How to Choose Coffee Bean Brands for Pour-Over Brewing Tips for Brewing Delicious Fresh Coffee Beans

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Introduction to Fresh Coffee Beans and Brewing Methods

Definition of Fresh Coffee Beans

This varies depending on ambient temperature, humidity, packaging method, and storage conditions. Based on Taiwan's environmental conditions, when coffee beans are stored in one-way valve bags and placed at room temperature, they are considered fresh coffee beans "within two weeks after roasting."

Method 1: Judging by Store Operations

1. Marked "Roasting Date"

Pay attention to whether the packaging bag is marked with the roasting date, not the expiration date.

2. Order-based Roasting and Choice of Roast Level

Coffee begins to deteriorate and lose flavor after roasting. Stores that claim to roast only upon order but don't allow you to choose the roast level might be operating by roasting a batch in advance and gradually shipping it out as orders come in.

Method 2: Judging by Coffee Beans

1. Aroma

Fresh beans only have aroma, aroma, and more aroma. If you detect any oily or rancid smell, they are definitely not fresh coffee beans.

2. Appearance

This point only applies to darker roasted (Aroma roast level: medium-dark to dark) coffee beans. Before grinding, look at the surface of the coffee beans. If there's a misty oily feeling, it represents that they are not fresh coffee beans. Learning to judge this is simple - you can easily find coffee beans on the market that "only mark expiration dates." Buy them back and observe for yourself. Light roasted (equivalent to Aroma roast level: light to medium+) coffee beans are more difficult to judge for freshness based on surface appearance.

3. Grinding

After grinding fresh coffee beans, regardless of whether you use pour-over or siphon brewing, you can easily see expansion or a thicker coffee bed during brewing.

Method 2: Flavor

Complex Flavors

Coffee has thousands of aromas and flavors, making it the most complex natural beverage in the human world. Through our simplification process, we'll directly share our insights with you, helping you avoid wasting money and choose coffee beans that suit you.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has always been dedicated to establishing coffee language to facilitate communication and exchange among coffee enthusiasts. The intention is good, and their efforts deserve appreciation. Unfortunately, the content is too complex and not suitable for widespread use by the general public.

Now, setting aside academic approaches, let's start from practical experience. Begin with the following points to quickly select your favorite flavors.

First, Understand Green Bean Processing Methods

Washed Beans

This processing method best removes impurities while preserving the essence, ensuring consistent quality of coffee green beans. Washed processed green beans have bright fruit acidity, are clean, and have fewer off-flavors.

Natural (Dry) Processed Beans

Fully ripe and plump coffee fruits are picked and then sun-dried before further processing. This method preserves the complete fruit content, bringing low fruit acidity, rich aroma, sweetness, and mouthfeel, among other high-quality flavors.

Honey Processed Beans

100% of the mucilage is retained and placed on elevated drying racks to dry before further processing. Honey processed coffee beans can completely preserve the sweetness and aroma of the coffee fruit pulp, plus a heavier mouthfeel than the washed method.

Wet-Hulled Beans

The parchment hull is removed early in the drying process. This helps significantly shorten drying time and reduce the sourness produced during fermentation of green beans. It also creates mellow, woody, fruity, and grass jelly flavors.

Monsooned Beans

Long-term exposure to humid monsoon winds. The coffee beans' color transforms from deep green to the yellowish-brown of rice grains, and the coffee's fruit acidity almost disappears. Monsooned beans have strong nutty and shell-like flavors, with a strong tea-like sensation, extremely similar to genmaicha (brown rice tea) flavor.

Correlation Between Green Bean Processing Methods and Flavors

Here we compare using "the same coffee fruit"...

Floral Aroma: Washed beans > Honey processed > Natural processed > Wet-hulled > Monsooned

Fruity Aroma: Natural processed > Honey processed > Wet-hulled > Washed > Monsooned

Acidity: Washed beans > Honey processed > Natural processed > Wet-hulled > Monsooned

Sweetness: Natural processed > Honey processed > Wet-hulled > Washed > Monsooned

Method 3: Roast Level

Roast Level vs. Flavor

Light to Medium+ Roasted Coffee Beans

Light Roast: Full of aroma, with particularly strong fruit acidity. Suitable for those with "special needs."

Medium Roast: Retains most aromas, with bright fruit acidity. This is "the lightest roast level recommended for coffee beginners."

Medium+ Roast: Gentle fruit acidity & sweetness.

Because the degree of cell wall damage is not severe, and most oils are still preserved within the cell walls of the bean body. The carbonization level is not deep, preserving the bean's original aroma and acidity (special regional flavors from the growing area/terroir). Specialty coffee beans, when properly roasted, can reveal fruit aromas/acidity such as apple, lemon, orange, etc.

Medium-Dark and Dark Roasted Coffee Beans

Medium-Dark Roast: Sacrifices most acidity and aroma, while caramelization reactions bring out flavors → caramel, nutty, malt, chocolate, and other aromas begin to emerge.

Dark Roast: Rich mouthfeel, excessive caramelization causes flavors to start turning bitter. Due to higher heat roasting, there are obvious woody and smoky aromas.

Cell walls carbonize, coffee oils emerge, adding to the rich mouthfeel. Medium-dark roasts will have more obvious nutty, caramel, and chocolate flavors, while dark roasted coffee beans easily reveal woody, spicy, and smoky flavors.

Fresh coffee beans need to be ground and extracted with hot water to bring out their proper flavors. Of course, this also requires matching equipment and techniques. We recommend using segmented extraction.

Knowledge Extension: "The Definition of Freshness" Coffee beans stored in one-way valve bags and placed at room temperature are considered fresh coffee beans "within two weeks after roasting."

In Summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unrestrained sharing is purely to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three low-discount coffee activities every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price - this has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for six years!

Important Notice :

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