What Coffee Beans are Best for Pour-Over Coffee and Types of Premium Coffee Beans Suitable for Pour-Over Brewing

Some people might ask what kind of coffee beans are best for pour-over, or whether any beans can be used for pour-over. In fact, FrontStreet Coffee believes that any beans can be used for pour-over—the question of whether it tastes good depends on the freshness of the beans and the details of the pour-over technique. Perhaps more people want to ask: what kind of flavor profile do I personally prefer from coffee beans?

There are many types of coffee beans in the world, but which flavor profile suits your taste? For some coffee beginners, this might not be entirely clear, while experienced coffee enthusiasts undoubtedly know what flavors they prefer and have considerable knowledge about coffee. Coffee is mainly divided into three major growing regions with distinct flavor profiles: African coffee beans are characterized by floral and fruity acidity notes, which can be described as acidic; American beans feature mainly nutty, chocolate, and caramel notes, with balance as the primary characteristic—neither too acidic nor too bitter; Asian beans are predominantly herbal, piney, and nutty in character, which can be described as bitter. With this broad categorization, you can generally determine what kind of flavors you prefer.

FrontStreet Coffee offers coffee beans from all three major growing regions, and we've selected the most representative coffee beans from each region as our daily coffee beans, offering excellent value and wonderful flavors. This allows coffee enthusiasts to better explore their preferred flavor profiles through FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee series, and then select more specific specialty coffees from those regions. Coffee lovers' passion and pursuit have evolved beyond simply enjoying espresso in cafés—they now seek single-origin black coffee more than ever.

Ethiopia

The most representative coffee from Africa comes from Ethiopia, with its jasmine fragrance, lemon acidity, and berry notes that are exceptionally fresh and bright, leaving an endless aftertaste. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and each region produces coffee with distinct flavors. The most representative Ethiopian regions are Yirgacheffe and Sidamo. FrontStreet Coffee's menu features FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yirgacheffe and FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Guji, which are representative coffees from these regions.

Yirgacheffe was originally a sub-region within the Sidamo region. However, due to the distinctive production methods and outstanding flavor profile of coffee beans from Yirgacheffe town, Ethiopia took great pride in this and even named beans from other regions after Yirgacheffe. Consequently, Yirgacheffe was separated from the Sidamo region to establish its own identity.

The characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe need no elaboration—its uplifting fruit acidity, clean mouthfeel, and delicate, elegant floral notes. In the book "Specialty Coffee Studies" by teacher Han Huaizong, FrontStreet Coffee greatly appreciates the description: "When coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom."

Currently, the most attention-grabbing coffee bean from the Sidamo region is undoubtedly FrontStreet Coffee's Hambela Guji, with its wonderful strawberry and cream flavors. This coffee bean made a stunning debut at the Ethiopia Cup of Excellence (TOH) competition in 2017, breaking Geisha's monopoly in brewing competitions and becoming the only coffee capable of competing with it.

The flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Guji coffee is like entering a world of fruits—berries, jackfruit, mango, honey, and more, making it exceptionally sweet and fragrant.

African Kenya Coffee

Kenyan coffee is considered divine by many coffee connoisseurs—a gem of Africa. The original coffee varieties introduced to Kenya were Bourbon and Kent from India. Later, the Blue Mountain Typica variety from Jamaica was planted on Mount Elgon.

Today, Kenya's most famous coffee varieties are SL28 and SL34. These two varieties were selected, researched, and developed by Kenya's National Agricultural Laboratory (formerly the Scott Coffee Research Institute). The SL28 variety is drought and pest-resistant, suitable for cultivation in mid-to-high altitude areas. SL34 is suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas with abundant rainfall. In terms of flavor, SL28 and SL34 are very similar, but SL34 has richer acidity and a more intense mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee's Kenyan coffee has a unique blackberry acidity flavor, and the factors contributing to this characteristic include not only the phosphate-rich components in Kenya's local soil but also the famous K72 washed processing method.

K72 washed processing method: Coffee cherries are harvested and pulped for fermentation. After 24 hours of fermentation, they are washed clean with water. They undergo soaking fermentation for 24 hours, then washed again with water. This process is repeated three times, achieving 72 hours of strong fermentation. FrontStreet Coffee's Kenyan Asalia coffee beans use the K72 washed processing method, resulting in brighter, cleaner flavors.

