Beginner's Guide to Coffee Bean Brands: World Coffee Growing Regions Flavor Characteristics and Taste Profiles

What Are Coffee Daily Beans?

FrontStreet Coffee is here to explain everything to you in detail:

Why Do "Daily Beans" Exist?

This is because novice coffee enthusiasts are often confused about how to choose coffee beans that suit their personal taste. Blind purchasing carries the risk of disappointment and waste, so FrontStreet Coffee introduced "Daily Beans." These beans are also FrontStreet Coffee's signature offering, as they feature highly recognizable regional flavor profiles. Frontsteet carefully selects the most representative local-flavored beans from major coffee-producing regions and packages them in 100g tasting portions. For example, the most representative and renowned Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with its lemon acidity, Indonesian Mandheling with its herbal notes, and Costa Rican Tarrazú with its chocolate and nutty aromas. Currently, FrontStreet Coffee has launched seven different varieties from various countries and regions for everyone to choose from.

Additionally, most of FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans use the washed processing method because this method better preserves the original fundamental flavors of coffee cherries and serves as an introduction to understanding regional flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Introduces the Washed Processing Process to Coffee Enthusiasts:

1. Bean Selection: Harvested fruits are placed in large water tanks. Ripe fruits will sink, while unripe or overripe fruits will float on the surface.
2. Pulp Removal: Machines are used to remove the skin and pulp, leaving only the coffee beans covered in mucilage. The washing process is designed to clean this layer of mucilage.
3. Fermentation: Mucilage has strong adhesion and is not easily removed. It must be placed in tanks for about 18-36 hours, allowing microorganisms to ferment and decompose the mucilage.
4. Washing: The fermented beans are placed in water pools and washed back and forth, using the friction between beans and water flow to clean the coffee beans.
5. Drying: After washing, the coffee beans have a moisture content of 50%. They must be dried to reduce their moisture content to 12%, otherwise they will become moldy and spoiled due to excessive moisture content. The best processing method is sun drying, which takes 1-3 weeks but yields excellent flavor. Some places use machine drying, which significantly reduces processing time, but the flavor is relatively inferior to sun-dried coffee beans.
6. Hulling: After drying is complete, the coffee beans are stored in a warehouse for a week (to stabilize moisture content) before being sent to the factory for hulling to remove the parchment layer.
7. Sorting and Grading: Defective beans are removed to ensure optimal quality, then they are sent to exporters for sale worldwide.

FrontStreet Coffee Presents Detailed Introduction to Seven Coffee Beans with Distinct Regional Flavors

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe Daily Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1800-2000m
Variety: Local Heirloom
Processing: Washed
Bean Appearance: Small round beans, very small in size
Flavor: Jasmine, Lemon, Citrus, Berries

Yirgacheffe coffee is the most representative coffee from Ethiopia and is highly regarded by coffee connoisseurs worldwide. Therefore, with such an excellent coffee variety, FrontStreet Coffee naturally wants to share it with everyone!

Yirgacheffe is located on the eastern side of the East African Rift Valley and is a small town in the Sidamo province of Ethiopia. It was separately designated due to its unique coffee flavor, with altitudes ranging from 1700-2100 meters, making it one of the highest-altitude coffee-growing regions globally and synonymous with Ethiopian specialty coffee.

Initially, Yirgacheffe coffee trees were planted by European monks, later managed by farmers or cooperatives, mostly planted in farmers' backyards or intercropped with other crops in fields. Each household's production is limited, making it typical pastoral coffee. The mountain villages producing coffee cherries are shrouded in mist, spring-like year-round, with cool summers and gentle breezes, rainy but not humid, and winter without cold damage. Therefore, Yirgacheffe coffee fruits exhibit distinct floral notes and citrus or lemon acidity. Washed beans taste refreshing with bright fruit acidity and noticeable tea-like notes. FrontStreet Coffee believes only this geographical climate can cultivate such unique regional flavors of citrus and floral aromas.

At the same time, Yirgacheffe is also representative for those seeking coffee beans with floral and fruity flavor profiles.

