Four Best Pour-Over Coffee Beans for Beginners: What Are the Ideal Single-Origin Coffee Beans for Pour-Over Brewing?

As I know, many new coffee enthusiasts have a common question:

"What kind of beans should I buy for pour-over coffee??"

"Which beans are suitable for me?"

For experienced coffee lovers, this isn't difficult at all. But for those just starting their coffee journey, it can be quite complex!

Coffee shops offer a wide variety of coffee beans from different countries and regions, different coffee varieties, different processing methods, different roast levels, and more.

How do you choose the beans that best suit your taste?

Let's continue exploring.

The World's Three Major Beverages

Cocoa, tea, and coffee are the world's three major beverages. Among them, coffee was introduced to China just over a hundred years ago.

However, it's only in recent years that coffee has developed increasingly well in China, with the number of coffee drinkers growing larger and larger.

African Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe coffee from the African region is familiar to many beginners in specialty coffee. When it comes to FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe beans, it's the well-known Ethiopian coffee that everyone recognizes.

As we all know, Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee.

Yirgacheffe was originally a sub-region under the Sidamo region. Because the production methods and flavor profile of coffee beans from Yirgacheffe town were so outstanding, Ethiopia took pride in them, even naming beans from other regions after Yirgacheffe. Therefore, Yirgacheffe was separated from the Sidamo region and became its own distinct category.

The characteristics of Yirgacheffe need no elaboration: FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe has elevated fruit acidity, clean taste, and delicate, elegant floral notes.

In Teacher Han Huaizong's "Specialty Coffee Studies," FrontStreet Coffee strongly agrees with the description of Yirgacheffe: "When coffee enters the mouth, a hundred flowers bloom."

This is exactly what FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe washed Gudin Ding is like.

FrontStreet Coffee · Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Gudin Ding

• Region: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
• Cooperative: Gudin Ding Cooperative
• Altitude: 2000m - 2100m
• Variety: Local indigenous varieties
• Processing: Washed
• Flavor: Citrus, black tea, floral, cream, caramel, almond

FrontStreet Coffee's washed Gudin Ding, besides expressing the main flavor characteristics of Yirgacheffe, also allows you to taste its tea-like quality; combined with its citrus acidity, it truly feels like drinking lemon tea.

African Kenya Coffee

Kenyan coffee is revered by many coffee connoisseurs and is a gem of Africa.

The coffee varieties initially introduced to Kenya were Bourbon and Indian Kent. Later, Jamaican Blue Mountain Typica was introduced and cultivated on Mount Elgon.

Today, Kenya's most famous coffee varieties are SL28 and SL34.

These two varieties were selected, researched, and bred from Kenya's National Agricultural Laboratory (formerly the Scott Coffee Research Institute).

The SL28 variety is drought and pest resistant, suitable for cultivation at medium to high altitudes. SL34 is suitable for cultivation at high altitudes with abundant rainfall.

In terms of flavor, SL28 and SL34 are very similar, but SL34 has richer acidity and a more intense mouthfeel.

The characteristic flavor of Kenyan coffee and the origin of its blackberry aroma come not only from the phosphate-rich components in Kenyan soil but also from Kenya's most famous K72 washed processing method.

K72 washed processing method: Coffee cherries are picked, peeled, and fermented. After 24 hours of fermentation, they are cleaned with water.

They undergo water fermentation for 24 hours, then cleaned with water again, repeating this process 3 times to achieve 72 hours of strong fermentation.

FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Asaliya coffee beans are processed using the K72 washed method, resulting in brighter, cleaner flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee · Kenya Asaliya Coffee

• Region: Thika, Kenya
• Processing Station: Asali Processing Station
• Altitude: 1550m - 1750m
• Variety: SL28, SL34
• Processing: K72 washed processing method
• Flavor: Pear, preserved plum, brown sugar, cherry tomato, plum

Brazilian Coffee

Brazil is the world's number one coffee-producing country. Brazil's coffee cultivation began over 300 years ago.

In the 1720s, a Portuguese captain in Brazil used his charms to win the favor of the wife of the Cayenne governor in French Guiana, successfully bringing coffee seeds to Brazil.

