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Sun-dried coffee beans are naturally dried inside the pulp, so the quality of the coffee beans will be affected by the weather. Front Street uses sun-dried coffee beans and two other traditional treatments, water-washing and honey-processing. Front Street believes that the coffee beans processed by the sun-drying method will amplify their own flavor, have a rich body, strong flavor, and exude sweetness; the washed coffee beans have more obvious acidity, better cleanliness, moderate touch, and the most consistent green bean quality; the honey-processed coffee beans have a better flavor, with a balance of acidity and sweetness, and because of the sun-drying method, the aroma of the coffee beans themselves will also be amplified and the mellow flavor will be strong.
Sun treatmentsteps
collect/Screening ~ drying ~ peeling ~ screening and sorting ~ storage and collection&Screening: After picking, the coffee fruits will be manually selected and screened to remove defective coffee fruits, including overripe, underripe, insect-eaten, etc., and of course foreign matter other than the fruit.
Drying: After screening, the coffee cherries will be sent to a drying place for drying. Different regions may also use different drying racks. Some are waterproof cloths, some are raised beds, some are cement floors, etc. The drying time is 3 to 4 weeks on average, and the drying process is not completed until the moisture content of the coffee drops to 11%.
Peeling: After drying, the coffee cherries are sent to a processing plant for peeling and shelling, and even polishing. The peel, pulp and other parts will be removed in this step.
Screening and sorting&Storage: After peeling, the green coffee beans will be screened again to remove coffee beans with poor quality. This reflects the quality of the coffee drying process. Over-dried coffee beans will be more fragile and will be broken into pieces during the peeling process; while under-dried coffee beans contain too much water and are overly active, which can easily breed bacteria and mildew.
Solar treatmentAdvantages
Except for the first step of the solar treatment method, which requires water to filter out inferior beans, the other steps do not require any water and can be used repeatedly. In areas where water resources are not abundant, this method is amazing~
Because sun-dried beans have an irreplaceable special flavor, some excellent farmers have begun to take sun-dried beans seriously, such as putting them on racks to dry in the sun to prevent contamination and carefully selecting them. As a result, today we can see many high-quality sun-dried coffee beans.
Solar treatmentDisadvantages
The solar drying method depends entirely on the weather, and the dryness of the coffee cherries is difficult to control. If the drying area is not clean, impurities can easily get mixed in. During the sun drying process, the pulp of the coffee fruits is not removed, so mold and rot often occur. Therefore, in the minds of many people, the quality of sun-dried coffee beans is poorly controllable and the grade will not be too high.
Sun-processed coffeeFlavor
Although the appearance of sun-dried coffee beans is uneven and the color varies greatly, because the coffee beans mature naturally inside the fruit and are not disturbed by the external environment, the flavor of sun-dried coffee beans is more intense, with a wine-like fermented flavor and a sweet taste. The most famous sun-dried coffee beans found on Front Street come from the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo growing regions in Ethiopia. Although they are both from Ethiopia, the flavors are different. This time Front Street brewed Yirgacheffe’s red cherry and Ethiopian Oiran to see how the flavors of the two coffees performed.
Front Street Yirgacheffe Sun-Dried Red Cherry Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Altitude: 1700-2200m
Treatment method: Sun treatment
Variety: Local native species
ethiopia Sun exposure Oiran coffee beans
Production area: Gujihambera
Treatment Plant: Buku Able
Altitude: 2350 meters
Variety: Local native species
Treatment method: Sun treatment
front street brewingtips
In order to highlight the fermentation characteristics of sun-drying, Front Street roasters used medium and light roasted coffee beans. The recommended temperature for brewing medium-light roasted beans is 90-91°C. Using a higher water temperature can extract the aromatic substances and acidity of light-roasted beans (the aroma of tropical fruits and the acidity of tropical fruits). Because the beans of medium-light roasted beans are harder, raising the water temperature can increase the extraction efficiency of coffee powder and avoid the occurrence of sharp acidity. The V60 cone-shaped filter cup has a relatively large mouth, coupled with its unique spiral curved ribs, making it easier for air to be discharged to improve extraction quality. The taste may not be thick enough, but the sweetness and sourness and obvious aroma brought out by its high concentration are its major features.
Front Street Brewing Recommendations
Filter cup: V60
Water temperature: 90-91 degrees
Powder amount: 15g
Pink to water ratio: 1:15
Grinding degree: the size of fine granulated sugar (sieve the powder in a No. 20 sieve bowl to 80%)
Front street brewing technique: Inject 30 grams of water in the first stage and steam for 30 seconds, then inject 95 grams (the electronic scale shows about 125 grams), and the injection is completed in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the powder layer, add the remaining 100 grams (the electronic scale shows about 225 grams), and the injection is completed in about 1 minute and 35 seconds. The trickling filtration is completed in 2 minutes and 4 seconds. Remove the filter cup and complete the extraction.
Yirgacheffe sun-dried red cherries: have a light fermented wine aroma, with citrus aroma, honey sweetness, cocoa flavor, and a long-lasting aftertaste. Sun-dried Oiran: citrus acidity, fullness of blackcurrant juice, tea flavor of lemon black tea, and long-lasting sweetness.
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
