What Defines Premium Coffee Beans? Our Top Recommendations

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What Makes High-Quality Coffee Beans?

Think back to the coffees you've enjoyed in the past—they probably had two characteristics: first, captivating aroma, and second, excellent taste. Different coffee varieties offer distinct flavors, and personal preferences certainly vary, but so-called high-quality coffee beans are those that can preserve the coffee's aroma and flavor as much as possible, releasing them completely during the final brewing process.

The aroma and flavor of coffee are produced only after roasting. During the roasting process, the moisture in raw coffee beans is gradually released, weight decreases, color deepens, volume expands, and aromatic oils slowly emerge. Additionally, the large amount of chlorogenic acid originally present in raw beans gradually disappears during roasting, releasing pleasant fruity acids whose flavors vary depending on roasting time. In the image below, you can see the changes in coffee beans' appearance during the roasting process.

Coffee's aroma comes from the oils extracted during roasting, which are sealed within the pores of the coffee beans. After grinding, the aroma and oils begin to volatilize, and the flavor of the最终 brewed coffee naturally suffers greatly. Furthermore, the increased surface area of powder exposed to air makes it susceptible to moisture or spoilage. Under the same conditions, coffee beans can be preserved for nearly twice as long as coffee powder. The only advantage of coffee powder is convenience, especially if you always oversleep in the morning and don't have time to grind coffee slowly, or if you haven't purchased grinding tools yet—coffee powder allows you to quickly enjoy a decent cup of coffee. If you decide to buy coffee powder, we have the following two suggestions: (1) Purchase about two weeks' worth at a time to preserve flavor as much as possible, and (2) Store coffee powder in good airtight containers.

Freshness and Timing

The optimal tasting period for coffee is not equal to its shelf life—you should pay attention to the roasting time. The roasting date of coffee beans represents freshness, and freshly roasted coffee beans within 2-3 days are usually good choices. However, buying immediately after roasting is not actually when the beans taste best. Besides the smoky flavors from roasting and the beans' own aromas, coffee beans continue to release nitrogen dioxide (degassing) for about 48 hours after being roasted.

FrontStreet Coffee's High-Quality Coffee Bean Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee is a well-known coffee variety, produced only in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica in Central America. Only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region above 1,800 meters can be authorized to use the "Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee" trademark. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee possesses mellow characteristics, with bitterness that carries a slight sweetness, smooth and palatable, with a hint of acidity—truly a premium coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Civet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Civet Coffee is a recently developed coffee variety from Indonesia. This coffee has a unique flavor and different mouthfeel, though personally, I'm not quite accustomed to its taste. Due to the gradual deterioration of wild environments, the civet cat population is slowly decreasing, making the production of this coffee quite limited.

LAVAZZA Italian Coffee

LAVAZZA is synonymous with Italian coffee, dedicated to creating a perfectly tasting coffee through the art of blending different coffee varieties. From coffee gardens specifically selected by LAVAZZA, it combines the sweetness of Brazilian beans, the fragrance of Central American beans, and the richness of Asian beans through custom roasting. The flavor is extremely luxurious and irresistible. LAVAZZA's coffee is very suitable for making and preparing specialty coffee drinks.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling Coffee is produced in Sumatra, Asian Indonesia, also known as "Sumatra Coffee." It features a very rich flavor, sweet fragrance, pure bitterness, and mellow thickness, with a slight sweetness and subtle acidity, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste and lingering charm. Most coffee enthusiasts typically drink it as a single-origin, but it's also an indispensable variety for blending mixed coffees.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473