Because Brazil's coffee growing altitudes are lower, between 400 and 1600 meters, and Brazil mostly uses open-field cultivation, allowing coffee cherries to absorb enough heat to mature early, this results in low-density, soft-textured Brazilian coffee beans with a typical soft bean flavor. This contrasts sharply with African coffee beans in terms of flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian coffee bean flavor: low acidity, heavy nutty notes, good chocolate sweetness and body, but with slight woody and earthy notes, with inconspicuous floral and citrus aromas.

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas often recommend Brazilian coffee beans to friends who dislike acidity, because Brazilian coffee is relatively mild and less likely to have the wild, bold elevated acidity and citrus notes found in African beans.

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Coffee

• Region: Mogiana, Brazil
• Estate: Queen Estate
• Altitude: 1400m - 1950m
• Variety: Yellow Bourbon
• Processing: Natural
• Flavor: Nuts, creamy peanuts, sugarcane, fermented fruits

Indonesia

Indonesian coffee is very familiar to many coffee beginners. Among them, Indonesia's Kopi Luwak is famous for its rarity and high price. The most accessible Indonesian coffee for the general public is Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lindong Mandheling is mainly produced in Sumatra, Indonesia. FrontStreet Coffee's Lindong Mandheling has a thick and intense flavor profile with distinct personality. This unique flavor is related to the local coffee bean processing methods, because Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia with abundant rainfall year-round and shorter sunshine hours compared to Ethiopia and Brazil. Using natural processing methods can easily produce fermented or moldy beans; additionally, local economic conditions are limited, and washed processing requires large amounts of water. Therefore, Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans are mostly processed using the local semi-washed method, known as Wet Hulling.

Wet Hulling is also called Wet Hulling

The Wet Hulling process: Coffee cherries are peeled, pulped, and soaked in water for 1-2 hours, then rubbed against each other to remove some mucilage and undergo first drying, at which point the coffee beans' moisture content drops to 20-35%. Coffee beans with non-solidified mucilage are collected and sent to the processing facility for second drying, which reduces the moisture content to about 18%. After the second drying is complete, the parchment layer is removed, and final drying is performed until the moisture content reaches 11%.

Teacher Han Huaizong once described the flavor characteristics of Wet Hulling coffee beans in his book:

This is also a rare processing method in the world that accidentally created Mandheling's special low acidity, thick, and mellow flavor.

Through years of cupping different Wet Hulling Indonesian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee has found that these coffees have relatively low acidity, thick mouthfeel, and unique flavors like herbal spices, but the disadvantage is relatively inconsistent quality. Of course, inconsistent quality cannot be entirely attributed to Wet Hulling; in most cases, it may be caused by relatively lower quality green coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling

• Region: Aceh Gayo Mountain, North Sumatra, Indonesia
• Altitude: 1100m - 1600m
• Variety: Ateng
• Processing: Wet Hulling
• Flavor: Spice, nuts, pine, caramel, herbal, chocolate

Panamanian Coffee

Today, Geisha coffee is famous for its high price. The reason Geisha became famous is largely due to Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. La Esmeralda is both the discoverer and promoter of Geisha. The Geisha variety entered Panama in the 1960s, but after more than 40 years of lying low, it finally won first place in the BOP in 2004, becoming world-famous and regarded as a supreme treasure by many specialty coffee enthusiasts.

The delicate and elegant flavor of the Geisha variety comes from specific growing conditions.

The Geisha variety is very particular about its growing environment: high altitude, shade cultivation, and fertile soil.

These factors create Geisha coffee with distinct floral notes and delicate, elegant fruit acidity. Such elegant flavor is one of the reasons for its global popularity.

FrontStreet Coffee's coffee bean menu regularly includes FrontStreet Coffee's Panama La Esmeralda Geisha coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha

• Region: Boquete, Panama
• Estate: La Esmeralda Estate
• Altitude: 1700m+
• Variety: Geisha
• Processing: Natural
• Flavor: Citrus, jasmine, honey, berries

Chinese Yunnan Coffee

In China, tea has a history over a thousand years longer than coffee, while coffee's circulation history in China can be precisely traced back to 1870.

The cultivation history of Chinese Yunnan coffee is controversial - one account says 1902; another says 1892; yet another says 1904.

