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Finding Your Perfect Coffee: A Beginner's Guide

When it comes to choosing coffee, are you just starting out or still hesitant to step into the world of coffee? Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the dazzling array of coffee beans on the market, unsure where to begin?

If you haven't yet developed a systematic understanding of coffee and tend to struggle with decision-making, why not follow our guide and start with these fundamental questions to better understand your preferences?

Black Coffee or Milk Coffee?

Many people are accustomed to drinking coffee with milk, while the trend of enjoying specialty black coffee is rapidly growing. It's time to choose your side!

If you prefer coffee with milk, it's more suitable to brew stronger coffee using an espresso machine or moka pot, making espresso coffee beans the ideal choice.

For black coffee enthusiasts, pour-over drip coffee, siphon brewers, and similar tools work best, making single-origin coffee beans the preferred option. Of course, some friends also choose to drink espresso directly without adding milk.

Fruity Acidity or Rich Bitterness?

Different coffees offer vastly different flavors—how could they possibly be summarized in a single word? However, for beginners, the most intuitive distinction might be the two different taste tendencies: "acidity" and "bitterness."

Many people say, "I don't like acidity in coffee"—but acidity is actually one of the important characteristics of high-quality coffee. Those who dislike coffee acidity often haven't experienced quality acidity. Premium bean varieties like Yirgacheffe and Kenya both have pronounced acidity. These beans are typically roasted to light or medium levels, which allows for more delicate coffee layers and distinct, clear flavor characteristics.

If you only enjoy rich, bitter flavors and firmly reject acidity, we won't stand in your way. Mandheling-style coffees, known for their mellow flavor and low acidity, have always been popular in the market. These coffees are usually roasted darker, making the sweet-bitter taste more pronounced with a rich, thick texture.

Of course, there are also beans with balanced flavors, maintaining a good balance between bitterness and acidity. These beans are typically medium-roasted and tend to be easily accepted by most people.

Fresh or Not Fresh?

Regardless of the bean variety, freshness is non-negotiable. Coffee beans can have a long shelf life, but the optimal tasting period is about one month. After that, as time passes, the flavors slowly diminish... Therefore, always choose coffee beans with recent roast dates.

Pre-ground coffee is not recommended—for a discerning barista, coffee begins to lose its aroma just 40 seconds after grinding. Even for the most forgiving barista, if coffee has been ground for half an hour, its aroma has already significantly deteriorated. Therefore, we recommend buying fresh coffee beans and grinding them yourself before brewing.

There's one exception—if you're in the office or traveling and find it inconvenient to grind fresh, you can choose relatively fresh drip bag coffee. With double-layer sealed packaging, these bags allow you to enjoy aromatic coffee anytime, anywhere without the hassle of carrying a lot of brewing equipment.

This Origin or That Origin?

Most specialty coffees can be traced back to their original origin or even specific estates. Having origin information doesn't guarantee quality beans, and judging beans solely by country isn't entirely accurate, but origin can still provide valuable reference information.

For example, Kenyan coffees from Africa often have distinct fruit notes, Guatemalan coffees from South America are typically mellow with a slightly wild character, Indonesian Mandheling coffees tend to be low-acidity and mellow, while Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffees often have pronounced flavor characteristics.

Blend or Single Origin?

Single coffee beans often lack the complex flavors necessary to brew a delicious cup of coffee. Many blended coffees contain three to seven different types of coffee beans. Master roasters understand the characteristics of each coffee bean and artistically combine them to create desired new flavors. The knowledge master roasters use to blend coffee beans could be considered the industry's highest secret.

In the United States, 100% Arabica coffee beans are used to create the finest blended coffees. In Italy, some Robusta coffee beans are added to blends to increase their crema, caffeine content, and flavor complexity.

Whether to roast first or blend first has always been a point of debate among roasters. Generally, roasting each single-origin bean separately before blending allows the different flavor characteristics of each coffee to be maximized, producing the best results.

END FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. Online shop services are also available at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473