Pour-over Coffee: American Beans vs. African Beans - Which Tastes Better?

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Introduction

Friends who enjoy acidity mostly choose African beans. Its unique geographical environment cultivates extraordinary coffee flavors, with distinctive floral and fruity aromas intimately intertwined, deeply loved by many. Those who prefer balanced taste will find American beans to be an excellent choice, offering balanced flavors and textures, with prominent caramel and stone fruit notes. Below, let me outline the differences between African and American beans.

African Series

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry

Ethiopia's main producing regions include Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Bench Maji, Lekempti, Kembata, Illubabor, Harrar, and Limu. Yirgacheffe is a small town in Ethiopia and one of the world's highest altitude coffee-growing regions, situated at 1700-2100 meters above sea level. It's shrouded in mist year-round, with spring-like seasons, gentle breezes, cool and humid weather. During harvest season, Ethiopian coffee trading companies come to the town to purchase coffee beans collected by farmers, ultimately auctioning and exporting them under the "Yirgacheffe" brand. To pursue high-quality fruit, the "Red Cherry Project" was implemented, involving 100% hand-picking of fully red cherries, allowing coffee farmers to focus more on the screening and bean selection process. These coffees are also relatively higher in price.

The refined natural processing method is used: after selecting usable coffee cherries, the coffee fruits are placed on elevated racks for sun-drying, isolating them from ground contact to prevent earthy off-flavors, creating exceptionally clean fruit flavors. After more than two weeks of sun-drying, the dark brown coffee fruits are professionally stored, waiting for the entire flavor to mature and sweetness to increase.

Yirgacheffe's local variety is the indigenous heirloom, a small bean type, with a relatively round appearance and very small beans, mostly between 14-15 screen size. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry G1 green beans have a yellow-green color, typical of natural processed coffee, with uniform, full beans and few defective beans.

Flavor: Emits intense fruity aromas, with rich dried fruit, plum, strawberry, and lemon notes. The middle section is sweet like honey, with chocolate in the finish. The entry is not strong, with medium body, acidity is not pronounced, resembling fruit black tea.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Limu G2

Coffee production in the Limu region is relatively low, mainly exported to European and American markets. It was difficult to purchase domestically in the past but is very popular in Europe and America, with fame second only to Yirgacheffe. The coffee cultivation variety is Ethiopia's local heirloom varieties. Local small coffee farmers use 100% organic farming methods. The soil is Vertisols, with cultivation altitude between 1850-1900 meters.

The Limu producing region mainly produces washed beans, with a milder taste compared to Sidamo region. Its body is relatively thin, often carrying citrus characteristics. The floral and citrus aromas are less pronounced than Yirgacheffe and Sidamo, but it adds a grassy fragrance and cocoa aroma, with sandalwood notes. Although not as famous as coffees from Sidamo or Yirgacheffe regions, it also produces many coffee beans with distinctive flavors.

Using washed processing, the wet and fermentation methods remove pulp, mucilage, and parchment, introducing continuous fresh water. During processing, the fermented beans are placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment, with 50% moisture content. They must be dried to reduce moisture content to 12%, otherwise they will continue to ferment and become moldy and rotten. Afterwards, sun-drying is performed, although it takes 1-3 weeks, the flavor is exceptional and quite beloved.

Flavor: Entry presents fresh grass fragrance, with apple and dried plum acidity. The middle section has caramel and nutty sweetness, with cocoa and berry aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee · Burundi Heart of Africa

Burundi is located on the steep East African Rift Valley, with complex terrain. More than 800,000 Burundian families depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood, mostly belonging to small-scale coffee gardens, intercropped with other crops, manually cultivated without mechanized equipment. Coffee grows on high mountains at altitudes of 1400-1700 meters. Coffee tree varieties are mostly Bourbon and its variants, with processing methods including both washed and semi-washed. In the past, it was mainly exported to Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and the United States.

Burundi's coffee mainly comes from the following five major producing regions, with famous coffee-producing areas including Kayanza, Ngozi, Mumirwa, Buyenzi, and Kirimiro districts. Burundi's "Heart of Africa" coffee production model is closer to Ethiopia's, with mostly small farmer production. Farmers deliver their respective harvested ripe berries to processing stations for unified processing.

