How does the coffee bean process shape a Guatemalan pour-over?

Guatemalan Antigua beans from volcanic soil often carry nutty, cocoa and light smoky notes, plus citrus acidity and caramel sweetness. Home brewers who find their cup tastes flatter than a cafe version usually need to adjust four pour-over variables: water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio and pouring technique.

Using a washed Antigua La Flor lot of Bourbon, Caturra and Catuai grown at 1200-1600m, the brewing plan walks through a three-pour extraction with set parameters for each stage. The coffee bean process, from washed processing to roast, sets the flavor baseline the recipe aims to reproduce.

Guatemala is a representative coffee-producing region in Latin America, and its coffees often carry nutty and cocoa notes, while the volcanic soil gives the beans a distinctive smoky aftertaste, making them deeply loved by coffee enthusiasts. However, many people who brew Guatemalan beans at home feel that the flavor differs from what they taste in cafés; the problem often lies in water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and pouring technique. In this article, Front Street Coffee uses the most representative Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee beans as an example, first introducing its region, varieties, and processing method, then systematically explaining the four key parameters of pour-over brewing, along with a complete three-stage extraction procedure and brewing data to help you brew the citrus acidity, floral aroma, and caramel sweetness this bean should have.

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Guatemala is a well-known coffee-producing region in Latin America, and its local coffees often carry the nutty and cocoa flavors typical of Latin America. In addition, because the soil in the producing region is fertile volcanic soil, the beans' aftertaste also reveals a hint of smokiness. This distinctive expression has won the hearts of many coffee lovers. However, many friends who brew Guatemalan beans at home often tell Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): why does the flavor I brew taste different from Front Street Guatemala coffee beans, and also different from what I drink in coffee shops? Which step exactly is the problem? In the article below, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will discuss how to brew Front Street Guatemala coffee beans to restore the flavor they should have.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses the most representative Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee beans as an example to explain!

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Guatemala Antigua Flor Coffee Beans

Country: Guatemala

Producing region: Antigua (La Minita La Minita Estate)

Altitude: 1200-1600m

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Processing method: Washed processing

Flavor: Citrus acidity, bright fruit acidity, caramel aroma, slight smokiness.

The reason Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses this bean as a demonstration is that it comes from Guatemala's most renowned Antigua producing region, which is also the country's earliest coffee-growing region. Antigua is located in a valley surrounded by three volcanoes, Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. The terrain is enclosed, so the soil is not easily severely eroded or washed away. Among them, Volcan Fuego is still an active volcano and erupts from time to time, making the soil in this producing region rich in minerals, which is very beneficial to the growth of Arabica coffee trees.

Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor Coffee Bean Varieties

On the other hand, the varieties used for this bean are also the most widely planted type in Latin America, and can best reflect the typical flavor of Guatemalan coffee. Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai all actually originate from the Bourbon family, so they all have relatively prominent sweetness in flavor. Below, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will explain the characteristics of these three varieties separately.

Bourbon

Bourbon coffee was first planted on Reunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789. It originated from a natural mutation of the Typica variety under Arabica and is currently the oldest existing coffee variety.

Common Bourbon usually changes from green fruit to ripe bright red fruit, which is the familiar "Red Bourbon." The fruit is relatively short and round, also called round-body Bourbon. The pulp and seed have high density, good sweetness, and bright acidity. Besides Red Bourbon, there are actually Yellow Bourbon, as well as the rare Orange Bourbon and the precious Pink Bourbon. Red Bourbon.

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its productivity and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it has the problem of fluctuating productivity every two years. In flavor, it is comparable to Bourbon or slightly inferior. More importantly, it has extremely strong adaptability and does not need shade trees; it can grow vigorously even when directly exposed to sunlight, commonly known as sun-grown coffee. It can adapt to high-density planting, but requires more fertilizer, which increases costs. Therefore, early coffee farmers did not readily accept it.

