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While browsing reviews of black coffee from various sources today, I noticed that many people are not accustomed to its taste. Many say it is bitter, yet at times they still need it; it really is a love-hate relationship. So today I am running a test to resolve that dilemma.

First, though, one clarification: when people describe black coffee as bitter, that is not quite accurate. The taste is bitterness-like, but it is not truly bitter. As children we were exposed to bitter traditional medicine so many times that we gradually built up a resistance to that taste.

If you savor it carefully, you will find that black coffee has not only a roasted aroma but also a slight acidity. That is actually fruit acidity, because coffee beans are the seed of a fruit and carry fruit acids with them. The acidity varies slightly from origin to origin, something you come to appreciate as your tasting skills develop.

Characteristics of Black Coffee

Black coffee embodies the five flavor characteristics of coffee: aroma, sweetness, richness, acidity and bitterness. It is coffee without any additions, profound, robust and intriguing, and it restores the original experience of tasting coffee.

Black coffee emphasizes the aroma of the coffee itself. Aroma is the lifeblood of coffee quality and the best expression of the production process and roasting technique. The climate of the growing area, the variety, the refining process, the harvest, storage and the appropriateness of the consuming country's roasting technique all determine the aroma of the beans.

Bitterness is the basic taste of black coffee, differing in intensity and texture. Raw beans contain only trace amounts of bitter compounds; it is the caramelization and carbonization of sugars and of some starches and fibers during roasting that create coffee's most symbolic bitterness. Black coffee also has acidity: appropriate heat exposure produces a moderate acidity that enhances flavor and makes the coffee seem more profound. The sweetness of black coffee is inseparable from its bitterness, which is why a refreshing, high-quality black coffee must have a sweet taste.

Benefits of Black Coffee

1. Refreshing and invigorating
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, clearing the mind, sharpening thinking, improving concentration and raising work efficiency.

2. Strengthening bones and muscles, supporting the waist and knees
Caffeine enables free muscle contraction, which can improve motor function.

3. Stimulating appetite and aiding digestion
Caffeine stimulates the gastrointestinal secretion of gastric acid, promotes intestinal peristalsis, aids digestion, prevents gastric prolapse and also has a rapid laxative effect.

4. Promoting urination and eliminating dampness
Caffeine supports kidney function, expels excess sodium ions from the body, increases urine output and eases abdominal bloating and edema.

5. Activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis
The linoleic acid in coffee has effects such as hemolysis, preventing thrombosis, enhancing vasoconstriction, relieving migraines and reducing the risk of stroke.

6. Calming the lungs and relieving asthma
Caffeine inhibits the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing asthma attacks.

7. Drying dampness and eliminating odors
Caffeine contains tannins, which have a strong capacity to adsorb odors. If your home has just been renovated, brewing a pot of coffee indoors will quickly remove unpleasant smells.

8. Protecting the liver and alleviating hangovers
Drinking coffee can protect the liver and ease hangovers.

9. Weight loss
A 100-gram cup of black coffee contains only 2.55 kilocalories, so a cup after a meal can effectively break down fat. The best time for coffee-induced weight loss is within 30 minutes to 1 hour after lunch and before leaving work; savoring a rich cup of unsweetened black coffee while walking can promote fat burning.

10. Improving low blood pressure
People with low blood pressure can drink a cup of black coffee each day to improve their condition.

11. Beauty and antioxidant effects
For women, black coffee also has beauty benefits; regular consumption can make you radiant. It helps prevent cancer and combat aging.

How to Make Black Coffee

There are three ways to make black coffee, giving rise to three kinds of coffee makers: traditional drip, siphon and electric.

The traditional drip maker is the most primitive method, using the simplest tools: a funnel, filter paper and a container below. It does, however, demand a high level of manual skill; handled properly, it can produce exceptionally smooth, premium-quality coffee. These makers are very inexpensive, costing only a dozen or so yuan.

Drip makers suit enthusiasts with stable hands and sensitive palates. When choosing drip equipment, note whether it has three holes or one; this matters a great deal. A three-hole drip is faster with a shorter extraction time, producing a lighter coffee, while a one-hole drip is the opposite.

Siphon brewers work on the siphon principle. Under an alcohol flame, once the water in the lower container reaches 92°C it is drawn up to the upper container holding the coffee grounds. Through soaking and stirring, the brewed coffee then returns along the same path. Because of the additional stirring, black coffee made this way has a stronger flavor, yet since it does not rely on manual control the method is relatively simple. These makers typically sell for one to two hundred yuan.

Electric coffee makers are priced similarly to siphon brewers. They use electricity to boil water for brewing. This is the simplest way to make black coffee, but because it uses boiling water the taste is slightly inferior. Electric makers are better suited to young people who want a convenient, modern lifestyle but dislike fuss. Common electric makers range from one hundred to three to five hundred yuan.

Although the traditional drip method is the simplest, it also best preserves the original flavor of the coffee. During brewing you must control water temperature, flow rate and trajectory precisely. An even flow and a circular trajectory let the coffee flavor develop naturally, so the choice of kettle and the control of the pour matter a great deal. When water meets the coffee it should keep moving in a circle, from outside to inside and inside to outside repeatedly, ensuring full contact between coffee and water. A water temperature of 92°C allows the coffee's aroma, richness, sweetness, acidity and bitterness to come through evenly and intensely. Too high a temperature scalds the coffee, leaving a sour, astringent taste; too low a temperature makes it hard to draw out the coffee's rich aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Three elements decide the final flavor of coffee and must be kept in balance during roasting: acidity, sweetness and bitterness. The darker the roast, the more bitter and full-bodied the coffee; the lighter the roast, the more acidic and delicate it becomes. So if you are after a balanced cup, the best place to start is a medium-roasted bean. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate is a good example: a yellow bourbon from Brazil, roasted medium to bring out creamy peanut, chocolate, toast and sugarcane aromas and sweetness. It can be brewed as pour-over and also works in a moka pot or an espresso machine.

If you want a sweeter medium roast, the Strawberry Candy Geisha blend is a fine first choice. More distinctive than other fruit-forward coffees, it combines two well-known Central and South American origins: a honey-processed coffee from Costa Rica and a washed Panama Geisha. To highlight the best of both, FrontStreet Coffee roasts it medium, so it shows both orange-blossom honey and a round sweetness; it suits cold brew, pour-over and espresso, and is refreshing from the first sip.

As a representative of Chinese specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's 2013 sun-dried Typica carries the authentic flavor of Yunnan small bean. To restore its balanced, gentle character, it is roasted medium, giving soft notes of nuts, brown sugar, black tea and dried apricot all at once; it works for pour-over, cold brew and American drip machines and offers outstanding value. For the classic balanced profile, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is grown from the Typica variety, and a medium roast blends its distinctive acidity, bitterness, sweetness and body into a strong, elegant character, with chocolate, roasted nut, cream and caramel flavors on entry.