Using double washed processing, after removing pulp and mucilage from berries, they are soaked and cleaned in water tanks, then placed on racks for sun-drying completion. The coffee beans have almost no defects, with very uniform size and moisture content. Coffee processed this way carries extremely grateful mouthfeel and bright flavors.

Flavor: The taste is wild, retaining strong flavors and aromas, with citrus acidity and tea fragrance. The acidity is light, the texture is relatively thick, with plum, kumquat, lemon, dried fruit, and caramel. The mouthfeel is smooth, the aroma is saturated, and the aftertaste is rich and lasting.

American Series

FrontStreet Coffee · Costa Rica Honey Process

Costa Rica was the first country in Central America where coffee was introduced for cultivation. Located in the Central American isthmus, with numerous volcanoes throughout the country, it has natural advantages of sunshine and land. The climate is moderated by Pacific and Atlantic ocean currents and sea breezes, producing coffee with characteristics of local microclimate and terroir. The earliest cultivation was in the Central Valley region. After years of development, Costa Rica currently has eight main producing regions: Guanacastes, West Valley, Central Valley, Turrialba, Orosi, Tres Rios, Tarrazu, and Brunca.

The honey processing method refers to the production process of green beans that are sun-dried with mucilage. The juice produced during coffee berry processing is used to soak the parchment beans during processing. Because the berry juice contains considerable sweetness and unique enzymes, the processed parchment beans contain richer flavors and more complex positive characteristics.

The more pectin retained in the processing method, the richer and sweeter the final coffee flavor will be. The pectin mucilage part is where coffee fruit has the highest sugar content and is an important component of coffee processing fermentation. It can be said that this part determines 80% of the nutritional supply during processing.

Yellow honey retains 60% pectin, red honey retains 75% pectin, and black honey removes almost no pectin. The sugar and acidity from the pectin layer become more concentrated during the drying period, and these sugars penetrate into the coffee beans.

Mainly cultivating Caturra, the taste carries lemon or citrus acidity. In terms of sweetness, it's affected by the frequency and dosage of fertilization by growers. It has high yield, short plants with many branches, and is favored by local farmers.

Flavor: Has floral and creamy aromas, with lemon, plum, sweet orange, and peach flavors, grapefruit and juice-like sensation, natural sweetness, delicate texture, perfectly balanced overall.

FrontStreet Coffee · Honduras San Juan Cidro

Honduras is located in northern Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Pacific Gulf of Fonseca to the south, sharing borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador to the east and south, and Guatemala to the west. It's mostly mountainous and plateau terrain. It has a tropical climate with moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, making it an ideal place for coffee cultivation. There are six major producing regions, mainly located in the western and southern Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta Tropical, and El Paraiso regions.

The average cultivation altitude for specialty coffee regions is above 1100 meters, divided into three grades based on altitude: Standard grade, cultivated at 1000 meters; HG grade, cultivated at 1000-1500 meters; SHB grade, cultivated at 1500 meters and above.

San Juan Cidro is a small village in central Honduras, located 40 kilometers northeast of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The town is under the jurisdiction of Francisco Morazán, with the estate located in the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park, which has an independent rainforest ecosystem. Its climate and altitude are very conducive to producing high-quality coffee beans, grown on mountains at 1450-1550 meters altitude, shaded by banana, avocado, papaya, and other fruit trees.

Hand-picked, then mature fruits are selected from among them. Picking time often takes several weeks. The washed processing method is used to process coffee beans, first soaking to select floating beans, then using machines to remove pulp and mucilage. Local farmers believe that larger fruits represent better maturity. They undergo 10-12 hours of fermentation, then are washed clean, and finally dried on African drying beds for 8 to 10 days, so its taste always has a light fruity aroma.

Flavor: Caramel sweetness is very obvious, with roasted nuts, milk chocolate, full creamy texture, and slight spice and oolong tea finish.

Conclusion

African beans with fruity characteristics offer an overall light and refreshing taste, more like drinking juice, while American beans with balanced flavors and texture make one feel like drinking melted cream chocolate, smooth and mellow, bringing different enjoyment to the taste buds. Between African beans and American beans, which one do you prefer?

Related recommendations: Is hand-poured coffee really delicious? Why does coffee smell better than it tastes?

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