Yunnan's coffee cultivation initially started with Typica, but with opening policies, international brands like Starbucks and Nestlé entered Yunnan, promoting the cultivation of the Catimor variety, which has strong disease resistance and high yield but lacks flavor quality.

Over time, Yunnan's small-bean coffee evolved from the previous Typica to today's Catimor variety.

Yunnan's coffee cultivation regions are mainly distributed in southwestern Yunnan: Lincang, Baoshan, Pu'er, and Dehong.

Lincang borders Pu'er to the east, Dali to the north, connects with Baoshan to the west, and links with Myanmar to the southwest.

The average annual temperature in Lincang City ranges between 16.8°C and 17.2°C. Dry and wet seasons are distinct, with abundant sunshine.

In 2013, FrontStreet Coffee began coffee cultivation in Lincang, Yunnan. Unlike most varieties grown in Yunnan, FrontStreet Coffee planted Yunnan's ancient superior variety - Typica.

In 2021, FrontStreet Coffee launched its first self-produced Yunnan coffee bean - "FrontStreet Coffee 2013 Yunnan Typica."

FrontStreet Coffee · Yunnan FrontStreet Coffee 2013 Coffee Beans

• Region: Lincang, Yunnan, China
• Estate: Yunnan FrontStreet Coffee Estate
• Altitude: 1300m
• Variety: Typica
• Processing: Natural
• Flavor: Berries, brown sugar, nuts, tea-like quality

Key Elements for Perfect Pour-Over Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that pour-over coffee often seems easy to operate, but even for the same person, each cup brewed won't taste exactly the same.

Many details are very important for making a good cup of pour-over coffee.

Water Quality

A cup of pour-over coffee contains up to 98.5% water. To make a delicious pour-over coffee, the first step is to manage water quality properly.

In our daily pour-over coffee, we try to avoid using tap water directly and recommend using filtered water or mineral water with appropriate mineral content. Water temperature is also very important - depending on the characteristics of different coffee beans, water temperature is generally between 85-93°C.

Grind Size

Grinding coffee beans into powder is the first and crucial step in pour-over coffee. If ground too fine or too coarse, it will directly affect the brewed flavor and mouthfeel.

The importance of grind size lies in its effect on coffee concentration and extraction rate, which is most obviously expressed in mouthfeel as changes in body.

Under the same conditions (same coffee-to-water ratio, same water temperature, same pouring method, same brewing time):

Fine grind coffee has higher concentration, higher extraction rate, and higher body;

Coarse grind coffee has lower concentration, lower extraction rate, and lower body.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a pour-over grind size where 70-80% passes through a #20 sieve.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio is also a very critical factor in pour-over coffee. Different ratios greatly affect the flavor expression of coffee. During the pour-over process, aromatic substances and acidity are extracted first, followed by sweetness and caramelization products, with bitterness, astringency, and off-flavors coming last. Therefore, we can control the coffee-to-water ratio to express the best desired flavors of the coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a pour-over coffee-to-water ratio between 1:15 and 1:16.

Dripper

Finding a suitable dripper is very important.

Traditional trapezoidal drippers have smaller holes and slower flow rates, resulting in thicker pour-over coffee, but the disadvantage is that the flow might be too slow, leading to water accumulation and potentially bitter, astringent flavors.

Conical drippers have larger holes and faster flow rates, but the flavor might be lighter.

Wave drippers have flat bottoms, paired with wave filter paper, and through grooves on the filter paper guide water flow downward, creating the smoothest water flow, and producing the most consistent pour-over coffee mouthfeel.

Through multiple brewing experiments and repeated testing, FrontStreet Coffee has found that different drippers show obvious differences in expressing coffee flavor, acidity, sweetness, body, and cleanliness.

If you're brewing light roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a V60 dripper. If brewing dark roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a Kono dripper.

Can All Coffee Beans Be Used for Pour-Over?

Yes, they can.

Different coffee beans should be brewed with different parameters. Only through continuous experimentation can you brew coffee that best suits your personal taste.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that building your own flavor memory library is very important. Secondly, drink as much coffee as possible and experience as many flavors as you can.

Beyond that, you need to continuously collect information about different coffee beans, drink mindfully, and make comparisons while tasting.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473