Coffee Bean Beginner Guide_Introduction to the Three Famous Coffee Beans in the World_Coffee Beans Beginner Zhihu

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What Are Coffee Beans?

Coffee beans are the seeds that grow on coffee trees, and their flavor varies with the region where they are grown. The factors that shape flavor include the variety of the tree, the soil, the climate and altitude of the plantation, the care taken at harvest, and the way the beans are processed. These elements differ from place to place, and roasters and blenders look for the distinctive character of each origin to build their own flavor profiles. That is how you find the coffee of your dreams.

After harvest and before going to market, the outer skin, pulp, parchment, and silver skin must all be removed. Beans are then processed by either the washed or the dry method. Coffee beans range in color from light to dark. Under a dark roast the beans crack open, doubling in volume while losing nearly a quarter of their weight.

Washed Method (Wet Method)

Advantages: good luster, fewer foreign impurities, slightly brighter acidity. Used in Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala.

Disadvantages: poor timing during processing can produce off-odors and an odd acidity.

Natural Dry Method (Dry Method)

Advantages: soft acidity and balanced bitterness. Used in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Yemen.

Disadvantages: vulnerable to weather, with a greater chance of defective beans and foreign matter getting mixed in.

Coffee Bean Grades

1. Bean Formation

A coffee fruit normally holds two oval seeds facing each other; the side where they meet is flat, so these are called flat beans. Some fruits, however, contain a single round seed, known as a peaberry, which tastes no different from a regular bean.

2. Altitude

Coffee is graded by growing altitude (typically into 3, 4, or 7 grades). In general, high-altitude beans are of better quality than low-altitude beans, and because of higher shipping costs they also command higher prices.

Grade Classifications:

• Premium beans: 1,500+ meters
• High-quality beans: 1,200-1,500 meters
• Medium-quality beans: 1,000-1,200 meters
• Premium washed beans: 900-1,000 meters
• High-quality washed beans: 760-900 meters
• Excellent washed beans: 610-760 meters
• Good washed beans: below 610 meters

3. Quality

Quality is determined by tallying the types and numbers of impurities in a sample into a percentage, known as the "defect count." The lower the defect count, the higher the quality.

The World's Three Most Famous Coffee Beans

1. Blue Mountain Coffee

Jamaica's Blue Mountain region produces three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans.

Blue Mountain Coffee is mellow, with a sweetness woven through its bitterness and a smooth, pleasing taste. It carries a light acidity that sharpens the palate, letting you appreciate its distinctive character. It is often regarded as the pinnacle of coffee.

2. Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is one of the world's most expensive coffees. "Kopi Luwak" is a nickname: "kopi" means coffee in Indonesian, while "luwak" refers to the civet, a wild animal. The brewed coffee has a thickness comparable to syrup, a truly "exclusive" aroma, and leaves a faint menthol-like coolness in the mouth.

3. Cubita

Produced exclusively in Cuba's Crystal Mountain, Cubita holds a high reputation in the coffee world and ranks among the best in the world. Crystal Mountain is geographically close to Jamaica's Blue Mountains, with similar climate conditions, which makes it comparable to Jamaican Blue Mountain. Cubita follows a principle of perfect coffee, producing only single-origin coffee. The beans are hand-harvested, and washed processing safeguards quality. Cubita is like an elegant princess—noble, gentle, and graceful. Its balance is excellent, with bitterness and acidity in harmony, delivering a delicate, smooth, refreshing, and elegant experience. The designated coffee of the Cuban Embassy, it is known as a unique Caribbean-style coffee.

Beginner Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted beginner coffee beans—such as Yirgacheffe coffee, Panama Butterfly coffee, and Indonesian Mandheling coffee—offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they deliver outstanding value. A half-pound (227 g) package costs only around 80-90 RMB. At 15 g per pour-over, one package makes 15 cups, which works out to about 6 RMB per cup of single-origin coffee. Compared with coffee shops that charge dozens of RMB a cup, that is exceptional value.

FrontStreet Coffee: a roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a wide range of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known coffees. Online shop service: https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A great first step into Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, is the FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon. Pulled natural (semi-washed) from the well-known Cerrado region and medium roasted, it shows the creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut aromas that make Brazilian coffee so approachable, with a rounded body, little acidity, and a gentle bitterness. It works equally well as a pour-over or in a moka pot, espresso, siphon, or French press.

If you want to go a little deeper, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate coffee comes from Mogiana, where the fertile red volcanic soil builds fuller aromas. Its rare Yellow Bourbon—a natural mutation of Red Bourbon—gives a cleaner fruit character, with a sugarcane sweetness, fruit, and chocolate notes you will not find in other origins. Both are excellent entry points to the world's three famous beans and beyond.