In traditional processing, Yirgacheffe originally used the oldest natural processing method. However, early natural-processed coffee beans were mostly dried spread on the ground, inevitably picking up earthy flavors, dust, and other impurities. Additionally, due to lack of proper screening, the quality of natural-processed beans was generally average. It wasn't until 1972, when Ethiopia introduced washed processing technology from Central and South America to improve coffee quality, that Yirgacheffe's jasmine fragrance and citrus-lemon freshness became clearer and brighter, elevating it to become one of the world's representatives of specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee also considers that washed processing better reflects the clean taste of coffee and pure flavor presentation. Therefore, when analyzing the specific flavors of a coffee-producing region, we use washed beans from that region as reference. If customers haven't tried Yirgacheffe before, FrontStreet Coffee also prioritizes recommending washed Yirgacheffe to help form an understanding of regional flavors. Later, when trying natural, honey-processed, and other processing methods of Yirgacheffe, they can have a basis for comparison.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila Daily Beans

Country: Colombia
Region: Huila
Altitude: 1500-1800m
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Washed
Bean Appearance: Uniform bean size, relatively full-bodied
Flavor: Nuts, Dark Chocolate, Caramel, Gentle Fruit Acidity

Colombia is located in the northwestern part of the South American continent, bordering Panama in Central America. In 1808, a priest first introduced coffee to Colombia from French Antilles via Venezuela. Today, Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter, primarily producing Arabica coffee beans, and is also the country that exports the most Arabica coffee beans. Colombia is rich in natural resources, with coffee, flowers, gold, and emeralds known as the "four treasures."

In Colombia, the most important cultivation area is the southwestern Huila region. The Huila region features mountainous terrain, with coffee grown on mountain valley slopes. The climate of these mountain valley slopes not only prevents cold winds from entering but also provides constant mountain breezes that keep temperatures cool without excessive heat, while rainfall is also relatively abundant. These can be described as exceptionally advantageous conditions for coffee cultivation. Colombian Huila coffee beans are hand-picked by workers who climb the mountains, allowing for careful selection of the most mature and full fruits.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, early coffee varieties planted in Colombia were Typica and Bourbon. Caturra is a natural mutation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Due to inheriting Bourbon's lineage, it has relatively weak disease resistance but higher yields than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growth in Brazil, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale there. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South American regions, with large-scale cultivation in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. In 1970, Colombian Typica and Bourbon gradually began to be replaced by Caturra because Caturra not only yields more per plant than the previous two varieties but also has a more compact plant form, allowing more coffee trees to be planted per unit area. The coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee are precisely of the Caturra variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rican Tarrazú

Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazú
Altitude: 1500m
Variety: Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Washed
Bean Appearance: Variable sizes
Flavor: Sweet Orange, Honey, Toffee, Nuts

Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus, belonging to North America. It borders Panama to the south, Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Influenced by Pacific Ocean currents and monsoons, Costa Rica has formed unique microclimates.

Costa Rica has large day-night temperature differences and abundant rainfall, combined with weakly acidic fertile soil nurtured by volcanoes - all providing excellent conditions for coffee cultivation. Therefore, although Costa Rica has a small land area, it is indeed one of the most species-rich countries worldwide, with rich natural resources. FrontStreet Coffee believes Costa Rica truly lives up to its Spanish translation meaning "rich coast"! Among Costa Rica's representative coffee-producing regions are seven: West Valley, Central Valley, Tarrazú, Tres Rios, Orosi, Brunca, and Turrialba.

The Tarrazú region is the most representative, located south of Costa Rica's capital San José, and is the most valued coffee-producing region. Most of Costa Rica's finest coffee comes from this region. Taking the 2020 Costa Rica Cup of Excellence results as an example, 9 of the top 26 coffee beans came from the Tarrazú region, with three claiming the top three positions. This shows that the Tarrazú region is indeed a veteran producer of high-quality coffee. Costa Rican coffee has always been known for its balanced flavor, rich chocolate notes, and smooth mouthfeel.

The connection between Caturra and Catuai is that Caturra is a natural mutation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Due to inheriting Bourbon's lineage, it has relatively weak disease resistance but higher yields than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growth in Brazil, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale there. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South American regions, with large-scale cultivation in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, essentially a second-generation hybrid. It inherits Caturra's advantage of low plant height while compensating for Caturra's weak fruit that easily falls in strong winds. Its fruit sets firmly and doesn't easily drop when blown by strong winds. The biggest regret is that its overall flavor is slightly monotonous compared to Caturra. Catuai also has red and yellow fruit varieties, with red fruit having better flavor than yellow fruit. Catuai, Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon are ranked as Brazil's four main coffee varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemalan Huehuetenango

Country: Guatemala
Region: Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1500-2000m
Variety: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Washed
Bean Appearance: Relatively uniform beans
Flavor: Nuts, Lemon Peel, Berries, Citrus

Coffee produced in Guatemala belongs to the world's top-tier coffees, mainly consisting of Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, and Catuai varieties. The coffee belt is mainly distributed at altitudes above 1500 meters, featuring tropical rainforests, volcanic geology, and diverse microclimate conditions, giving coffee beans from this region unique flavors.