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid variety of Arabica, crossed from Mundo Novo (New World) and Caturra. It has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherits Caturra's advantage of a short tree body and also corrects Mundo Novo's shortcomings. Another advantage is that the fruit holds firmly and is not easy to drop even in strong winds, making up for Arabica fruit's fragile weakness. However, its overall flavor is more monotonous than Caturra, and also more monotonous than Mundo Novo and lacking in body. This is the greatest regret. In addition, its fruit growth and harvest lifespan is only about ten years; its relatively short lifespan is also one of its weaknesses.

Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor Coffee Bean Processing Method

According to Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), this Front Street Guatemala Flor coffee bean is a brand under La Minita La Minita Company. The company has a good reputation in green bean processing and quality control. When developing this Front Street Flor coffee bean, it provided the La Minita Estate in Guatemala's Antigua producing region with the industry's highest-standard cultivation and processing techniques, and directly sent dedicated personnel to Guatemala to participate in quality control.

At the same time, this bean was entrusted to Las Pastores, the largest and most famous washed processing plant in Antigua, for green bean processing. After processing by this plant, the coffee presented rich floral and tea aromas, with rich acidity on the palate, excellent sweetness, and a clean, refreshing mouthfeel. La Minita Company then named it "Flor" for production and sale.

Such flavor performance should also be attributed to excellent washed processing. The special feature of the washed method is that it can make coffee flavor brighter and cleaner, and it is also the processing method that best reflects a bean's original flavor. Flor coffee beans themselves are already good in quality, and combined with washed processing, it is the icing on the cake.

In summary, this Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee bean introduced by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is indeed of excellent quality. So how can its proper flavor be brewed correctly? Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will demonstrate the brewing process for Front Street Guatemala coffee beans.

Front Street Guatemala Coffee Pour-Over Brewing Step Tutorial

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that to brew a good pot of coffee, you mainly need to start from four aspects: water temperature, grind coarseness, coffee-to-water ratio, and brewing technique.

1. Water temperature

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses different water temperatures when brewing coffee beans of different roast levels. During roasting, substances inside the beans are lost as the roast deepens, so dark-roasted beans should avoid extracting too many unwanted flavors and should use lower temperatures. For medium-light roasted beans, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends 90-91°C water, and for medium-dark roasted Front Street pwn Golden Mandheling, 87-89°C water is recommended.

For this Front Street Guatemala Flor coffee bean, the flavor is mainly citrus and fruit acidity. To highlight this characteristic, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses medium roasting, so the brewing water temperature is controlled by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) at 90-91°C.

2. Grind size

Grind size refers to the size of coffee particles, and it affects the contact time between coffee and water. The finer the coffee grounds, the more substances can be extracted in the same amount of time, but grinding too fine easily causes over-extraction; conversely, coffee grind size the coarser it is, the fewer substances are extracted in the same amount of time, but grinding too coarse easily causes under-extraction.

In addition, everyone has a different grinder, so the parameters are also different. Here Front Street recommends buying a No. 20 cup testing calibration sieve with a aperture of 0.85mm. Weigh 10g of coffee beans, adjust to a rough grind setting and grind into coffee grounds, pour into the sieve and sift, then weigh the sifted coffee grounds (be sure to sift until no more coffee grounds can pass through the sieve before finishing).

A passing rate of 80% (8g sifted from 10g grounds) is the most suitable grind size for medium-light roasted beans, while for medium-dark roasting it is a passing rate of 70%-75% (7-7.5g sifted from 10g grounds). If it exceeds the suitable sifting rate, adjust the grind coarser appropriately; if it does not reach the suitable sifting rate, adjust the grind finer appropriately.

3. Coffee-to-water ratio

This is the difference in flavor of pour-over coffee extraction parameters based on the SCAA Golden Cup extraction theory, as summarized by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

[Strong taste] 1:10～1:11, i.e. 1:12.5～1:13.5 under the Golden Cup standard

[Moderate taste] 1:12～1:13 (i.e. 1:14.5～1:15.5 under the Golden Cup standard)

[Light and refreshing] 1:14～1:16 (i.e. 1:16.5～1:18.5 under the Golden Cup standard)

A ratio of coffee bean grams to brewing water of 1:14.5～1:15.5 makes it easiest to reach the golden range of 18%～22% Golden Cup extraction yield and 1.15%～1.35% concentration.

Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends here that when brewing this Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee bean, you might as well use the less error-prone 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio.

4. Brewing technique

Finally, pour-over technique is also very important. Common ones include the three-stage method, one-cut method, drip method, and so on. Here Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends that beginners use the three-stage pouring method to brew, because this technique is suitable for light-roasted, medium-light, and medium-roasted coffee beans. The segmented extraction method of three-stage pouring can clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee, and can relatively ensure the presentation of the coffee's flavor.

As mentioned above by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), the brewer should use a stable pouring method to pour water at the appropriate temperature and volume onto the coffee grounds for extraction in order to get a delicious cup of coffee. Pour-over coffee can also be called an art. Just as cooking a dish requires not only fresh ingredients but also attention to heat and the chef's skill, pour-over coffee is naturally no exception. Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will teach everyone how to perform three-stage pouring for pour-over coffee.

Three-stage brewing technique:

First pour: Blooming (helps release gas)

Many coffee lovers do not understand the meaning of blooming in pour-over coffee. In fact, blooming is needed because during the roasting process when coffee beans change from green beans to roasted beans, a series of chemical reactions and physical changes occur. After reaching a certain degree of roasting, a large amount of gas (mostly carbon dioxide) accumulates inside the beans.

Generally speaking, the fresher the beans and the closer to the roast date, the more bubbles usually appear during blooming. Dark-roasted beans also release more gas during blooming than light-roasted beans. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s coffee beans are all freshly roasted, so customers are generally advised to rest the beans for three days first, allowing the coffee beans to release carbon dioxide first, so that problems of instability and under-extraction can be avoided during brewing.

After the gas is released during blooming, the coffee particles can absorb water evenly, making later extraction more uniform. A good bloom allows the coffee grounds to release gas quickly, fully, and evenly, while also fully and quickly contacting water, helping the coffee grounds be evenly extracted. These are precisely the purpose and significance of blooming in pour-over coffee.

Second pour

The second pour starts from the center, injecting a small stream of water into the bottom of the coffee bed. In order to concentrate the penetration of the water stream, the circling movement range should be small, about the size of a one-yuan coin, and then circle outward. From the start of the second pour, pay attention to the water amount and try not to exceed the height of the coffee bed. In other words, when the water stream circles close to the filter paper, you can stop pouring.

Third pour

The coffee bed that was originally thicker near the edge of the filter paper becomes heavier after absorbing water, slides down and becomes thinner as the water level drops. When the water level drops to halfway, you can proceed with the third pour.

From the start of the third pour, observe the extent to which the water level drops. Likewise, start pouring from the center and circle outward, and do not let the water amount exceed the height of the coffee bed. At this time, you will also observe that the proportion of foam has covered the entire surface. The third pour should increase the tumbling of coffee particles so that all settled particles are turned over, thereby dissolving soluble substances.

Rolling particles will stop when water is no longer added. At this point, it relies on the flow rate caused by the dropping water level to create friction among the coffee particles. Therefore, once water addition stops, the coffee grounds will sink and cause clogging, so special attention must be paid to the rhythm of pouring. If there are too many pauses in pouring, it is equivalent to letting the coffee grounds stay soaked in water, which will cause astringency and unwanted flavors in the final stage of extraction.

The above is the three-stage extraction method compiled by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). Its other name is the "segmented" extraction method. Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will share how this Front Street Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee bean is brewed.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Data Sharing

Dripper: V60 #01

Water temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: BG6m / medium-fine grind (sieve to 80% with No. 20 sieve bowl)

Brewing technique: Three-stage extraction

For the first stage, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (the electronic scale shows about 125g), finishing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (the electronic scale shows about 225g), finishing the pour in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Drip filtration is completed at 2'00"-2'10". Remove the dripper to complete extraction.

Front Street Guatemala Flor Coffee Flavor Description: Relatively prominent citrus acidity, juicy acidity, rich floral aroma, pleasant sweetness, medium body, with a slight caramel note and smokiness in the finish. Overall pure, gentle, smooth in texture, balanced in taste, lively, and with layered complexity.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.