Recommended Specialty Pour-Over Coffee Brands - Flavor Profile and Taste Introduction for Single-Origin Coffee Beans

Which brands of specialty coffee beans are best for pour-over brewing? Customers often directly ask FrontStreet Coffee's baristas this question. In fact, as China's coffee market expands and the specialty coffee sector continues to grow, consumers have an increasing number of coffee brands to choose from. Opening major e-commerce platforms and searching for specialty coffee beans will reveal many coffee shops. Many platforms feature professionals who introduce their recommended specialty coffee brands, and consumers can certainly explore to find specialty coffee brands that suit their preferences or meet their quality standards.

However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that to truly qualify as a specialty coffee brand, one essential condition must be met: all coffee sold must be specialty coffee. This might sound obvious, but do you know what kind of coffee can be called "specialty coffee"? In fact, the first person to use the term "specialty" to describe coffee was Erna Knutsen, known as the "godmother of specialty coffee." In 1974, during an interview with Tea & Coffee magazine, she introduced the concept of specialty coffee to distinguish high-quality coffee beans from mediocre commercial bulk coffee beans. She emphasized that the soul of specialty coffee lies in how coffee from different regions presents distinct regional flavors due to variations in altitude, soil and water conditions, climate, processing methods, and cultivation care. However, it's worth noting that the term "specialty coffee" didn't become globally widespread until after the establishment of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

In 1982, inspired by the godmother of coffee, Ted Lingle, Donald Schoenholt, and 46 others co-founded the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). In 2009, the definition of specialty coffee was refined: only coffee scoring 80 points or above in cupping can be called specialty coffee. As for how scoring works, you can find information on this website or our official WeChat account: FrontStreet Coffee.

Today, many coffee shops or coffee bean brands are trending toward single-origin coffee, but FrontStreet Coffee believes that single-origin merely indicates transparent and traceable coffee regions, which is insufficient as a guarantee of high-quality coffee. Specialty coffee, on the other hand, emphasizes both the impact of coffee's origin on coffee cultivation and the coffee's flavor and taste characteristics.

The above is just the introduction to specialty coffee brands. To build a successful brand, FrontStreet Coffee believes that shops that can guide consumers and bring them tangible benefits can survive in the market or gain public popularity. FrontStreet Coffee was established in 2013, which means it has eight years of history. Through eight years of accumulation, FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu has continuously expanded to now include over 50 types of single-origin coffee beans. This ensures that every customer can find coffee beans that suit their taste preferences on FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu. However, more isn't always better. FrontStreet Coffee believes that too many choices can intimidate coffee beginners, and excessive information input can actually prevent consumers from finding truly suitable coffee beans. Therefore, each coffee bean selected by FrontStreet Coffee represents the classic flavors of its region or has special significance.

Fresh roasting is also FrontStreet Coffee's main promotional point. Even coffee beginners should know that fresh roasting is very important for coffee beans. After roasting, coffee beans release gases like carbon dioxide produced during the roasting process for a period of time. When this release reaches a certain point, the coffee flavor peaks, and at this moment, the coffee tastes best. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee pursues fresh roasting vigorously. Generally, after customers place orders on Taobao, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters will roast the beans the same day and ship them the same day. This ensures that the roasting date doesn't exceed 5 days when the coffee reaches customers' hands.

Everyone should realize that there are thousands of high-quality coffee beans, but the one that suits you best is the best. Some coffee enthusiasts seek coffee beans with floral and fruit aromas, while others pursue fermented, wine-like notes, and some prefer traditional, rich coffee flavors. For different consumer groups, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce 10 coffee beans here.

First, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce an entry-level coffee bean for coffee enthusiasts: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe. It should be noted that many coffee beans are named after their region, location, estate, or variety. Yirgacheffe is no exception—it's an administrative center area in the Sidamo province of Ethiopia. Because the coffee flavors here clearly show strong terroir characteristics, this area was separately designated as the Yirgacheffe region. Here, the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union was established, which currently has 28 cooperatives with over 45,100 farmers. FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce the four Yirgacheffe varieties currently available in our stores: FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry, FrontStreet Coffee's Gedeb, FrontStreet Coffee's Worka, and FrontStreet Coffee's Konga.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry

In 2007, the Dutch trading company Trabocca launched the Red Cherry Project, aiming to incentivize coffee farmers to produce the highest quality coffee and reward these farmers' efforts, whether using washed, semi-washed, sundried, or semi-sundried processing methods. (Approximately 1,500 to 3,000 kilograms) of coffee, with batches carefully hand-picked from 100% mature red coffee cherries (hence the name Red Cherry Project). FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry participates in this program, and the raw bean quality is excellent. It has citrus and berry flavors with some fermented fruit notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gedeb

Gedeb Cooperative, located in the Worka region at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe, was originally part of the Worka Cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Union. However, as people pursued traceability of coffee raw beans, independent "single-origin" regions were gradually discovered, and Gedeb Cooperative became independent. Gedeb Cooperative was one of the first village areas to be independently processed, and many small farmers are also members of the Worka Cooperative, so their coffee production techniques are unquestionable. Gedeb Cooperative is known as the last pure land of Yirgacheffe, so it also adopts very traditional raw bean processing methods.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Worka

