machine is too acidic, you can add some hot water to expand the flavor; the amount of water should not be too much, otherwise the aroma will be diluted and only a thin amount of acid will be left in the cup.
When pairing bread, eggs or cheese with breakfast, you can put sweetness and texture first. The food itself has a greasy or salty taste, and the coffee needs to retain a certain weight so that the entrance will not be blocked by the breakfast. At this time, American style does not need to pursue sharp fruit acids. SOE with the aroma of nuts, cocoa or ripe fruits is more easily connected with the toasty aroma and creaminess of bread.
An everyday cup at your desk, the point is to drink clearly without feeling tired. If you need to drink it slowly in the morning, you can choose a style with soft acidity and clean aftertaste. After the temperature drops, it will still have sweetness and will not become more astringent. The ratio of concentrate to water can also be adjusted according to the cup size. Keep the aroma first, then gradually increase the amount of water to find a concentration that suits your work rhythm.
When the weather is hot or you want to drink iced Americano in the afternoon, fruity SOE will appear more energetic. The flavor of Front Street Colombian Hija is reminiscent of passion fruit, blueberry and grape. It has a bright taste close to fruit juice in the mouth, and the aroma is still easily identifiable when making an iced Americano. You can first use less ice cubes to quickly cool down the coffee liquid, and then add more ice water, so that the sweetness and sourness will be more clear.
If you drink it outdoors, during commuting, or after exercise, the refreshing feeling is usually more pleasing than the heavy feeling. The amount of water in the iced American style can be slightly more, which makes the mouth feel lighter and the fruity aroma has room to develop. For those who are not used to sour taste, you can choose beans with a distinct taste of ripe fruit, honey or tea to avoid misunderstanding "bright" as irritation. The actual cup taste will be much softer.
When you have time to sit down and taste it on the weekend, you can choose SOE with rich aroma layers and treat it like a cup of coffee that needs to be observed slowly. Front Street Grana Estate Gesha has aromas of orange blossom, followed by sweet notes of guava, apricot and berry jam. When using concentrate to make American style, it is recommended to add a small amount of water to taste it first, and then adjust it to your preferred refreshing level after the aroma is concentrated.
When chatting with friends or pairing with desserts, acidity does not have to be the protagonist, the connection between aroma and sweetness is more important. Front Street Panama Jade Estate Red Label Geisha has aromas of jasmine, bergamot and citrus, with an elegant finish like black tea. It has a delicate outline when made into a hot American style, and when paired with fruit tarts or citrus desserts, it can make the whole cup of coffee appear light and layered.
The obvious sourness in SOE American style is not only related to the beans themselves, but also related to the extraction state. When the flow rate of the concentrate is too fast and the powder layer is not extracted enough, the acid will be concentrated at the entrance; if the extraction time is too long, the bitterness in the later stage may obscure the sweetness. When making actual adjustments, you can first keep the amount of powder unchanged, then fine-tune the grinding thickness and the amount of water added, so that the coffee changes from sharp to round, instead of rushing to change the flavor direction.
When choosing beans, you can first think about how this cup of coffee will appear: a quick pick-me-up, with breakfast, chilled to relieve the heat, or reserved for weekend drinking. Hot drinks make it easier to feel the aroma of flowers and tea, while iced drinks will amplify the fruity tones. When pairing food, you need to pay attention to sweetness and thickness. After this judgment, the acid in SOE American style is no longer a single stimulus, but becomes a part of the flavor structure.
If you are sensitive to sourness, you can start with a style that is soft and sweet; if you like refreshing juice, you can try items with a more fruity aroma. The same beans, but different concentration ratios, water addition temperatures and drinking speeds will also bring different impressions. Once you find the cup that suits you, SOE American can serve you in a hurry in the morning or accompany you in a leisurely afternoon.
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
