The Ultimate Coffee Experience: Building a Relationship with Your Coffee

Black coffee is truly a lifestyle choice

Many people who love drinking coffee will inevitably be fascinated by "pour-over coffee," because each person brews a different taste, allowing you to experience uniqueness and personal style. As long as you prepare filter paper, a dripper, and a pour-over kettle, you can easily brew a good cup of coffee.

Understanding Black Coffee Better

We still know too little about black coffee, often thinking it's no different from regular coffee. But every cup of black coffee has its unique flavor. Let's briefly understand it.

1. Distribution

Coffee bean origins are mainly divided into: Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Island regions.

African Coffee Flavors: Ethiopian coffee has prominent citrus aromas, while Kenyan coffee features rich berry notes, along with the sour aromas of plum juice and grapefruit, plus the refreshing sweetness of sugarcane. The citrus aroma of Ethiopian coffee and the berry fragrance of Kenyan coffee are the greatest characteristics of African beans and what captivates coffee enthusiasts most.

Central and South American Coffee Flavors: Generally speaking, the flavors are relatively balanced and conventional. Brazilian coffee is smooth and refreshingly sweet, Costa Rican coffee is gentle and smooth, with sour, sweet, and chocolate aromas perfectly blended in extreme balance. Panamanian coffee features rich citrus aromas, jasmine floral notes, almond, mango flavors, and nectar sweetness, with bright and varied fruit acidity remarkably similar to Ethiopia's national treasure bean, Yirgacheffe. Pacamara coffee carries pleasant spicy notes with slight ginger undertones, plus sour aromas and fruit flavors. Nicaraguan coffee's most distinctive feature is its charming almond flavor, presenting a relatively mellow aroma when tasted.

Asian and Island Coffee Flavors: They have higher body thickness than Central and South American and African beans, but lower acidity, with flavors hinting of aged wood, herbs, spices, and earthy notes. The deep mellow aromas are more prominent than the uplifting sour fragrances. Island beans are relatively light and gentle, with an elegant subtle tone.

2. Processing Methods

The process of transforming coffee cherries into green coffee beans generally involves three processing methods:

Traditional natural processing
Traditional washed processing
Processing methods between natural and washed: including semi-washed (wet-hulling), Brazilian pulped natural, and honey processing.

Natural Processing: The natural processing method involves directly exposing whole coffee cherries to sunlight;

Washed Processing: Washed processing removes the skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying;

Pulped Natural Processing: Pulped natural and honey processing are intermediate methods between these two. In the 1990s, Brazil utilized its unique dry climate to invent the pulped natural method, which requires less equipment and water resources than traditional washed processing while producing better quality than traditional natural processing.

Honey Processing: Called Honey Process or Miel Process, honey processing involves removing the pulp and then drying the cherries with the parchment still attached.

When Brazil's pulped natural method spread to Central American countries like Costa Rica and El Salvador, it was improved and became known as honey processing.

Wet-Hulled Processing: Wet-hulled processing is common in Indonesia and differs from regular washed and natural methods: In washed, honey, or natural processing, the parchment remains until the beans dehydrate and harden, moisture content drops to 12%, or they are stored for 1-3 months of maturation before removal. However, wet-hulled processing removes the parchment while the beans are still moist and soft, with moisture content as high as 30-35%, exposing the green beans directly before continuing to dry. This method was developed to adapt to Sumatra's humid climate, with the goal of accelerating drying.

3. Flavor Profiles

Brazil: Strong flavor with chocolate aftertaste.

Colombia: Relatively light taste, good balance, nutty flavors, with fruity acidity in the aftertaste.

Indonesia Mandheling: Earthy aromas or smoky flavors, with bitter cocoa aftertaste and rich body.

Ethiopia: Citrusy sweet and sour notes with strawberry or blueberry aftertaste.

Kenya: Clean taste, berry flavors, with some tomato-like acidity.

Jamaica Blue Mountain: Balanced sweet, sour, and bitter notes, gentle, aromatic, smooth, with black chocolate flavors.

4. Brewing

Practical Water-to-Coffee Ratio Parameters:

Strong Taste: 1:10～1:11

Medium Taste: 1:12～1:13 (equivalent to the Golden Cup Standard's 1:14.5～1:15.5)

Light and Fresh: 1:14～1:16 (equivalent to the Golden Cup Standard's 1:16.5～1:18.5)

Practical Bloom Time Parameters:

20 seconds → medium-dark roast, dark roast beans

25~30 seconds → moderate strength, medium roast, light-medium roast beans

30 seconds or more → light roast beans

When brewing by hand, start from the center and slowly expand in circles, allowing hot water to spread horizontally through the coffee grounds to extract rich coffee flavors.

5. Storage

Three Major Storage Principles:

Dry, Avoid Light, Seal

"Bean Resting Period"

The process of waiting for the optimal tasting period is called bean resting (generally 3-4 days for single-origin beans, 7-10 days for espresso beans). This is similar to how red wine needs moderate oxidation after opening to become smoother and more layered. Freshly roasted coffee beans sometimes carry grassy or pea-like flavors, which disappear after one night. On the other hand, new beans have a fresh-baked bread aroma, and bean resting makes them taste better.

6. Health Benefits

1. Improves memory

2. Helps with weight loss

3. Beneficial for liver health

4. Cleanses the digestive system

5. Promotes cardiovascular health

6. Prevents gout

7. Reduces the risk of cancer

8. Relieves stress and depression

Drinking coffee is an enjoyment. Approach coffee drinking with a mindset of enjoyment and relaxation, and you'll understand coffee more and more with each cup.

FrontStreet Coffee

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Important Notice :

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