What coffee variety is Elephant Bean? How is the size of Elephant Bean measured? What is the screen size of Elephant Bean?

Coffee beans are generally divided into three main categories: Arabica coffee beans, Robusta coffee beans, and Liberica coffee beans. When ranking these three coffee varieties by bean size, Liberica beans have the largest particles, followed by Robusta beans, and finally Arabica beans. Arabica beans are the best-flavored and sweetest among these three varieties, which is why FrontStreet Coffee only sells Arabica coffee beans in its store.

However, not all Arabica beans are necessarily small beans, because a mutation in the Typica variety produced a larger bean known as Elephant Bean. Its characteristic is that it is much larger than regular beans. Elephant beans are concentrated in Central American countries, with current major growing regions in Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil, and Zaire. The best elephant beans grow in Mexico and Guatemala. Overall, elephant beans have a relatively balanced flavor profile, with a rounded and smooth texture, moderate aroma, and light elegance, earning them high praise in the industry.

Compared to other coffee beans, elephant beans are an anomaly variety, with a volume 3 times larger or even more than other coffee beans. The taxonomic name for elephant beans is Maragogipe (also written as Maragogype), named after the Maragogipe district in Bahia, Brazil.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, elephant beans grown at 700-800 meters altitude have ordinary flavor without distinctive characteristics, but giant elephant beans grown above 1,500 meters altitude have a charming sweet aroma and intense fragrance. Beyond their eye-catching large appearance, giant elephant beans (Maragogype) are a variety of Typica (the original Arabica bean species); their trees, leaves, and fruits are much larger than regular Arabica beans. The fruits are full and the bean quality is hard, making it the only coffee in Central America without sharp acidity, thus earning it the reputation of "Central American Blue Mountain." It's very similar to FrontStreet Coffee's elegant Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, with sweetness in acidity and full body, becoming quite charming.

The taste of FrontStreet Coffee's giant elephant beans is similar to FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, but the price is only about 2/3 of Jamaican Blue Mountain. It's also the only elephant bean variety to have won the Cup of Excellence (COE) award in recent years, so some coffee shops sell it as Blue Mountain coffee beans.

Elephant beans have a very thick taste. High altitude plus shade cultivation results in longer fruit maturation time, fewer yields, concentrated nutrients, and naturally fully developed flavors. They are called giant elephant beans because their volume is 2-3 times larger than regular coffee beans. Therefore, the harvesting process for elephant beans is more difficult than for regular coffee beans. Because elephant bean coffee trees are taller and the coffee fruits are too large, using the common Central American wet processing method brings certain difficulties. As a result, most coffee farmers are unwilling to grow elephant beans, which leads to lower production. As scarcity drives value, the selling price is also relatively high.

FrontStreet Coffee has been committed to establishing comprehensive archives about coffee beans, so FrontStreet Coffee certainly couldn't miss this elephant bean variety. FrontStreet Coffee acquired a FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala elephant bean coffee. Because this elephant bean variety has larger coffee particles, the requirements for both roasters and roasting equipment are relatively high. This FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala elephant bean is about three times larger than regular Arabica beans. FrontStreet Coffee understands that among the many coffee-producing countries' green bean grading systems based on bean size, 17-18 screen beans are typically defined as the highest realistic grade, with few reaching above 19 screen. FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans are very large, with Indonesian Golden Mandheling already reaching above 18 screen; while elephant beans mostly reach 20 screen and above. Roasting these elephant beans is very challenging.

Roasting Techniques

Therefore, certain techniques need to be mastered during the roasting process. If the fire is too strong, the surface color might look ready for dropping, but the inside might not be fully cooked, causing astringency when tasted. It might also roast too long, becoming over-roasted and losing flavor. Mastering this truly requires some skill.

Therefore, during FrontStreet Coffee's roasting process for FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala elephant beans, FrontStreet Coffee extended the dehydration process. The heat absorption during roasting is also slower, and the Maillard reaction process is also slower. The color change point occurs at 6 minutes. In the first batch, the drop temperature was relatively high, with an entry temperature of 200°C, and the fire was also adjusted to be relatively large, gradually increasing the firepower during roasting as needed. With this operational method, the coffee's dehydration time is relatively extended, with a temperature increase rate of 6-8 degrees every thirty seconds. This avoids having some beans raw while others are over-roasted.

Brewing Method

When FrontStreet Coffee brews this FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala elephant bean coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses: Filter cup: V60, Water temperature: 90-92°C, Coffee amount: 15g, Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, Grind size: Medium grind, Brewing method:分段式萃取 (segmented extraction). Use 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of about 30 seconds. Inject 95g of water with a small water stream in circular motions around the center, segmenting at 125g of water. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue injecting water to 225g to finish. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. Extraction time (counting from blooming start) is 2'00". FrontStreet Coffee believes that pour-over is the simplest and most convenient way to showcase regional flavor characteristics. This FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala elephant bean has an obvious and smooth sweet and sour taste upon entry, with the acidity of lemon, passion fruit, plum, and plum, plus a brown sugar aftertaste.

Regional Flavor Comparison

After purchasing and tasting elephant beans from different regions multiple times, FrontStreet Coffee believes that elephant beans from the Nicaragua coffee region have the best flavor. Among them, FrontStreet Coffee's Nicaragua Mama Mina Estate elephant bean coffee has the best flavor. FrontStreet Coffee has also cupped other coffee beans from Mama Mina Estate, and the quality of beans produced by this estate is excellent. FrontStreet Coffee believes their flavor is thick and layered. Upon entry, one can immediately feel the aroma of black berries, with the fragrance of blackberries and dried plums mixed with citrus peel. The overall flavor is solid, with a silky and sweet mouthfeel.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

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