Many people buy coffee beans from Starbucks, but because the grinding and brewing methods are wrong, what they end up drinking is just a cup of weak, gritty hot water. Starting from this problem, this article explains why coffee grounds need to be filtered, why coffee grounds cannot be consumed directly, and the bean-selection and roasting logic behind Starbucks coffee beans' journey from Seattle's Pike Place Market to the world. The article also introduces the flavor characteristics of Pike Place Roast, the South of the Clouds blend involving China's Yunnan, and the complete tasting method of smelling, sipping, and taking a hearty mouthful, helping coffee lovers truly understand the time, temperature, and extraction details behind a cup of Starbucks coffee.
How exactly should Starbucks coffee beans be enjoyed?
A couple of days ago, someone spent 95 yuan at Starbucks on a bag of coffee beans and even had the staff grind them into powder. But when they got home and simply poured hot water over it, it was nothing like coffee—there was coffee residue at the bottom of the cup, and the taste was very bland. How should this situation be handled? Do you really need a coffee machine? And how exactly should it be done?
I studied coffee making systematically abroad. What you bought is ground coffee powder, and residue is normal—it needs to be extracted with a coffee machine. Once you understand how to use a coffee machine, these problems become clear on their own.
The principle is actually somewhat similar to brewing tea: after the tea is made, the tea leaves are discarded. The same goes for coffee—you use a coffee machine to extract the soluble flavors from the coffee grounds, and what remains in the cup is the coffee liquid; the coffee grounds are not drunk. Afterward, you can froth milk or sprinkle chocolate powder according to personal preference to make cappuccino, latte, mocha, and other different drinks.
A coffee bean's Starbucks journey—the selection of coffee beans
Seattle's Pike Place Market can be toured in half a day, but many people's journeys converge here for the same reason: to find the first cup of coffee Starbucks ever sold. That's right—this is the location of Starbucks' first store in the world and the starting point of Starbucks coffee tradition. For nearly forty years, Starbucks has carried on the coffee spirit from Seattle, sourcing, roasting, and serving only the finest Arabica coffee beans from around the world, bringing a unique Starbucks experience to coffee lovers everywhere.
To the layperson, every coffee bean looks more or less the same; but in the eyes of Starbucks experts, each one is different. The coffee beans Starbucks uses all come from highland regions and are of the Arabica variety, because only the finest beans, with the support of Starbucks' unique roasting method, can push coffee taste to the extreme. From being picked to being selected by Starbucks buyers, every coffee bean must pass three checks: first, the coffee-growing region and variety are determined according to the C.A.F.E. Practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices); then buyers examine samples; a second check is conducted at loading; and after shipping there is a final inspection. If any stage fails to meet the standard, Starbucks will reject it on the spot. Therefore, every Starbucks coffee bean, before it even enters the roasting stage, is already among the finest of the fine.
Tasting Starbucks' new coffee beans
This time the focus of the tasting is the newly launched Pike Place Roast. Starbucks fans should be familiar with this place name that wrote coffee legend: 1912 Pike Place is precisely the birthplace of Starbucks, and this oldest store has now become a representative sightseeing spot in Seattle. The flowing crowds, old-style murals and world map, along with the melodious singing of street artists, all preserve the original flavor of Starbucks—a pilgrimage site fans will not miss.
This iconic Pike Place Roast was created in 2008, brainstormed by Starbucks master coffee blenders and roasters, who poured nearly forty years of experience and passion into it, carefully crafting it—and this time it is also making its first appearance in the Chinese market. A little tip: if you buy coffee beans but don't know how to brew them, you can bring them to the store and ask the staff to do it for you; it's best to also bring your own personal cup, as it feels better to drink that way.
After the coffee master brewed it on site, we were invited to taste it, with these steps suggested: first smell it with your nose, then take a small sip and feel it with the tip of your tongue, then take a big gulp to experience its flavor, aroma, acidity, and body. This coffee is very balanced overall: soft acidity, with subtle notes of cocoa and roasted hazelnut; after swallowing, a faint caramel aroma can still be caught on the tip of the tongue. It should be a taste most people find easy to accept.
While everyone was tasting the coffee, a friend couldn't resist grabbing a few coffee beans from the table and tossing them into his mouth, crunching loudly. The store manager asked in surprise, "I've only seen Starbucks coffee buyers do that—they chew coffee beans directly to judge variety and quality. Are you a coffee expert too?" I laughed and replied, "What expert! Every variety of bean tastes about the same in my mouth. I only started eating them to lose weight, and after getting used to it I find them especially fragrant—just like cracking sunflower seeds!" In fact, chewing coffee beans dry isn't as bitter as you'd imagine; instead, they're very fragrant, especially suitable for people who stay up late studying and whose mouths always want something to do.
