How to Choose Coffee Beans: Are All Coffee Beans Good? Premium Coffee Bean Recommendations

A delicious cup of coffee begins with fresh, perfectly roasted coffee beans. But where can you find the best beans, and which producing countries create the most interesting flavors? FrontStreet Coffee introduces a guide to coffee beans from around the world, along with various coffee types and their flavor profiles!

At FrontStreet Coffee, the variety of coffees on our bean menu might overwhelm you, making it difficult to know where to start. Don't worry—FrontStreet Coffee will now introduce several major categories of coffee with representative regional characteristics.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Jamaica produces a relatively small amount of coffee each year, and not all of it comes from the Blue Mountains. However, the coffee grown here develops at very high altitudes.

Its production is extremely limited, with approximately 80% of the crop being exported to Japan annually. Additionally, these beans require labor-intensive production, needing to be hand-picked from mountain slopes. The high altitude, cool temperatures, and volcanic soil contribute to a harvesting period of nearly 10 months—much longer than in other coffee-growing regions.

The resulting cup of coffee offers a balance between full body, medium acidity, and gentle sweetness. Some say Blue Mountain coffee is the smoothest coffee they've ever tasted.

Kenyan Coffee

Kenyan coffee beans are among the finest in the world. The effort farmers put into cleaning and processing these beans is unparalleled.

Perhaps one of the greatest contributors to Kenyan coffee quality is the incentive system—farmers are rewarded for producing better coffee. The government holds auctions where all Kenyan coffee is sold. Higher-quality coffee fetches better prices, motivating farmers to improve their crops.

'AA' represents the largest bean size, followed by 'AB'. In Kenya, bigger is better—always look for "AA." These coffees are characterized by sweet fruit flavors, wine-like acidity, and syrupy body. Due to their processing methods, these coffees are among the cleanest-tasting in the world.

Indonesian Sumatran Beans

This coffee is named after the Mandheling people who once grew coffee in northern Sumatra. Coffee from this region exhibits low acidity with a sweet, smooth body. The coffee's flavors vary widely, from cocoa and tobacco to earthy and herbal notes. Many choose dark-roasted Sumatran coffee to enhance its sweetness and almost spicy characteristics.

Coffee throughout Sumatra is typically processed using a hybrid method similar to wet-hulling. This processing method is perhaps the biggest factor influencing the coffee's final profile. These beans work exceptionally well in moka pots.

Sumatran Mandheling beans are one of the most controversial coffees. Coffee drinkers tend to either love or hate it. What about you?

This is a coffee that's difficult to find for several reasons. Few cafés serve it because it's quite expensive and best served as filter coffee. Cafés primarily focus on milk-based beverages, so for many, offering a coffee that can only be consumed black doesn't make business sense. You may have never tried coffee like this before. It's truly unique. If you prefer lighter, brighter coffees, then you need to give this a try.

Central American Geisha Coffee Beans

Geisha coffee beans are among the most distinctive coffee beans in the world.

Although theoretically they can grow anywhere, they have earned a special reputation when cultivated in Panama and Costa Rica. The most famous farm is Hacienda La Esmeralda. Geisha beans were originally discovered near the town of Geisha in Ethiopia. This coffee variety didn't reach Panama until the 1960s.

What makes Geisha beans unique? They possess a naturally tea-like body with abundant clear, bright, effervescent flavors such as citrus, mango, peach, and jasmine. You might also detect notes of bergamot or vanilla.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Beans

Yirgacheffe is regarded as sacred in the global coffee community.

Ethiopia itself is considered the birthplace of Yirgacheffe coffee and coffee beans in general—it's their pride and joy. Sidama is a region in Ethiopia that contains the Yirgacheffe micro-region. However, within Yirgacheffe, there are even smaller areas: Adado, Aricha, Kochere, Konga, and others.

Ethiopian coffee is typically wet-processed, producing coffee with a light, almost tea-like body and complex fruit and floral notes. Walk into any specialty coffee shop, and you'll likely find coffee from this region on their shelves. It's easy to understand why these coffees are called the gateway to quality coffee.

Acidity and Bitterness

Coffee is naturally acidic, but this isn't a bad thing. Acidity is good because it gives coffee its natural flavor. However, different beans have varying levels of acidity, and some people are sensitive to these acids. The acidity in coffee relates more to taste than to pH value, though many claim that acidity in coffee causes digestive issues.

Coffees from Africa typically have higher acidity with fruity or floral flavors.

Coffees from places like Brazil or Sumatra have lower acidity with cocoa and nutty flavors.

Acidity is greatly influenced by altitude. Coffee grown at lower altitudes generally has lower acidity.

Bitterness is a result of brewing. Overly bitter coffee is bad. If you extract too much from ground coffee, the result will be a harsh, bitter aftertaste. This usually happens when your grind size is too fine or when you over-extract the grounds. The particles are smaller, so water can contact more coffee surface area and ultimately extract more compounds.

In summary: bitterness in coffee can be avoided through proper brewing. Acidity in coffee is natural and unavoidable. However, you can "mask" some acidity with dark roasts or by choosing low-acidity beans.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473