FrontStreet Coffee believes that different roasting levels will have different flavor expressions, but many people have a misunderstanding. Is it enough to roast the coffee beans to a certain roasting color? Of course not, the flavor of coffee is not only the degree of roasting, but also the overall performance of the production area, variety, and altitude. FrontStreet Coffee believes that each coffee bean has a roasting curve that is suitable for it. Although each coffee bean is very tolerant, only when it is roasted to be identifiable can the regional flavor appear. This is the logic of FrontStreet Coffee's roasting. Simply considering the degree of roasting is not enough.
light roast coffee
Features: Lightly roasted coffee is light brown and has no oil on the surface of the coffee beans. The beans have high hardness, bright acidity, mellow taste and bright flavor.
Flavor: Fruity and floral coffee is usually lightly roasted. As long as the beans are well grown, processed and roasted, they can produce a variety of flavors, aromas, aftertaste, etc.
However, if the roasting does not penetrate the center of the bean, grassy and herbal flavors may also appear, which may be unacceptable to some people.
Light roasting is loved by the professional coffee industry because it can bring more variety, vitality and unique flavor to coffee. They highlight the unique characteristics of the coffee's origin better than other roasting methods.
Stage: The internal temperature of lightly roasted coffee usually reaches 170-200°C. These coffee beans have barely reached what we call "first crack", which is the stage where the steam inside the coffee bean breaks through the outer layer and produces a "crack" sound.
Other names for light roast include: cinnamon bake, light roast.
FrontStreet Coffee takes Ethiopia's Front Street Yirgacheffe red cherry coffee beans as an example. Through hand brewing, you can find that its fruity and sour tone is relatively bright and light.
Production area | Yirgacheffe |
manor | Atlan |
altitude | 1850-2050m |
Variety | local native species |
Treatment method | Solar treatment |
filter cup | Hario V60 |
water temperature | 90℃ |
Amount of powder | 15grams |
Pink to water ratio | 1:15 |
Grinding degree | BG#5F(Chinese standard20Screen pass rate80%） |
FrontStreet Coffee adopts segmented extraction. Use 30 grams of water to steam for 30 seconds. When the water level drops to 125 grams, continue to pour water until the powder bed is exposed. Stop pouring water until the water level drops to 225 grams. When the water level drops and the powder bed is exposed, remove the filter cup. (Steaming starts timing) The extraction time is 2'00'.
【Flavour description】
Berry, cream, honey, citrus, juice-like taste, bright acidity.
medium roast coffee
Characteristics: Medium roasted coffee is brown with a small amount of oil appearing on the surface of the beans. These coffees have a small amount of acidity and red wine flavors, and a rounded taste.
Flavor: Roasting to this level also retains many of the unique flavors of coffee. Heat begins to enter the inside of the beans and a caramelization reaction occurs, resulting in a sweet taste. Therefore, all indicators are more balanced, richer and sweeter than light roast, but some of the sour and umami flavors may disappear.
This is the degree that roasters prefer. FrontStreet Coffee believes that because it is more approachable to mass drinkers, it has a balanced acidity and bitterness but can still show the natural flavor of coffee.
Stage: The temperature of medium baking can reach 200-215℃, and the baking temperature is slightly higher, just when the sound of "first crack" is heard.
Other designations include: medium roast, dark roast, city roast.
FrontStreet Coffee takes the Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor coffee beans on the bean list as an example. Through hand brewing, you can find that it has a soft acidity and a nutty chocolate flavor.
Production area | Morgiana, State of Sao Paulo |
manor | Queen's Manor |
altitude | 1400-1950m |
Variety | yellow bourbon |
Treatment method | Solar treatment |
filter cup | Kono |
water temperature | 88℃ |
Amount of powder | 15grams |
Pink to water ratio | 1:15 |
Grinding degree | BG#5I(Chinese standard20Screen pass rate70-75%） |
*Reason for choosing Kono filter cup: The Kono filter cup has few ribs and is located at the low end. The filter paper is close to the filter cup, which can limit the air flow and increase the contact time between water and coffee powder, allowing the coffee powder to be fully extracted and improving the mellow taste. It is suitable for brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans such as Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor, Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain, Front Street Golden Mandheling, etc.
FrontStreet Coffee adopts segmented extraction. Use 30 grams of water to steam for 30 seconds. When the water level drops to 125 grams, continue to pour water until the powder bed is exposed. Stop pouring water until the water level drops to 225 grams. When the water level drops and the powder bed is exposed, remove the filter cup. (Steaming starts timing) The extraction time is 2'00'.
【Flavour description】
The taste has an obvious sweetness, a light lemon aroma, a rich nutty flavor, and an obvious dark chocolate flavor in the back, and the overall feeling is relatively mellow.
dark roast coffee
Features: Dark roasted coffee is a dark brown coffee with rich surface oil, low acidity, and a thick red wine flavor, showing a more bitter and mellow taste.
Flavor: Coffee roasted to this level is basically indistinguishable from its origin, but this does not mean that this coffee does not taste good. Some coffees are suitable for dark roasts and will have characteristic flavors of chocolate, nuts and caramel.
The difference between a light roast and a dark roast is very obvious. FrontStreet Coffee strongly recommends trying both extremes to truly appreciate the difference.
Professional coffee roasters rarely have more than 1 or 2 dark roasts, and if there isn't much flavor difference between the beans (dark roasting increases uniformity), there's little point and a novice can do it.
Dark roasted coffee was king before the concept of specialty coffee emerged. The important reason was that coffee cultivation technology was relatively backward and the beans themselves were of poor quality. Fighting low-quality coffee by dark roasting to remove the flavors of less popular lower-grade coffees is no longer necessary, and increasingly stringent screening and grading systems allow roasters to enjoy professional-grade coffee beans.
Now, the goal of professional roasters is not to roast bad flavors away, but to experiment with darker, darker, better-tasting coffees based on that particular coffee.
Stage: Dark roasted coffee reaches 220-225°C during roasting, usually reaching "second crack" if not lightly roasted.
Other names include: All City Bake, French Bake, Italian Bake.
FrontStreet Coffee takes the Front Street Indonesian Golden Mandheling coffee beans on the bean list as an example. By brewing by hand, you can find that the fruity acidity is basically gone, and the nutty chocolate flavor is rich and sweet.
Production area | Sumatra |
company | PWN |
altitude | 1100-1600m |
Variety | ateng |
Treatment method | Wet planing |
filter cup | Kono |
water temperature | 88℃ |
Amount of powder | 15grams |
Pink to water ratio | 1:15 |
Grinding degree | BG#6K(Chinese standard20Screen pass rate70-75%） |
*Reason for choosing Kono filter cup: The Kono filter cup has few ribs and is located at the low end. The filter paper is close to the filter cup, which can limit the air flow and increase the contact time between water and coffee powder, allowing the coffee powder to be fully extracted and improving the mellow taste.
FrontStreet Coffee adopts segmented extraction. Use 30 grams of water to steam for 30 seconds. When the water level drops to 125 grams, continue to pour water until the powder bed is exposed. Stop pouring water until the water level drops to 225 grams. When the water level drops and the powder bed is exposed, remove the filter cup. (Steaming starts timing) The extraction time is 2'00'.
【Flavour description】
It has various layers, is mellow and clean, has a high sense of balance, has a strong woody aroma, rich malt and caramel aroma, with a fruity flavor and a long-lasting aftertaste.
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
