SOE usually refers to single-origin coffee used for espresso, but "SOE" describes the use location of the beans and does not mean that it can only go into the coffee machine. As long as the roasting degree and flavor are suitable, SOE can also be extracted with a filter cup. What you really need to consider is when you are going to drink this cup of coffee, what food you want it to be paired with, and whether you want it to be light or thick.
Time is tight in the morning, so it is usually suitable for a hot hand brew with clear aroma and smooth taste. The water temperature does not need to be very high. Use a lighter water injection force to complete the extraction of coffee in a shorter time, and the cup will appear cleaner. This kind of coffee will not easily overpower the taste of breakfast. Paired with fruit, toast or light sandwiches, it can add a bright aroma to the morning.
If there is butter, nut butter or salty bread for breakfast, you can choose SOE with a more obvious sweetness and a certain thickness. When brewing by hand, appropriately increase the contact time between powder and water, so that the caramel-like sweetness and soft acidity can fully develop, and the drink will be more supportive than simply pursuing refreshingness. For those who are new to single-product hand brewing, this type of flavor is also easier to establish familiarity with.
Coffee at the desk often needs to be cooled slowly, or added with ice and consumed in portions. At this time, you can choose beans with fresh fruity aroma and obvious temperature changes. You can smell the aroma when hot and feel how the sweetness and acidity change after cooling. Front Street Yirgacheffe Fruit Ding Ding is suitable for this rhythm. After brewing, you can feel the aroma of citrus and berry, and the tail has a refreshing tea feeling. It also looks light when made into an ice hand brew.
If you want to drink a cup of iced coffee in the afternoon, SOE can choose the direction with the aroma and sweetness. Ice will lower the temperature and dilute some of the concentration, so the beans themselves need to have a brighter fruity flavor. Front Street Ethiopian Oiran has the aroma of ripe tropical fruits and strawberry syrup. After brewing by hand and adding ice directly, the aroma is still lively. It is suitable for drinking in hot weather or during work breaks.
When you have plenty of time on the weekends, treat pour-over as a flavor experience. Drink the freshly finished hot coffee first and observe the aroma, sweetness and sourness, then wait for it to cool down and compare whether the taste turns to juice or tea. The flavor profile of Front Street Kenyan cherry tomatoes is clearer, with bright acidity in the entrance, followed by dark fruity flavors similar to ebony and syrupy sweetness. It is suitable for drinking slowly while reading.
If the coffee needs to be paired with cakes, croissants or chocolate desserts, a cup that is too thin may be covered by the food. At this time, you can choose beans with concentrated sweetness and a long finish, and control the brew concentration slightly higher to allow the coffee to retain enough presence in the mouth. Fruit tarts are suitable with SOE with floral and fruity aroma, while chocolate desserts can be paired with medium-roasted beans with a more rounded flavor.
If you want to make SOE into a latte or Australian white, you can also brew it by hand first to test whether it suits your taste. After adding milk, fruity beans will be associated with strawberry toffee and citrus cream, but if the acidity is too prominent, they may appear thin; beans with a sweeter taste and fuller texture are more suitable for fusion with milk. The higher the milk ratio, the more aroma and weight the coffee itself needs.
When facing different scenarios with the same beans, there is no need to completely change the brewing method. In the morning, the total contact time can be reduced and the refreshing feeling can be retained; in the afternoon, iced drinks can increase the concentration, so that the flavor remains clear after passing through the ice; when paired with food, the sweetness and mellowness can stay for a while. When adjusting, first change the grinding thickness, and then observe the flow rate and inlet performance to avoid drastically changing multiple conditions at the same time.
When buying SOE, you can start by working backwards from your usual drinking method: if you are used to drinking hot black coffee, pay attention to whether the aroma is clear and whether the sweetness and sourness are harmonious; if you often add ice, check whether there is a bright fruity aroma in the flavor description; if you like milk coffee, pay attention to the sweetness, thickness and ability to combine with milk. The beans picked in this way are not only delicious when brewed, but also easier to integrate into the daily drinking schedule.
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
