Friends who like milk coffee will definitely be familiar with Dirty. Although Front Street does not list the name "Dirty" on the menu, many knowledgeable friends will take the initiative to order this drink after entering the store. After all, it has long been popular across the country and has even become the golden signature of many coffee shops.
Facing customers who are trying Dirty for the first time, many baristas will eagerly say after serving the coffee: "No need to stir, it is recommended to drink it in large gulps...drink it as soon as possible~" Why is this?
It is also a simple combination of milk + coffee. As a "new generation star", Dirty has become a "frequent customer" in specialty cafes with his iconic appearance and excellent reputation since his debut. Sometimes, his sales volume even exceeded that of established players such as Australian White and Cappuccino. So, what is the charm of Dirty that makes everyone so fond of it? To break down the reasons behind the barista’s “pre-drinking reminder” of Dirty, Front Street believes that we should start with its invention.
The origin of dirty coffee
Front Street searched the information and found that the word "Dirty" was first used in coffee in 2010.
In a coffee documentary called "a flim about coffee", the film interviewed baristas in different cities around the world. Among them, Katsuyuki Tanaka from Japan talked about his cafe Bear Pond Espresso and the specialty product he started making when he opened the shop, a coffee method that makes the concentrate fall on the milk, which is marked on the menu as "B.P Dirty".
It is said that Dirty appeared because a customer reported to Tanaka Katsuyuki that once the ice cubes in the iced latte melted, the taste of the coffee would deteriorate, which inspired him to create an "ice-free version" of layered latte by combining the store's Italian blended beans, espresso with a large amount of powder and low extraction rate - "Angle Stain" (Angel Stain) and milk.
Initially, B.P Dirty was only served at 2 pm every day. It was extracted by Katsuki Tanaka himself, and only 20 cups were available, so not many people knew about it. In 2011, he formally introduced the concept of "Dirty" in his book "Life is Espresso", which mainly refers to the fact that when espresso enters milk, it is like "dirty" the coffee, which makes dirty coffee known to more people.
Although the "dirty coffee" invented by Tanaka Katsuyuki quickly became a popular item in the store, it was not widely popular in Japan. Instead, it was learned and borrowed by some baristas in Hong Kong and Thailand, and then the concept was spread to other places and began to "take root."
The evolution of Dirty
When Dirty first arrived in China, it actually did not receive much attention and was only spread in a small area. Several baristas studied its production techniques and logic in their spare time. After drinking it several times, they discovered the charm of this dirty cup of coffee and shared it with more customers.
As the taste of Dirty is recognized by more and more consumers, this drink has naturally transformed from a hidden drinking method into a fixed dish in coffee shops, and has become popular in various boutique cafes.
At the same time, in order to cater to the needs of the market, baristas have also made different improvements, such as smaller cup sizes, about 150ml, which can be drank in three or four sips; upgrading of milk, using higher-concentration ice cups and ice cups to achieve the ultimate hot and cold taste; and changing to single-origin coffee beans or rich Italian blends, such as Front Street Boutique Italian Blend, Front Street Classic Italian Blend, and Front Street Nuanyang Italian Blend are very suitable for making.Dirty. Gradually, this cup of "dirty coffee" evolved into what we see today.
Why did you take a big sip of Dirty in the first place?
Different from other traditional milk coffee structures that pursue "perfect fusion", a freshly made cup of Dirty emphasizes the "independent existence" of milk and coffee. It uses production techniques to allow drinkers to fully experience the contrast brought by these two key elements from sight, touch and taste.
Visually, the dark brown espresso is wrapped in white milk, and the oil slides down the wall of the cup, forming a series of gradient lines from "black" to "white"; tactilely, the freshly extracted espresso remains warm, and the milk in the cup is still cold. The difference in temperature between hot and cold makes the dirty taste exciting.
Precisely because the espresso stays at the top more completely, the rich fat wraps the sweet milk. Only when we take a big gulp can we feel the collision and blending of the hot concentrate and the ice milk in the mouth. First there is the burnt aroma and mellowness of more coffee and less milk. The taste ranges from bitter to sweet, first strong and then soft. After the irritation dissipates, the coffee seems to become easier to drink. Even after drinking the whole cup, there is still a lingering aroma of both.
And if you take small sips at the beginning, you will probably end up with bitter oil and strong espresso. After several sips, it is the milk's turn. If you drink slower, the dirty color will turn into milk tea as the coffee sinks, and the milk will become normal temperature, so you will naturally lose the fun of drinking dirty.
Therefore, those baristas who earnestly ask you to "drink big" and "drink it as quickly as possible" are not deliberately setting "rules", but hope that every customer who orders dirty coffee can not only feel the ultimate experience that coffee brings to the taste buds, but also enjoy it in its most perfect state.
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
