What Kind of Coffee Do Coffee Experts Drink? What's the Best Coffee at Coffee Shops and How to Order?

What Kind of Coffee Do Coffee Experts Usually Drink?

Currently, the mainstream coffee beverages in coffee shops include pour-over coffee, cold brew coffee, and espresso-based products. These are all coffee products that coffee connoisseurs enjoy drinking.

Pour-Over Coffee

Pour-over coffee is extracted when hot water naturally passes through appropriately ground coffee beans through gravity. Its characteristics include a clean, clear taste with layered complexity.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is made by directly mixing appropriately ground coffee beans with cold water, then refrigerating for 8-12 hours for extraction. Its characteristics include a clean, full-bodied taste with distinct fruit-like sweetness.

Espresso

Espresso is made by forcing water quickly through extremely finely ground coffee beans under pressure, extracting a small amount of highly concentrated coffee liquid. Its characteristics include an intense, mellow taste in small portions.

For making pour-over coffee and cold brew coffee, coffee shops typically use single-origin coffee beans, which means beans from a single producing region (not to be confused with single variety coffee beans). For making espresso, coffee shops typically use blended coffee beans, which means beans from multiple producing regions blended in different proportions.

What is Single-Origin Coffee?

In 1978, Ms. Erna Knutsen proposed the concept of specialty coffee at an international coffee conference in France. She described "Specialty Coffee" as "coffee beans cultivated in unique microclimates and geographical conditions of producing regions, possessing regional flavor characteristics."

Based on this definition, FrontStreet Coffee believes that one characteristic of specialty coffee is its traceable regional flavor. Different regions produce different regional flavors due to local microclimates and growing conditions, which is the greatest charm of single-origin coffee.

Without any additives, single-origin coffee can express the unique coffee flavor of a specific region. For example, when FrontStreet Coffee cup-tests coffee beans from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region, the main characteristics are citrus-like acidity and tea-like aftertaste. For another example, when cup-testing Mandheling coffee beans from Indonesia's Sumatra region, the main characteristics are herbal and spice-like mellow flavors.

Single-origin coffee is suitable for pour-over coffee and cold brew coffee because these two brewing methods have larger extraction ratios. To appreciate the unique flavor layers of single-origin coffee beans, a certain degree of dilution is needed – it's not necessarily better when stronger.

Additionally, regardless of which coffee brewing method is chosen, FrontStreet Coffee will first confirm whether the coffee beans used are fresh. If the coffee beans' roast date exceeds one month, FrontStreet Coffee will not use them for service. Since coffee beans have an optimal flavor appreciation period after roasting, the coffee aroma accelerates its loss over time, and dissipated flavors are difficult to restore during brewing. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee insists on only shipping coffee beans freshly roasted within 5 days – FrontStreet Coffee hopes every customer can enjoy the most complete flavor appreciation period of coffee beans.

How to Make Pour-Over Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee places great emphasis on the freshness of coffee beans when making pour-over coffee, because only freshly roasted coffee beans can exhibit more coffee aroma.

For light to medium roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee will grind the beans to a medium-fine particle size (75-80% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve), paired with a V60 dripper, 90-91°C hot water, and brewed at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (15g coffee grounds with 225g hot water).

For medium-dark roast coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee will grind the beans to a medium-coarse particle size (65-70% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve), paired with a Kono dripper, 88-89°C hot water, and brewed at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (15g coffee grounds with 225g hot water).

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee?

For making cold brew coffee, since low temperatures make it difficult to extract the mellow substances from coffee, FrontStreet Coffee will choose coffee beans with distinct sweet and sour characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee will grind the beans to a medium-fine particle size (75-80% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve), using a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, adding 30g (1-2 servings) to 300g of cold water/ice water, stirring until the coffee grounds are fully moistened, then sealing and refrigerating for 8-12 hours for extraction.

What is Blended Coffee?

Blended coffee, also known as mixed coffee, is the combination of various single-origin coffee beans to fully utilize the strengths of each single-origin coffee bean. Blends are made from coffee beans of different origins to create a more balanced flavor.

Coffee is an agricultural product, so even the same coffee bean variety will have different flavors each year. Mixing several coffee beans together effectively solves this problem. When a particular coffee bean in the blend doesn't meet expected flavor in the new harvest season or becomes scarce, it can be adjusted by replacing it with a coffee bean of similar flavor.

Therefore, one advantage of blends is their high stability, allowing for better consistency.

How to Make Espresso?

FrontStreet Coffee has chosen blends for its espresso coffee service. Currently using a "FrontStreet Coffee - Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend" made from a combination of sherry barrel-processed coffee beans and natural-processed Yirgacheffe Red Cherry. The ratio is 7:3, with 70% Honduras sherry barrel coffee beans providing flavor and body to this blend, while 30% natural Yirgacheffe provides more aroma and acidity.

For beginners, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a middle extraction parameter, and everyone can adjust the data according to the coffee's flavor performance: extract 40g of coffee liquid from 20g of coffee grounds at a 1:2 ratio & 9bar pressure, with a time of 25-30 seconds. Make corresponding adjustments based on the actual flavor performance after extraction is complete.

After espresso extraction is complete, adding an appropriate amount of milk makes latte coffee; adding an appropriate amount of water makes Americano coffee; adding an appropriate amount of milk and dense milk foam makes cappuccino coffee.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473