Guatemala produces coffee beans with rich fruit aromas, known for elegant and lively acidity, clean taste without impurities, and distinct layers. It was rated as the largest coffee producer in Central America for most of the 20th and 21st centuries. Guatemala has eight major coffee-producing regions. These eight regions are typically used to describe the highest-grade S.H.B. (Strictly Hard Bean) coffee, with five volcanic regions and three non-volcanic regions, all producing very unique coffees that enjoy high reputation in the international market.

Among Guatemala's three major non-volcanic coffee-producing regions, the Huehuetenango highlands are the driest and highest-altitude area. Although Guatemala has many highlands, in coffee-producing region terminology, only Huehuetenango can be called Huehuetenango Highlands. The coffee flavor in this region belongs to typical S.H.B. coffee beans, worthy of being called the champion of Guatemalan coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee must also mention that the name of the Huehuetenango region is quite interesting. The name originates from Nahuatl, meaning "land of the ancients (or ancestors)." The region contains Central America's highest non-volcanic mountain range, making it very suitable for coffee cultivation. This area is quite dependent on coffee exports and produces many impressive coffees.

FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Small Bean

Country: China
Region: Yunnan, Baoshan
Altitude: 1200m
Variety: Catimor
Processing: Washed
Bean Appearance: Round and full
Flavor: Melon Sweetness, Muskmelon, Brown Sugar, Plum Acidity, Black Tea Sensation

In 1892, a French missionary brought coffee seeds from Vietnam to Yunnan and successfully planted them in a valley in Binchuan County, Yunnan Province. This marked the beginning of Yunnan coffee, generally called small-bean coffee, domestically known as Yunnan small-bean coffee.

In 1959, Portuguese people moved Brazil's Bourbon mutation Caturra to East Timor and hybridized it with Timor, which has Robusta bloodline, successfully cultivating Catimor with extremely strong disease resistance and productivity. Since leaf rust disease has affected coffee-producing countries worldwide, with international organization assistance, various producing countries have vigorously promoted Catimor to resist leaf rust and increase productivity. This shows that Catimor contains Robusta bloodline, and compared with pure Arabica Typica, it can be distinguished by flavor. In Yunnan's green bean competitions, Catimor has consistently occupied the top ten rankings, while pure, high-quality Arabica varieties are rarely seen because too few people grow them. This gave people the impression that Yunnan Catimor should not be underestimated. Later, Catimor was widely promoted and planted in Yunnan's coffee-growing areas including Dehong, Baoshan, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Lincang, Wenshan, and Yuxi.

FrontStreet Coffee has also planted Typica and small amounts of Bourbon in Yunnan's plantations. Of course, Catimor and Typica are not in conflict - one represents mass production, the other represents specialty production. The significance of specialty coffee is to improve quality, while mass production aims to increase yield. Yunnan's choice to focus on Catimor reveals the underlying purpose.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Mandheling

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra, Lintong
Altitude: 750-1500m
Variety: Typica, Caturra
Processing: Wet-Hulled
Bean Appearance: Many surface cracks
Flavor: Toasted Bread, Nuts, Caramel, Pine, Herbs

Most specialty coffees are named after their producing regions, areas, or ports, but Mandheling is named after an ethnic group. It's a phonetic mistranslation of Indonesia's Mandailing people. The origin of this name is quite an interesting story. Legend has it that during World War II when Japan occupied Indonesia, a Japanese soldier drank an incredibly fragrant cup of coffee in an Indonesian café. When he asked the owner the coffee's name, the café owner thought he was asking "Where are you from?" and replied "Mandailing." After the war, the Japanese soldier recalled the unforgettable "Mandheling" he drank in Indonesia and commissioned an Indonesian coffee merchant to ship 15 tons to Japan. Unexpectedly, it became very popular in the Japanese market. Therefore, the name "Mandheling" spread this way. That coffee merchant was the renowned Pwani Coffee Company.

FrontStreet Coffee researched materials and learned that Mandheling is also known as "Sumatra coffee." Most coffee produced in North Sumatra is Gayo, primarily of the Ateng variety. The Lake Tawar area in the north can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee. South Sumatra's Lintong and Lake Toba areas can be called Mandheling. The Lintong area is the true Mandheling-producing region. The best Mandheling varieties include four types: Sidikalang, Bergendar, Siborong Borong, and Telok Sanggul.

Mandheling is a premium coffee bean grown on plateau mountain land at 750-1500 meters altitude. In Indonesia, which mainly produces Robusta, it is a rare Arabica variety. Due to altitude, climate, and various environmental factors, the grown coffee beans have rich aroma, full-bodied taste, intense flavor, and some have slight chocolate and syrup notes.

