Choosing Pour-Over Coffee Beans Based on Personal Taste_A Detailed Introduction to Types and Flavors of Pour-Over Coffee Beans

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Choosing the Right Pour-Over Coffee Beans

The market is filled with various pour-over coffee beans. If you don't have specific coffee preferences, you'll surely be dazzled by the price list. It's recommended to first understand what kind of coffee flavor you prefer—whether it's heavy floral notes, fruity aromas, or a lighter taste—before asking shop staff for recommendations to avoid random purchases.

Advantages of Pour-Over Coffee

Compared to siphon pots or moka pots that are each suitable for specific coffee beans, the advantage of pour-over coffee is that it's not picky about coffee beans at all. Unlike moka pots which have shorter extraction times that make it difficult to taste layered flavors if your palate is less sensitive, pour-over brewing allows you to experience the pure taste, aroma, and layers of any coffee bean from any country or region.

The Importance of Fresh Grinding

However, there's an important premise to note: since coffee has an optimal tasting period, and once coffee is ground into particles or powder, the increased surface area exposure to air accelerates oxidation and causes loss of aromatic compounds. Unless you're traveling and unable to bring your complete pour-over equipment, it's recommended to always grind fresh—grind only when you're ready to drink. This is the only way to fully appreciate the wonderful flavors of coffee.

Floral Notes vs. Rich Flavors

So how do you choose coffee beans? Are there principles for selecting them? Facing various coffee varieties from around the world, few people don't get lost in the coffee map. We recommend choosing based on personal taste preferences. If you prefer heavier floral notes, you can choose Ethiopian, Guatemalan, or Panamanian coffee. Among these, the Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda on Baru Volcano in southwestern Panama offer jasmine, rose, and bergamot aromas. Drinking it cold reveals even more acidity layers and offers a unique flavor experience.

If you enjoy rich flavors, coffee beans from island nations are most suitable. Due to climate conditions that often create mist, they tend to develop more layers and aromas in coffee beans. For example, Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain, with their moderate acidity blending faint wine notes and nutty aromas, are favorites among coffee connoisseurs. As for those who prefer heavier-bodied coffee, we recommend trying Indonesian Mandheling or Peruvian coffee. Indonesian Mandheling is currently the world's only coffee processed using traditional wet-hulling methods, while the famous "Golden Mandheling" is an excellent product resulting from Japanese strict control over all processing steps.

Dark Roast vs. Light Roast

Beyond choosing coffee varieties, roast level is also important. Lighter roasts are closer to the original fruit flavor, so they have more pronounced fruit acidity and relatively stronger fruit aromas. When roasts are darker, the bitterness and intensity of the coffee become more pronounced. Medium roasts naturally fall between these two extremes. However, each coffee bean has its optimal roast level. If a particular coffee bean naturally has lemon notes, dark roasting might mask this characteristic. Therefore, it's advisable to ask shop staff more questions when purchasing.

Pour-Over Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted single-origin pour-over coffee beans offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value—a half-pound (227g) package costs around 80-90 RMB on average. Calculating based on 15g of coffee per cup, one package can make about 15 cups, with each cup costing only about 6 RMB. Compared to cafés that often charge dozens of RMB per cup, this represents excellent value for money.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473