What Coffee Varieties Are Starbucks Coffee Beans and What Are the Characteristics of Various Specialty Coffee Beans?

Starbucks offers 13 types of coffee beans: Phoenix Dance Auspicious Cloud Blend, Pike Place Roast, Kenya, Starbucks House Blend, Guatemala Antigua, Ethiopia, Colombia, Starbucks Breakfast Blend, Sumatra, Decaf House Blend, Caffè Roast, Espresso Roast, and Verona. So what are the unique characteristics of these 13 coffee beans? FrontStreet Coffee recommends several delicious coffee varieties.

Kenya Coffee

Starbucks Kenya coffee beans were introduced in 1971, with the African elephant on the packaging having long been used as the iconic symbol for Kenya coffee. Many people describe the flavor of Kenya coffee beans using the African elephant: as substantial as the African elephant itself!

Kenya is located in eastern Africa, with the equator crossing through its central region and the East African Rift Valley running north to south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, with the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The country is characterized by high plateaus with an average elevation of 1,500 meters. Mount Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) in the central region reaches 5,199 meters and has snow on its summit, making it the second highest peak in Africa.

Kenya's coffee producing regions consist of six main areas: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga. The harvest periods for these six major regions are from October to December (main season) and from June to August (secondary season).

Coffee Varieties

In Kenya, common coffee varieties include SL28, SL34, and Ruiru 11.

In 1922, Kenya established the Scott Agricultural Laboratory to conduct coffee cultivation research. In the decade following its establishment, the laboratory selected SL28 and SL34 from 42 coffee varieties as the most suitable for cultivation in the region, providing an excellent start for the coffee industry's development. Both SL28 and SL34 are varieties selected after multiple breeding cycles. SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group, featuring the bright profile and rich acidity of original Bourbon. SL34's lineage is closer to Typica genetics, with acidity that is milder than SL28. These two varieties, SL28 and SL34, currently account for 90% of Kenya's production, and South America is also actively introducing SL28 as a cultivation variety.

The creation of Ruiru 11 was due to the global outbreak of coffee leaf rust. At that time, many Arabica varieties suffered from the disease, and in order to prevent coffee production reduction, the hybrid variety Ruiru 11 was developed, which shows excellent disease resistance but is far inferior to SL28 and SL34 in terms of flavor quality.

Processing Method

Kenya employs a repeated washing and fermentation processing method. On the day of harvest, the highest quality coffee cherries are selected for depulping and fermentation, with a fermentation time of 24 hours. After 24 hours, they are washed with clean river water. Then, they undergo another 24-hour fermentation in clean river water, followed by washing again. This process is repeated three times, totaling 72 hours, hence known as the Kenya 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, abbreviated as [K72].

FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Asalia Coffee Beans

Region: Thika region, Kenya

Processing Station: Asali Processing Station

Altitude: 1,550-1,750 meters

Grade: AA TOP

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Processing Method: Kenya 72-hour washed

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Parameters

These FrontStreet Coffee Kenya beans are full and round in shape. To fully express their bright, rich acidity, FrontStreet Coffee uses light roasting.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans

Charge Temperature: 200°C

Yellowing Point: 5'30", 154.3°C

First Crack: 8'52", 187.3°C

Development after First Crack: 2'10", discharged at 191.6°C

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee considers that this FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asalia uses a light to medium roast method, so it will use higher water temperature and a faster flow rate dripper. This is mainly because high temperature is needed to extract its bright acidity profile, but we don't want to cause over-extraction due to high temperatures, so we chose the faster flow V60 dripper.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15 (15g coffee to 225ml water)

Water Temperature: 90°C~91°C

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% pass-through rate with #20 standard sieve)

First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (electronic scale shows around 125g), finishing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows around 225g), finishing in about 1 minute and 40 seconds. Complete the drip at 2'00", remove the dripper, and finish extraction.

Flavor: FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asalia coffee beans show distinct plum and cherry tomato aromas in dry fragrance, while the wet fragrance presents rich caramel notes.