Worka Cooperative was established in 2005 and joined the famous Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) the same year, known for producing high-quality natural Yirgacheffe coffee. Worka Cooperative has about 300 coffee farmers. FrontStreet Coffee's Worka coffee has lemon acidity, jasmine floral aroma, with a faint red tea aftertaste and sugarcane sweetness in the finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Konga

Konga Cooperative was established in 1994 and joined the YCFCU in 2002. These small coffee farmers have an average coffee cultivation area of less than 1.25 hectares, at altitudes between 1800-2000 meters. The quality of the raw coffee beans is very high. When FrontStreet Coffee cupped this FrontStreet Coffee's Konga coffee, we were deeply impressed. The dry aroma has a faint white floral scent, with distinct berry notes at high temperatures. As it cools, the citrus acidity gradually becomes brighter. Meanwhile, the washed processing makes this coffee clean and smooth, with flavors resembling fruit tea at lower temperatures.

Sweet Coffee Recommendations

Friends who like sweet coffee beans should also look here. Honey processing is a method of harvesting and sorting coffee cherries. Like other coffees, their skin and pulp are removed, but then they're dried rather than washing away the mucilage layer. Therefore, there's less fermentation, and less sugar in the beans converts to acid. Costa Rican honey-processed coffees are quite common. Here are two types we'd like to introduce:

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Blueberry

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Blueberry is a coffee bean that FrontStreet Coffee has been vigorously promoting recently. Rose floral aroma accompanies the sweetness and flavor of blueberry candy, with distinct fermented notes and a cool minty finish that's quite intoxicating. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, this FrontStreet Coffee's Blueberry coffee grows in the Brunca region of Costa Rica, where the environment is very suitable for coffee cultivation: abundant rainfall, fertile volcanic soil, and an average altitude of 1700-1800 meters. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee's honey-processed coffee beans include FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Musician Series.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation: FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Mozart

This is one of the coffee beans in FrontStreet Coffee's Musician Series. This coffee comes from the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica. Costa Rican coffee mainly has 8 major growing regions, and this coffee is grown within the Canet Estate. It has complex floral aromas with subtle fragrances, raisin sweetness, and berry notes that make this coffee popular with many customers. Of course, the other FrontStreet Coffee's Musician Series coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee has acquired are similar, and everyone can try them to find the differences between these three.

Traditional Flavor Recommendations

For those who prefer traditional coffee flavors, the next two beans are good news for strong flavor enthusiasts. Everyone knows that Chinese coffee culture has been most deeply influenced by traditional Japanese coffee, which favors dark-roasted coffee. Although light-roasted coffee with more flavor expression hasn't been popular in China for very long, it quickly captured nearly half of the coffee market. Currently, almost all young consumers who come to FrontStreet Coffee prefer light-roasted coffee beans with more flavors. If you're an exception, definitely don't miss the FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu. Compared to other Mandheling coffees, FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling has a stronger aftertaste and sugarcane aroma.

But did you know? Not all Mandheling can be called Golden Mandheling—only Mandheling purchased by PWN company can be called authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling. How can you prove that the Golden Mandheling you purchased is genuine? FrontStreet Coffee offers two methods here:

Ask the seller for two things: the PWN logo from the coffee bag and the PWN Golden Mandheling factory certificate.

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas believe that FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling has high-quality herbal notes, more prominent caramel sweetness, and more stable and elegant fruit acidity. Rich sweetness, full body, and wild spice flavors. Generally, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling is best roasted until after the second crack to reduce off-flavors, but FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling already has good clarity and sweetness even before the second crack, allowing more room for roasting interpretation.

Mild Flavor Recommendations

If you find FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling too intense for your taste, then we recommend trying FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil coffee. The difference from Mandheling is that Brazilian coffee beans don't have the natural herbal flavors of Indonesian coffee but rather nutty flavor characteristics. However, both are low in acidity, but Brazilian coffee will show slight acidity at lower temperatures.

And if you're looking for balanced flavored coffee beans, then FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee is your perfect choice. The Blue Mountain coffee acquired by FrontStreet Coffee is FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans from Jamaica's Blue Mountain Clifton Estate. The flavor is elegant, with very balanced sweet, sour, and bitter notes. However, for many coffee enthusiasts, the price of 158 yuan for 100 grams might be a bit unfriendly. But don't worry—FrontStreet Coffee has prepared FrontStreet Coffee's Paradise Bird coffee beans, known as the "Little Blue Mountain." This coffee comes from Papua New Guinea, and FrontStreet Coffee's price is 88 yuan for 227 grams. Like FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee, it belongs to the Typica coffee variety, but it has slightly higher acidity than Blue Mountain coffee, though it still has that palate-coating feeling and sufficient body.

The above is just FrontStreet Coffee's selection and recommendation of the ten most suitable and popular single-origin coffees based on regional flavors. We hope this can help you get started with specialty coffee and enjoy delicious coffee that suits your taste preferences.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473