Why Coffee Demands Mastery of the Basics
The 2022 Guangdong Gaokao essay prompt used the Go terms ben shou, miao shou, and su shou to discuss the value of fundamentals. That theme applies directly to coffee. Whether you are brewing, roasting, or running a café, progress depends on understanding core principles first. Without that base, attempts at creativity often fail, and the result is a flawed cup.
In practice, this means learning extraction variables, bean characteristics, and roasting logic. A barista who knows why grind size and water temperature matter can adjust with purpose. A roaster who understands development time can bring out sweetness. These are the ben shou of coffee. Only after they are solid can miao shou—those brilliant, intuitive choices—appear reliably.
The 2022 Guangdong college entrance examination (Gaokao) Chinese essay prompt centered on the concepts of "ben shou, miao shou, su shou" (fundamental moves, brilliant moves, vulgar moves) in Go, sparking widespread discussion. For coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, this prompt is equally thought-provoking. Whether it's pour-over extraction, coffee roasting, or running a café, none can do without a deep understanding of the fundamentals. This article uses the Gaokao essay prompt to explore the "ben shou" approach in the coffee world: from extraction principles to bean characteristics, from roasting logic to café preparation—only by solidly mastering the basics can one truly create stunning coffee experiences, and avoid falling into the "su shou" trap by neglecting the foundations.
At noon today, the 2022 Guangdong college entrance examination Chinese essay prompt was just announced.
The original test question is as follows:
Read the following material and write according to the requirements. (60 points)
"Ben shou, miao shou, su shou" are three terms in Go. Ben shou refers to proper moves that conform to Go principles; miao shou refers to unexpectedly brilliant moves; su shou refers to moves that seem reasonable but usually cause damage from an overall perspective. For beginners, one should start with ben shou; only when the fundamentals of ben shou are solid will one's Go skills improve. Some beginners are eager to pursue miao shou while neglecting the more commonly used ben shou. Ben shou is the foundation, and miao shou is creation. Generally speaking, only with a deep understanding of ben shou can miao shou emerge; otherwise, one will inevitably play su shou, and one's level will not improve easily.
The above material is quite enlightening to us. Please write an article based on the material, reflecting your insights and thoughts.
Requirements: Choose an appropriate angle, determine the theme, clarify the genre, and create your own title; do not plagiarize or imitate; do not disclose personal information; no fewer than 800 words.
The reason I want to talk with everyone about this year's Guangdong Gaokao essay prompt is that this question is truly worth pondering. As the saying goes, "One minute on stage, ten years of practice behind the scenes." To shine and succeed, one must practice the fundamentals solidly.
All the success we see is just the glory of that one minute on stage, while the people who achieve success hide behind them countless hardships and tears, or repeated falls that let them grow through setbacks.
The same is true for coffee.
Coffee brewing cannot do without ben shou. People obsess over techniques and equipment, but few understand the essence—the principles of extraction and the beans themselves. The essence of brewing coffee is that when water passes through coffee particles, it extracts the soluble substances within.
The higher the altitude and the lighter the roast, the denser the coffee bean texture and the slower the release of substances; the lower the altitude and the darker the roast, the looser the coffee bean texture and the faster the release of substances; the finer the coffee grounds/the higher the water temperature, the easier it is to extract flavor; the longer the extraction time, the more coffee substances are extracted, and the stronger the coffee flavor; if too few substances are extracted, the coffee flavor tends to show irritating sourness and astringency, with an overall sharp and thin mouthfeel; if too many coffee substances are extracted, the coffee flavor tends to show bitterness and miscellaneous tastes, with a dry and intense mouthfeel; ...
There is no fixed method; every coffee bean has its different characteristics, so there is no fixed brewing technique. Under such principles, finding a brewing method suitable for the coffee beans is what everyone needs to think about.
All the extraction techniques we see cannot do without an understanding of the essence of extraction and the coffee beans themselves. The brewing equipment we see is only something that assists extraction. Many times, a combination of certain techniques and equipment is only suitable for brewing a particular coffee bean; not all coffee beans are suited to the same extraction method.
With a good understanding of the most basic principles, you can throw coffee grounds into a pot of water and still brew delicious coffee. Compared with unchanging imitation, finding a brewing method more suitable for the coffee beans during the brewing process is much more interesting.
With the promotion of specialty coffee, everyone will have heard of the Golden Cup extraction standard: "Coffee with an extraction yield of 18%-22% and a concentration of 1.15%-1.35% is the most delicious." The standard was established to provide a reference for everyone and to make coffee extraction more scientific, but that does not mean coffee with these values is necessarily the most delicious, because everyone's senses differ. Whether it tastes good or not is up to the person drinking it.
Roasting coffee beans also cannot do without ben shou. Before studying roasting techniques and determining roasting approaches, first understand the coffee beans and the roaster themselves. How factors such as altitude, soil, and climate of the origin affect the bean structure and flavor expression; how the freshness and moisture content of coffee beans affect the roasting process; understand how every temperature, every time period, and every roaster affects the performance of coffee beans during roasting...
To make a dish delicious, you need sufficient understanding from ingredients to techniques to bring out the best at the right temperature and the right time. To roast coffee beans deliciously, you need to know the state of the beans like the back of your hand, so that by controlling the heat and temperature, the coffee beans can show a more perfect side at the right temperature and time.
Opening a coffee shop likewise cannot do without ben shou. If you have capital, you also need to understand how to run a shop. Research before opening a coffee shop is extremely important. Everyone should know that running a café requires personal practice; it is not that by watching others succeed in opening a coffee shop or watching others brew coffee simply, your eyes can learn it and you can put it into practice.
Therefore, before opening a coffee shop, you need to gather a great deal of information and reserve knowledge to lay a solid foundation for opening your own shop. The reserved knowledge mentioned here is not only the learning of coffee brewing skills and coffee knowledge, but also understanding how to use funds, arrange personnel, and carry out specific operations for opening a coffee shop.
As stated in this year's Gaokao essay prompt, generally speaking, only with a deep understanding of ben shou can miao shou emerge; otherwise, one will inevitably play su shou, and one's level will not improve easily.
Only with a solid foundation can more possibilities be created. Without a thorough understanding, even if you make a mistake, you will not know it was a mistake. It may not affect the overall situation, but there will be no room for progress.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