Guatemala Antigua Coffee

Antigua is Guatemala's most famous coffee producing region and is said to be the birthplace of Guatemalan coffee. Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights characterize this region, making it home to Guatemala's most outstanding coffee. The valley surrounding Antigua town (from which the region takes its name) is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Among them, Volcan Fuego is an active volcano! Its periodic eruptions have enriched the region's soil with minerals, while the area also preserves large amounts of pristine forest, filling the soil with abundant potassium ions. The combination of these factors provides coffee plants in the Antigua region with continuous nutrition for healthy growth.

The climate here is mild year-round with stable humidity (65%), creating conditions that make it one of the most suitable places for coffee cultivation. Additionally, unlike other regions, this area doesn't experience extreme climate changes during the alternating dry and rainy seasons, allowing coffee to grow slowly in valleys above 1,500 meters altitude. Because Antigua is an enclosed valley, it prevents severe soil erosion. All these superior environmental conditions allow Antigua to consistently maintain stable, excellent quality.

FrontStreet Coffee · Guatemala Antigua La Minita Estate La Flor

Country: Guatemala

Region: Antigua

Estate: La Minita Estate

Altitude: 1,200-1,600m

Processing Method: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Estate Introduction

La Minita is a renowned green coffee processing facility in the specialty coffee industry. Guatemala's La Flor, Colombia's Reserva del Patron, and Costa Rica's Hacienda La Minita are all part of the La Minita International Coffee Export Company. The La Minita family established its own coffee brand in Guatemala called "La Flor del Cafe," which means "Coffee Flower" and is translated into Chinese as "花神" (Flower Goddess).

The La Minita family has a good reputation for green bean processing and quality control, providing the industry's highest standards of cultivation and processing technology. They directly send specialized personnel to Guatemala to participate in quality control. La Minita's La Flor is a star product from their portfolio, processed by the well-known local Pastores Mill under La Minita's strict supervision. From purchasing green beans to washing and sun-drying processing, all procedures follow La Minita's strict control protocols. They strictly supervise the entire process of La Flor coffee from cultivation to packaging. These meticulous procedures are all designed to ensure that the coffee beans provided by Pastores Mill are of the highest quality.

Coffee Varieties

The varieties of this FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee sourced by FrontStreet Coffee are Bourbon and Caturra. Bourbon is a natural variant of Typica and ranks alongside Typica as an ancient, high-quality variety. The beans are slightly smaller and rounder than Typica. Caturra is a natural variant of Bourbon, featuring fresh lemon-citrus acidity in flavor, though slightly less sweet than Typica and Bourbon.

Processing Method

This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor sourced by FrontStreet Coffee is washed processed. First, the harvested coffee cherries are poured into large water tanks, where underdeveloped, inferior beans float to the surface while mature, full fruits sink to the bottom. At this point, the defective beans (fruits) floating on the surface are removed.

Next, a pulp remover is used to eliminate the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit. At this point, the coffee beans still have a slippery layer of mucilage attached. Then, the coffee beans with mucilage are placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours, during which microorganisms break down the mucilage. After fermentation is complete, large amounts of clean water are used to wash away the remaining mucilage residue from the coffee beans.

Finally, the cleaned coffee beans are dried in the sun until moisture content reaches 10-14%. Then, a hulling machine is used to remove the parchment, completing the processing.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Parameters

This FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua La Flor coffee bean is of high quality with full bean color. To highlight the bright acidity of this FrontStreet Coffee La Flor while preserving Guatemala's unique coffee flavors, FrontStreet Coffee uses light to medium roasting.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans

Charge Temperature: 200°C

Yellowing Point: 4'50", 149°C

First Crack: 8'37", 188°C

Development after First Crack: 1'50", discharged at 195.3°C

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee considers that this FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee uses a light to medium roast method, so it will use higher water temperature and a faster flow rate dripper. This is mainly because high temperature is needed to extract its bright acidity profile, but we don't want to cause over-extraction due to high temperatures, so we chose the faster flow V60 dripper.

Coffee Amount: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 91°C

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (78% pass-through rate with #20 standard sieve)

First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (electronic scale shows around 125g), finishing in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows around 225g), finishing in about 1 minute and 40 seconds. Complete the drip at 2'10", remove the dripper, and finish extraction.

Flavor: Unique floral aroma combined with smooth, fresh citrus flavors creates a distinctive yet perfectly harmonious blend of floral and fruity sweetness. With hints of smoky notes in a red wine-like aftertaste, it presents FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee's silk-like elegant and refined style.

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473