American Beans

Brazil Coffee

Brazil is the world's largest coffee-producing country. Coffee cultivation in Brazil began over 300 years ago. In the 1720s, a Portuguese captain in Brazil used his charm to win the favor of the wife of the governor of French Guiana in Cayenne, successfully bringing coffee seeds to Brazil. Due to Brazil's lower cultivation altitude, between 400 to 1600 meters, coupled with the extensive use of sun cultivation in Brazilian coffee farming, coffee cherries absorb sufficient heat to mature early. This results in Brazilian coffee beans having low density, soft texture, and a characteristic "soft bean" flavor profile, creating a stark contrast with African coffee beans in terms of flavor.

The flavor profile of FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Cerrado coffee beans: low acidity, heavy nutty notes, excellent chocolate sweetness and body, with slight woody and earthy notes, while floral and citrus notes are not prominent.

If you ask FrontStreet Coffee which coffee isn't acidic, FrontStreet Coffee's barista would typically recommend Brazilian coffee first. This is because Brazilian coffee is relatively mild, making it less likely to encounter the wild, assertive acidity and citrus notes found in African beans.

Colombia

Colombian coffee is one of the few single-origin coffees sold under a country's name and is also the largest producer of washed Arabica coffee. Those familiar with Colombia's "Four Treasures" know that coffee is one of them. Colombia has a mild climate, humid air, and diverse weather patterns that make harvesting possible year-round, with different types of coffee from various regions maturing at different times. Colombian coffee has unique quality, rich flavor, and endless aftertaste, making it truly a specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee series includes FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Huilan coffee beans. Huilan is Colombia's most famous specialty coffee region, surrounded by mountains with cultivation altitude above 1500 meters. The most important rivers in Colombia converge here, bringing abundant water vapor and water resources. Coffee flavors here are mainly characterized by gentle floral notes and fruit acidity. However, with the advancement of specialty coffee, Colombian coffee processing methods have diversified, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Rose Valley coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Flower Moon Night coffee, featuring floral, berry, and fermentation notes.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's coffee is representative of "sweet as honey," mainly because Costa Rican coffee beans are famous for their honey processing method. Costa Rica's coffee-growing altitude is high, with significant day-night temperature differences, and the surrounding area is covered with fertile volcanic soil, enabling Costa Rica to produce Strictly Hard Beans (SHB grade), giving Costa Rican coffee ample sweetness.

Coffees like FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mozart, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Bahia, and FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mirasu Strawberry Sugar, processed using the raisin honey method, offer raisin and blueberry sweetness with osmanthus and rose fragrances.

Panama Coffee

Panama coffee became famous because of Geisha. Geisha became famous because of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, which is both the discoverer and promoter of Geisha.

Geisha varieties entered Panama in the 1960s but remained relatively unknown for over 40 years until finally winning first place at the Best of Panama (BOP) in 2004, becoming world-renowned and regarded as a supreme treasure in the eyes of many specialty coffee enthusiasts. The delicate and elegant flavor of Geisha varieties originates from specific growing environments. Geisha varieties are very particular about growing conditions: high altitude, shade cultivation, and fertile soil. These factors contribute to Geisha coffee's distinct floral notes and delicate, elegant fruit acidity. Such elegant flavors are one reason for its global popularity. Hacienda La Esmeralda is located in the Boquete region, which besides La Esmeralda, has many other famous estates: such as Elida Estate and Kotowa Duncan Estate, all renowned for producing high-quality specialty coffees.

On FrontStreet Coffee's menu, you'll find both FrontStreet Coffee's Panama La Esmeralda Geisha coffee and FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Geisha coffee. To help everyone better experience the flavor of Geisha coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has specifically included FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Geisha in our daily coffee series.

Guatemala

Guatemalan coffee naturally has a smoky quality, which might be the first thing that comes to mind for some coffee connoisseurs. Gentle acidity and balanced mouthfeel are characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemalan coffee, and also typical of Central American coffee. The Huehuetenango region is surrounded by three volcanoes, providing rich minerals to the soil. The altitude here can even exceed 2000 meters, producing coffee with rich fruit flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee offers Guatemalan Huehuetenango coffee and Guatemalan Flower Goddess coffee, with flavors mainly featuring berries, florals, sweet oranges, and nutty notes.

