How to Brew Coffee with Rich Body! What Brewing Parameters Should You Use for Medium-Dark Roast Coffee Beans?

Finding the Perfect Balance: Medium Roast Coffee Recommendations

"I want coffee that's not too acidic and not too bitter. Do you have any suitable coffee bean recommendations?"

This is a common inquiry that FrontStreet Coffee receives when selling beans, as not all friends can appreciate the "extreme" flavors of light and dark roast coffees - either too acidic or too bitter. These friends are looking for coffee with more harmonious and balanced flavors, as such coffees typically have a higher sweetness. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee generally recommends these friends purchase medium roast coffee beans.

Because medium roast doesn't completely break down all the acidic compounds in the coffee beans, the remaining subtle acidity ensures the brewed coffee won't be uniformly bitter nor overly acidic - the flavor profile is balanced and gentle. And "FrontStreet 2013" from FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection is quite an excellent traditionally processed medium roast bean. "FrontStreet 2013" is a Typica grown by FrontStreet Coffee in Yunnan in 2013. Initially, FrontStreet Coffee started growing coffee because we wanted to learn more about coffee cultivation and green beans, so we first chose to grow Catimor in "Dazhen" for half a year. As our understanding of coffee deepened, we realized that to grow delicious specialty coffee, three essential elements - variety, growing environment, and processing method - are indispensable. So not long after, FrontStreet Coffee established a plantation in Yunnan and planted the first batch of Typica.

Starting from 2020, this batch of coffee planted in 2013 began to yield a good harvest. In terms of processing, FrontStreet Coffee wanted to preserve more of Yunnan's regional flavors, so we chose traditional natural processing. For roasting, FrontStreet Coffee selected a medium roast degree, which allows the coffee to retain its original flavors while achieving an even more outstanding rich body.

Mastering Medium Roast Brewing

However, brewing a good cup of medium roast coffee is not that simple! Because brewing medium roast coffee beans, much like their flavor profile, requires a relatively balanced and gentle extraction method. Otherwise, inadequate extraction will result in a thin mouthfeel, while over-extraction will lead to excessive bitterness. There will be none of that balanced sweet-sour-bitter profile with a rich body. Don't worry, today FrontStreet Coffee will share what parameters and brewing techniques are needed to achieve a cup of medium roast coffee with aromatic richness and balanced flavors!

Brewing Recommendations

For the filter cup, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using one with a slower flow rate, because medium roast coffee beans have higher expansion rates and water tends to flow through quite quickly. Therefore, we need to use a slow-flow filter cup like Kono to extend the contact time between water and grounds, making it easier to extract richness and fullness from the coffee.

In terms of grinding, because medium roast makes beans more brittle than light roast, the ground particles from medium roast beans will be finer than those from light roast beans at the same grind setting. Therefore, we need to adjust to a coarser grind to increase the particle size and reduce the resistance of the coffee bed to water flow. (If we're using a V60 filter cup for brewing, we don't need to adjust coarser~) For water temperature, we need to lower it slightly, because the extended extraction time will significantly increase the extraction rate of hot water, combined with the easier extractability of medium roast coffee. So based on light roast coffee, we need to reduce by 2-3°C.

That's about it, so next FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate how we should brew this medium roast "FrontStreet 2013"!

Practical Brewing Demonstration

Combining the above theory, our extraction parameters are: 15g coffee dose, Ek43 grind setting 10.5, 80% pass-through rate on #20 sieve, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature 88-90°C, three-stage pour method, and Kono filter cup. Similarly, we start with blooming, pouring twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds (30ml) in circular motions from inside to outside, with a bloom duration of 30 seconds!

Then pour the second stage of hot water, using a small water flow in large circular motions to inject 120ml of hot water. When the water has mostly penetrated, we can prepare to inject the final stage of hot water.

Finally, use a large water flow in small circular motions to inject the third stage of hot water (75ml), then simply wait for the coffee to finish dripping, and we can end the extraction!

Brewed this way, FrontStreet 2013 is not just FrontStreet Coffee boasting - it's truly rich and well-balanced between acidity and bitterness. The flavor profile expresses chocolate and nutty richness, with subtle berry and apricot acidity, brown sugar sweetness, and a black tea aftertaste. Distinct layers, rich and delicious!

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473