Starbucks coffee experts carefully select excellent beans from around the world—so is there a representative from China? The store really does have one—South of the Clouds. This is Starbucks' first blended coffee containing Chinese-grown coffee, made from a mix of coffees from Latin America, Asia/Pacific, and Yunnan Province, launched specifically to celebrate Chinese New Year. The name is auspicious, and the packaging is very distinctive too.
All Starbucks coffee bean packages have a specially designed one-way degassing valve, which lets air out but not in, thereby maintaining freshness.
My Starbucks coffee journey
Loving to drink coffee at Starbucks has been a habit for many years. Whether it's a refreshing Frappuccino on a scorching summer day or a hand-warming mocha in biting cold wind, as long as you push open that door printed with the green mermaid totem, your whole sense of taste is already filled with rich coffee aroma.
My Starbucks coffee journey
A cup of top-quality coffee can absolutely make one savor it: a long-lasting aftertaste in the mouth, an enchanting rich mellowness lingering at the tip of the nose, captivating—this is exactly the charm of coffee, and also the charm of Starbucks. I admit I'm a person prone to anxiety, but every time I walk into Starbucks, I always feel soothed.
It wasn't until one day I was invited to visit Starbucks that I learned that a cup of pure, authentic Starbucks coffee is not born simply. When we are drawn to something delicious, the first thing we usually encounter is its aroma. Take durian, for example—it smells and tastes vastly different; some are obsessed with this contrast, while others keep their distance because of it. This is the fate between aroma and the individual. I love coffee, and it's no exaggeration to say that the rich, refreshing aroma accounts for sixty percent of the reason; this preconceived impression has made my fondness for Starbucks coffee grow day by day. Of course, every cup of freshly ground coffee has its own aroma, and no two cups in the world are exactly the same. This is precisely the wonder of coffee—that is to say, when you smell a cup of coffee, your coffee journey has actually already begun.
When tasting coffee, be sure to slurp it heartily, letting the coffee cover all the taste buds so that the unique flavor and aroma reach the nasal cavity. The aroma you smelled earlier is like a lure, until you take a big sip—it's as if the nasal cavity and oral cavity are instantly filled, and that fulfilling pleasure makes one incredibly satisfied and happy.
After the earlier impatience, you can then elegantly savor it slowly. I personally prefer a heavier taste—the kind of aroma that stays between the lips and teeth, still not fully enjoyed even after the last drop is finished, vaguely present on the tip of the tongue, with a slight aftertaste still lingering on both sides of the tongue, carrying a touch of bright acidity, the entire palate completely wrapped, enjoying the bath of coffee. But drinking such a perfect cup of Starbucks coffee requires a process, while we often focus only on the result.
Making a cup of Starbucks coffee starts with every single Starbucks coffee bean. These top Arabica coffee beans from the highlands must pass Starbucks' strict three inspections before they can truly join the Starbucks family and become Starbucks coffee's secret weapon.
Mastering the timing, temperature, and color when preparing a good cup of coffee is definitely not something that can be achieved in a day or two, but must be accumulated through constant experience. The key is to give each cup of coffee a different soul—which is also no easy task. Coffee beans must be processed in batches by different roasting experts using different roasting methods and intensities, with monitoring and adjustment at any time, thereby giving Starbucks coffee the most wonderful aroma, different degrees of body, varying levels of acidity, and unique flavors.
To ensure the taste of the coffee, different grinding degrees and extraction times for Starbucks coffee beans will also make the coffee taste different. And to maintain freshness, Starbucks coffee that has been left for more than an hour after extraction will be treated as waste.
In "Dream of the Red Chamber," Miaoyu is quite knowledgeable about tea ceremony, and the water used to brew tea is by no means ordinary water—it's either collected dew or snow water. The water used to prepare Starbucks coffee is equally particular: fresh cold water is used after purification, at the point when it is about to reach boiling. To ensure quality, only water that has passed inspection can be used to make Starbucks coffee.
Only with such meticulous craftsmanship can such perfect flavor be achieved—this is also the secret of Starbucks standing invincible for many years.
Coffee beans with uniform, plump granules already give off a rich, memorable aroma before becoming a cup of coffee. Starbucks' superb roasting craft can awaken the full potential of coffee beans. Pay attention to the scale on the grinder, and you can grind coffee beans to different degrees of fineness according to different requirements.
This is the very core of Starbucks coffee's rich aroma: espresso uses a rapid preparation method based on pressure rather than gravity, producing only a small cup each time, topped with a thick layer of crema, addictive to drink. Of course, if you feel it's not strong enough, try a double espresso, which requires double the coffee powder and is likewise pressed out with water for a more intense coffee. That taste is not something the average person can accept—too heavy—but once you get used to it, it's hard to pull yourself away.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
