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Cost-Effective Italian Coffee Bean Recommendations - What Coffee Beans Make Good Espresso

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). From the coffee market perspective, coffee beans are mainly divided into two categories: commercial beans and specialty coffee beans. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, of course, choose

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

From the coffee market perspective, coffee beans are mainly divided into two categories: commercial beans and specialty coffee beans. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans certainly offers greater profit margins, but the coffee flavor from commercial beans is much inferior to that of specialty coffee beans, making them suitable for espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.

Specialty Coffee Beans vs. FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Beans: Which Tastes Better and How Should Coffee Shops Choose?

Specialty Coffee Beans: Understanding Their Characteristics

The concept of specialty coffee has gradually gained popularity in recent years, and the definition of specialty coffee beans remains somewhat vague. Simply put, specialty coffee beans are high-quality green beans that have been expertly roasted to reveal the unique flavors inherent in the coffee—flavors that are exclusive to that particular bean. The roasted coffee beans are consumed within their optimal drinking period.

Characteristics of Delicious Specialty Coffee Beans:

1. Specialty coffee beans must be defect-free, high-quality beans.

2. Specialty coffee beans must be excellent varieties that produce coffee with unique aromas and flavors—beans with personality. For example, Brazil offers chocolate flavors, while Yirgacheffe presents citrus notes.

3. Specialty coffee beans have higher requirements for growing conditions. They typically grow at altitudes of 1,500 meters or even 2,000 meters above sea level, with suitable precipitation, sunlight, temperature, and soil conditions. For instance, the volcanic ash soil in Antigua, Guatemala provides ideal conditions for growing specialty coffee.

4. The harvesting method for specialty coffee beans is preferably manual picking.

5. Specialty coffee beans are processed using refined methods. Careful washed and natural processing, along with various sophisticated green bean processing techniques, create coffee with "layered," "fruity acidic," "sweet," and "mellow" flavors.

6. Specialty coffee has strict grading systems. Through rigorous grading processes, quality uniformity is ensured. Furthermore, protection during storage and transportation is crucial—such as controlling temperature and humidity, ventilation, and preventing absorption of foreign odors. If these aspects are not properly managed, even the highest-grade beans will lose their specialty status.

FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Blend Beans: Delicious Characteristics

Commercial beans generally refer to coffee beans of lower quality with higher defect rates. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans certainly offers greater profit margins. Large-scale, batch-produced and packaged coffees are typically commercial beans.

In terms of individual bean flavor, coffee made from commercial beans is much inferior to that from specialty coffee beans. Commercial beans are typically used for blends, and through proper blending, can produce coffee with excellent taste.

These commercial coffee beans are generally cheaper in price. Both the green beans and roasting techniques are typically produced according to batch processing standards. The biggest difference between specialty and commercial coffee beans lies in quality and price. Specialty coffee beans might cost 90 yuan per pound, while commercial beans can be as low as 40-50 yuan per pound.

How Should Coffee Shops Choose Espresso Blend Coffee Beans?

Overall, the choice of coffee beans depends on the coffee shop's positioning. If your coffee shop prioritizes cost control and typically serves espresso-based drinks, commercial beans are generally used. If you focus on specialty coffee and want to provide authentic freshly ground coffee for customers, then specialty coffee beans are the best choice. Common varieties include Brazil, Colombia, Blue Mountain, Yirgacheffe, and Mandheling.

Recommended Delicious Espresso Blend Coffee Beans

Coffee made from a mixture of coffee beans from various origins, where roasters simultaneously roast two to four different types of coffee beans from different growing regions and countries, with each coffee roasted using different methods.

To create your favorite coffee flavor, they are blended according to different ratios (roasting and mixing). Coffee is a natural product from plants, making it a living, constantly changing thing. Each time you roast coffee, you must also taste its flavor. Mixing 2-3 different coffee beans to achieve balanced, delicious flavors is truly a technical skill.

Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil: Chocolate, nuts, caramel

Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda: Sweet, acidic, nuts, lemon notes, sometimes astringent acidity

India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea: Herbal, spicy, salty

The industry typically uses lower-acidity blend coffees, such as Vietnam Robusta, Brazil, Yunnan, Mandheling, Guatemala, and other commercial-grade beans for blending. Espresso coffee beans are usually dark or medium-dark roasted, producing good crema and making them suitable for espresso, lattes, and other milk-based drinks.

An ideal espresso should achieve balance among all elements, with distinct flavors that leave a sweet, non-bitter aftertaste.

More specifically, it should have moderate acidity, bitterness, and sweetness, rich flavors, a solid and mellow consistency, and a long-lasting aftertaste that feels refreshingly acidic like citrus notes.

Extracting a Shot of Espresso

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Water Temperature: 93-94°C
Pressure: 9 bar
Freshly Ground Coffee: 20g (using electronic scale)
Total Coffee Weight: 40g (using electronic scale)
Brewing Time: 25-28 seconds (using timer)

Specialty Coffee Beans: Ethiopia

Ethiopia is an agricultural country with the history and tradition of being considered the birthplace of coffee. Yirgacheffe is one of the production areas in southern Sidamo, where approximately 12 million people work in coffee production, making it a major exporter of Arabica coffee beans in Africa. The high-quality coffee here is exceptional and worth seeking. It has a soft mouthfeel, wild wine-like aromas, slight acidity, and is unforgettable after tasting.

If you particularly love African beans, you might easily notice that compared to Kenyan beans, Ethiopian beans are generally more varied in size and significantly less uniform. Whether Yirgacheffe or Sidamo, whether washed or natural, sometimes observing the same batch of coffee beans reveals noticeable differences in roasting color and bean size. Ethiopia has nearly 2,000 recorded coffee varieties, including 1,927 native varieties and 128 introduced varieties. So in terms of appearance alone, Ethiopian coffee varieties are like a "grand garden" with everything imaginable—long, short, thin, fat...

[FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aricha] (Natural, Light Roast) -- Light fermentation wine aroma, sweet orange, spices, honey sweetness. The Aricha processing station's natural Aricha has been rated G1 (Grade 1) by ECX, demonstrating excellence in green bean appearance, consistency, freshness, dry aroma, and flavor.

[FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Worka] (Washed, Light Roast) -- Lemon, kumquat, white grape juice. The Worka Cooperative joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, producing high-quality washed Ethiopian coffee that can achieve the highest G1 grade.

Specialty Coffee Beans: Colombia

Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of high-quality coffee, a shining gem in the global coffee landscape—a coffee land blessed by God. Arabica coffee is grown on steep slopes at elevations of 800-1,900 meters in the foothills, all hand-picked and washed processed.

Colombian coffee has balanced flavors with a smooth mouthfeel, like a gentleman among coffees—proper and respectable. Its production regions are extensive, with Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales being the most famous, collectively referred to as "MAM."

Colombia's specialty bean production areas are mainly in the south, at altitudes above 1,500 meters, including San Augustin in Huila, Popayan in Cauca, Nariño, and Tolima. These regions' products feature refined acidity and berry aromas, with caramel notes and full sweetness.

[Cauca Province] is a Colombian coffee origin-certified region with an average altitude of 1,758-2,100 meters. Eighty percent of Cauca is mountainous, and the regional soil provides ample nutrition for coffee growth. Lower nighttime temperatures and relatively higher altitudes slow the coffee's growth rhythm. Cauca region coffees have excellent acidity and renowned sweetness.

Specialty Coffee Beans: Sumatra

Sumatra Mandheling coffee cultivation began in the 18th century, with growing areas near Lake Tawar in the northern Aceh province. Today, most Sumatra coffee areas are located in the southern Lintong, Sumbul, and Takengon regions. Sumatra coffee doesn't distinguish by production area due to minimal differences between growing regions. Instead, harvesting and processing methods have a greater impact on coffee flavor. Indonesia's main coffee-producing islands include Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, with "Mandheling" from Sumatra being the most famous.

Mandheling is also known as "Sumatra Coffee." Lake Tawar in the north can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee, while the Lintong and Lake Toba areas can be called Mandheling.

It mainly comes from two production areas:

One is the Aceh region, which includes five origins: Lake Tawar, Gayo Mountain, Gayo people, Aceh Mandheling, and Takengon Mandheling.

The other is the North Sumatra region, composed of four origins: Lake Toba, Lintong, Mandailing people, and Batak people.

Mandheling is one of the world's most suitable coffee beans for dark roasting, one famous reason being that its inherent characteristics don't disappear after dark roasting. Mandheling's heavy flavor and low acidity, combined with a thick, Chinese herbal medicine-like mouthfeel, make it very popular in Asian regions. In fact, high-quality Mandheling is also very suitable for medium-light roasting, where it can showcase excellent fruit flavors.

[FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Sumatra Mandheling] (Traditional Wet Hulling, Medium-Dark Roast) -- Toast, nuts, pine, caramel, herbs. Both Lake Toba in North Sumatra and Lake Tawar in Aceh produce Mandheling coffee, known as the famous "Two Lakes, Double Mandheling." It has a wild fragrance—the unique earthy aroma of pristine forests.

[FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling Coffee] has rich, full-bodied aroma with bright, high-quality acidity, excellent balance, and sometimes nutty flavors. The mouthfeel is highly sweet, fragrant, and mellow. Flavors: toasted bread, pine, caramel, cocoa, with slight earthy notes.

Specialty Coffee Beans: Brazil

This largest coffee-producing region, with various grades and types of coffee accounting for one-third of global consumption, holds a significant place in the global coffee trading market. Although Brazil faces natural disasters several times more than other regions, its plantable area is sufficient to compensate.

The coffee varieties here are numerous, but its industrial policy focuses on mass production and low prices, so truly excellent coffees are rare. However, it makes an excellent choice for blending with other coffees.

Among the most famous is Santos coffee, which has fragrant, mellow, neutral flavors. It can be brewed directly or mixed with other coffee beans to create blend coffee—also an excellent choice.

Other Brazilian coffee types like Rio, Paraná, etc., don't require excessive care and can be mass-produced. Although their flavors are somewhat coarse, they offer good value for money. Due to distribution throughout the country and varying quality levels, Brazil has its own standards (classified by impurity content from NO.2 to NO.8, by bean size from NO.13 to NO.19, and by flavor into six grades). Almost all Arabica varieties have good quality and stable prices, with the most famous being "Brazil Santos," Cerrado, and Southern Minas—essential for both blend and single-origin coffees, familiar to the general public.

Flavor characteristics: Mild, moderate acidity and bitterness, gentle aroma.

Optimal roast level: Medium roast, medium-dark roast

Brazil's flavor profile: Comfortable bittersweet taste, extremely smooth entry; light grassy fragrance with a slightly bitter aroma; sweet, smooth, and pleasant aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Espresso Blend Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted FrontStreet Coffee espresso blend coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer excellent value for money. Take the commercial recommendation—FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Blend Coffee Beans—as an example: one 454-gram (1-pound) bag costs only about 60 yuan. Calculating based on 10g of coffee powder per espresso shot, one bag can make 45 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 1.5 yuan. Even using double shots with 20g per espresso, the cost per double shot doesn't exceed 3 yuan. Compared to certain well-known brands that charge over 100 yuan per bag, this represents a conscientious recommendation suitable for coffee shops' daily production needs.