In Indonesia, due to the climatic conditions of the Lintong region in Sumatra, coffee farming levels, and the precious local water resources, Mandheling was initially processed using natural methods, but quality was unstable, so it was changed to a method similar to Brazil's pulped natural processing. However, Indonesia's humid climate doesn't allow drying sticky coffee pods outdoors for 2-3 days like in Brazil - doing so in Indonesia would cause the pods to mold. Therefore, after drying for several hours to a day, when moisture content drops to 20-30% and mucilage hasn't yet solidified, the beans are purchased by merchants and taken to simple processing facilities where machines are used to remove mucilage to prevent over-fermentation and sour odors.

This is the wet-hulled processing method. First, the mucilage layer is scraped off while Mandheling pods are still wet (this is the main reason for Mandheling's lower fruit acidity and higher body). Then, after slight drying, the moisture content of coffee cherries inside the pods equals about 18%. Finally, exporters from Medan purchase the unwet pods and place them in large drying fields or use machine drying until moisture content reaches 12% for storage. From this, we can see that Mandheling's drying process is very complicated because farmers lack adequate equipment, adopting a three-stage division of labor among farmers, bean buyers, and exporters for drying. This is why Mandheling develops its unique herbal and woody flavors, caused by high humidity and three-stage drying of the mucilage layer. This is also a world-rare wet-hulled processing method that accidentally created Mandheling's low-acidity, thick, and mellow flavor. Therefore, among these seven FrontStreet Coffee daily beans, everyone should try the special wet-hulled processed Mandheling. I believe those who have tried it will never forget this flavor!

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Red Cherry

Country: Brazil
Region: South Minas
Altitude: 1000m
Variety: Red Bourbon
Processing: Pulped Natural
Bean Appearance: Oval
Flavor: Nuts, Chocolate, Cream, Peanuts, Caramel

Brazilian coffee beans were introduced in 1720 from French Guiana (a country in northern South America). Brazil was then a Portuguese colony, while many other South American countries were Spanish colonies, which is why most South American countries speak Spanish, while Brazil speaks Portuguese. The Portuguese officer stationed in Brazil wanted to bring Guiana's coffee beans to Brazil (exporting coffee to other countries was then strictly prohibited), so he won the affection of the Guiana governor's wife and successfully brought coffee seeds into Brazil. From then on, coffee rapidly adapted in Brazil, spreading from the north to the southeastern state of São Paulo. By 1845, Brazilian coffee beans already accounted for 45% of the world's total coffee beans.

Currently, Brazil is the world's number one coffee exporter. Brazil's terrain is mainly divided into two parts: the Brazilian Plateau with altitudes above 500 meters, distributed in central and southern Brazil, and plains with altitudes below 200 meters, mainly distributed in the northern and western Amazon River basin.

Brazil grows both Arabica and Robusta coffee beans, with specialty Arabica coffee beans mainly planted in São Paulo and Minas Gerais states. Robusta coffee beans are mainly distributed in Espírito Santo, Bahia, Rondônia, and other states.

This "Brazilian Daily Bean" from FrontStreet Coffee comes from Minas Gerais state. Representative coffee-producing regions in Minas Gerais include Cerrado and South Minas. Both regions are high-altitude areas with rich topography, distinct wet and dry seasons, large day-night temperature differences, and abundant microclimates, suitable for cultivating flavorful Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon varieties. Since 1999, estates winning in Brazil's Cup of Excellence competitions have been most numerous in South Minas. Therefore, South Minas naturally became the main specialty coffee-producing region in Brazil.

Before 1990, Brazil almost exclusively used crude natural processing. This was the main culprit causing Brazilian beans to easily pick up earthy and woody flavors, because during the 2-3 week sun-drying process of coffee fruits, if it rained and caused moisture reabsorption or fruits were damaged, mold would grow and produce off-flavors. This problem was long criticized, severely damaging Brazilian coffee's image. Therefore, after 1990, Brazilian research institutions developed pulped natural processing based on Brazil's drier climate characteristics to shorten processing time. The process involves selecting suitable coffee fruits, removing skin, pulp, and some mucilage, then sun-drying with a small amount of mucilage for 1-3 days, followed by machine drying until moisture content reaches 12%, then placing in storage containers for aging. This processing method reduces previous inferior off-flavors in Brazilian beans while enhancing fruit aromas and sweetness. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Red Cherry coffee is also processed using the pulped natural method.

These are the seven daily beans currently offered by FrontStreet Coffee. We believe that after reading this, all coffee enthusiast friends have gained some understanding of which flavored daily beans suit their tastes. We hope the above content helps novice coffee enthusiasts understand coffee cherry knowledge to some extent.

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