Asian Beans

Indonesian Coffee

Although Indonesia's civet coffee is famous, the more widely accepted and representative coffee is FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee is mainly produced in the Sumatra region of Indonesia. FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee has a rich and intense flavor profile with a distinctive character. This unique flavor is related to the local coffee bean processing method because Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia with abundant year-round rainfall and shorter sunshine hours compared to Ethiopia and Brazil. Using natural processing can easily produce fermented or moldy beans. Additionally, local economic conditions are limited, and washed processing requires large amounts of water. Therefore, Indonesian Mandheling often uses a local semi-washed method, known as Wet Hulling.

Wet Hulling

The wet hulling process: Coffee cherries are pulped and soaked in water for 1-2 hours, then rubbed against each other to remove some mucilage and undergo first drying, at which point the coffee bean moisture content drops to 20-35%. Coffee beans with unconsolidated mucilage are collected and sent to the processing plant for second drying. This step reduces the coffee bean's moisture content to about 18%. After the second drying is complete, the parchment layer is removed, and final drying is performed until reaching 11% moisture content.

Teacher Han Huaizong once described the flavor characteristics of wet-hulled coffee beans in his book: "This is also a rare processing method in the world, which accidentally created Mandheling's special low-acidity, thick, and mellow flavor profile."

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Lintong Mandheling from our daily coffee series has a very rich flavor, but FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is more aromatic and clean, with cleaner herbal notes.

China Yunnan Coffee

In China, tea has a thousand-year longer history than coffee, and the circulation history of coffee in China can be traced back to 1870. The cultivation history of Yunnan coffee in China is controversial—one theory says 1902, another says 1892, and yet another says 1904. Yunnan's initial coffee cultivation varieties were Typica, but with opening policies, international brands like Starbucks and Nestlé entered Yunnan, promoting the planting of disease-resistant, high-yield but less flavorful Catimor varieties. Over time, Yunnan's small-bean coffee evolved from the former Typica varieties to today's Catimor varieties.

Yunnan's coffee cultivation areas are mainly distributed in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province: Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong. Lincang borders Pu'er to the east, Dali to the north, connects to Baoshan to the west, and links with Myanmar to the southwest, with average annual temperatures between 16.8°C and 17.2°C. Dry and wet seasons are distinct, with ample sunshine.

In 2013, FrontStreet Coffee began coffee cultivation in Lincang, Yunnan. Unlike most varieties planted in Yunnan, FrontStreet Coffee planted Yunnan's ancient superior variety—Typica. In 2021, FrontStreet Coffee launched our first self-produced Yunnan coffee bean, named FrontStreet Coffee 2013.

The above introduction covers FrontStreet Coffee's representative coffees from various major growing regions and our daily coffee beans. Knowing this basic information, you can generally determine what flavor profile you prefer. Of course, all these coffee beans can be used for pour-over. Pour-over coffee beans are typically light or medium roast, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemalan coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rican coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan small-bean coffee, etc. Some are also dark roast, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee, and FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian coffee. Brazilian coffee, due to its lower altitude and balanced flavor, is often chosen as a base bean for espresso blends.

Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee believes that if you want to brew a good cup of pour-over coffee, besides understanding the basic characteristics of coffee beans, you must also be familiar with the details of pour-over technique. However, even for the same person, each brew won't taste exactly the same. Here are some small details FrontStreet Coffee reminds everyone about:

Water Quality

Up to 98.5% of a pour-over coffee is water, so to make a delicious pour-over coffee, the first step is managing water quality. In our daily pour-over coffee brewing, we try to avoid using tap water directly and recommend using filtered water or mineral water with appropriate mineral content. Water temperature is also very important—depending on the characteristics of different coffee beans, water temperature generally ranges from 88°C to 91°C.

Grind Size

Grinding coffee beans into coffee powder is the first and crucial step in pour-over coffee. If ground too fine or too coarse, it will directly affect the resulting flavor and mouthfeel.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio is also a very critical factor in pour-over coffee. Different ratios will greatly affect the flavor expression of the coffee. FrontStreet Coffee recommends a coffee-to-water ratio between 1:15 to 1:16 for pour-over coffee.

Dripper

Through multiple brewing experiments and repeated testing, FrontStreet Coffee found that different drippers show significant differences in expressing coffee flavors, acidity, sweetness, body, and cleanliness. If you're brewing light roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a V60 dripper; if brewing dark roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a Kono dripper.

With more practice, you can definitely brew that delicious cup of coffee you love.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor, so all coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer receives the freshest coffee when they receive their order. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds you: coffee beans that are pre-ground don't need a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging can help round out the coffee flavor, so you can brew and drink it immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly because it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding them fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473