Recommended Low-Acidity Pour-Over Coffee Beans - What Are the Best Coffee Beans for Rich Pour-Over Coffee?

Freshness is Essential for Pour-Over Coffee Beans

Because the "stale oil taste" of expired coffee beans can overpower every good flavor in the cup.

The Definition of Freshness

Coffee beans stored in one-way valve bags at room temperature are considered fresh within "two weeks after roasting."

Selection Methods

Choose coffee beans that are "roasted to order, allow custom roast levels, and have the roasting date printed on the bag."

Flavor & Roast Level Selection

For Those Who Love "Floral & Fruity Acidity" in Pour-Over Coffee

Choose washed beans, light roast > medium roast > medium+ roast

[Blueberry, lychee, coffee flower aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelelektu G1 Workenshall · Washed

[Coffee flower, spice, Earl Grey tea aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere G1 Banchofafate · Washed

[Citrus, roasted nuts, blackcurrant] FrontStreet Coffee · El Salvador Pirínamos Estate Pacamara · Washed

[Sweet Maria's air-shipped fine beans - Earl Grey, German chamomile tea, bergamot oil] FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AB · Washed

[Ethiopia Geisha beans - tangerine, berries, bergamot, pomelo tea, white floral] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Geisha Village Geisha Coffee Beans · Natural

[Sweet Maria's air-shipped fine beans - classic Yirgacheffe white flowers, peach aroma, citrus sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere G1 · Washed

[Vanilla, orange-lemon, white pomelo, honey sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Genlena Anbaya G1 · Washed

Organic certified & Fair trade | [Pomelo, honey sweetness, fresh green tea aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Peru Sol y Café Cooperative · Washed

Organic certified & Rainforest Alliance certified | [Floral, citrus, peach] FrontStreet Coffee · Uganda Sipi Falls · Washed

[Year 2017 Auction batch Lot1] FrontStreet Coffee · Panama La Esmeralda Auction Geisha Coffee Beans · Washed

For Those Who Love "Fruity Aroma" in Pour-Over Coffee

Choose natural or honey-processed beans, light roast > medium roast > medium+ roast

[Mango, passion fruit jam, fruit wine notes] FrontStreet Coffee · Panama 90+ Geisha Coffee Beans · Honey Process

[Floral, blueberry, rose notes] FrontStreet Coffee · Panama 90+ Geisha Coffee Beans · Natural

[Passion fruit, berries, dried mango] FrontStreet Coffee · Colombia Hacienda La Esperanza Pacamara · Natural

[Old tree deliciousness | floral, cantaloupe aroma, sugarcane sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Rasuna · Natural

[Fruit medley, strawberry, peach, red guava mixed fruit aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Biloa G1 · Natural

[Sweet Maria's air-shipped fine beans - rich dried fruits, blackberry, strawberry aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Dumerso G1 · Natural

[Blackberry, dark chocolate, lavender] FrontStreet Coffee · Panama 90+ Geisha Coffee Beans Bozéi · N2

[Grape, mixed berries, maple syrup-like aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Natural Sidamo G1 · Natural

For Those Who Love "Chocolate, Nutty, Malt Flavors" in Pour-Over Coffee

All bean types suitable, choose "medium-dark roast"

[Blueberry, lychee, coffee flower aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelelektu G1 Workenshall · Washed

[Coffee flower, spice, Earl Grey tea aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere G1 Banchofafate · Washed

[Citrus, roasted nuts, blackcurrant] FrontStreet Coffee · El Salvador Pirínamos Estate Pacamara · Washed

[Passion fruit, berries, dried mango] FrontStreet Coffee · Colombia Hacienda La Esperanza Pacamara · Natural

[Old tree deliciousness | floral, cantaloupe aroma, sugarcane sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Rasuna · Natural

[Authentic PAWANI | grass jelly, rich fresh cream, caramel sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia PWN Gold Mandheling · Wet-Hulled

[Sweet Maria's air-shipped fine beans - Earl Grey, German chamomile tea, bergamot oil] FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AB · Washed

Organic certified & Fair trade | [Cedar, fir, caramel & cocoa aftertaste] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Takengon Serlo Ati Cooperative · Wet-Hulled

[Ethiopia Geisha beans - tangerine, berries, bergamot, pomelo tea, white floral] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Geisha Village Geisha Coffee Beans · Natural

[Fruit medley, strawberry, peach, red guava mixed fruit aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Biloa G1 · Natural

For Those Who Love "Woody Aroma, Non-Acidic & Slightly Bitter" Flavors in Pour-Over Coffee

All bean types suitable, choose "dark roast"

[Blueberry, lychee, coffee flower aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelelektu G1 Workenshall · Washed

[Coffee flower, spice, Earl Grey tea aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere G1 Banchofafate · Washed

[Citrus, roasted nuts, blackcurrant] FrontStreet Coffee · El Salvador Pirínamos Estate Pacamara · Washed

[Passion fruit, berries, dried mango] FrontStreet Coffee · Colombia Hacienda La Esperanza Pacamara · Natural

[Old tree deliciousness | floral, cantaloupe aroma, sugarcane sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Rasuna · Natural

[Authentic PAWANI | grass jelly, rich fresh cream, caramel sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia PWN Gold Mandheling · Wet-Hulled

[Sweet Maria's air-shipped fine beans - Earl Grey, German chamomile tea, bergamot oil] FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AB · Washed

Organic certified & Fair trade | [Cedar, fir, caramel & cocoa aftertaste] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Takengon Serlo Ati Cooperative · Wet-Hulled

[Ethiopia Geisha beans - tangerine, berries, bergamot, pomelo tea, white floral] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Geisha Village Geisha Coffee Beans · Natural

[Fruit medley, strawberry, peach, red guava mixed fruit aroma] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Biloa G1 · Natural

Non-Acidic Pour-Over Coffee Bean Recommendations

"Monsooned beans" paired with various roast levels are not acidic, followed by "wet-hulled beans" paired with medium-dark and dark roast levels that are also not acidic.

[Authentic PAWANI | grass jelly, rich fresh cream, caramel sweetness] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia PWN Gold Mandheling · Wet-Hulled

Organic certified & Fair trade | [Cedar, fir, caramel & cocoa aftertaste] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Takengon Serlo Ati Cooperative · Wet-Hulled

[Malty flavor, strong tea-like sensation] FrontStreet Coffee · India Monsooned Malabar AA · Monsooned

[Indonesia's national treasure. "Rich" grass jelly flavor] FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Lintong Mandheling · Wet-Hulled

[Low-caffeine coffee beans] FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Shakisso · Low-caffeine beans

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Whichever flavor direction you pick from the lists above, roast level and freshness do most of the work, and flavor category comes next. If your taste runs to the "floral and fruity acidity" group that opens this guide, the reference bean at FrontStreet is FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe, the classic everyday washed Yirgacheffe that most drinkers meet first and the first specialty bean for many home brewers. Expect white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like finish.

Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Sidama zone of southern Ethiopia, at roughly 1700-2100 meters, with coffee trees planted above 1800 meters, among the highest coffee-growing regions in the world. Its white florals and lemon-citrus acidity are so recognizable that the name has become shorthand for a whole style of Ethiopian coffee. If you prefer more fruit and less acidity, FrontStreet Coffee Natural Yirgacheffe Red Cherry is dried with the fruit on, giving it the typical Yirgacheffe character plus tropical fruit, berry-juice body, honeyed sweetness and a creamy texture, and it takes a slightly darker roast especially well.

Whatever you choose, buy it roasted to order with the roast date marked on the bag and brew it within two weeks, which is the one rule that matters more than any of the flavor notes above.