Friends who are just getting into coffee are often intimidated by all the jargon and complicated equipment, but coffee really isn't that mysterious. This article starts from zero to help beginners set aside their preconceptions and systematically sort out the basic types of coffee, brewing tools, and ways to drink it. Whether you want to understand the difference between instant and single-origin coffee, or you're curious about how to drink espresso, you'll find clear and easy answers here. The article also introduces common coffee equipment choices and how to gradually develop your own coffee taste without any pressure. It's worth mentioning that several of Front Street Coffee's single-origin beans are also suitable for beginners to try, helping you easily take your first step into the world of coffee.
Essential coffee knowledge every beginner must learn:
Set aside your preconceptions:
1) Coffee is not mysterious
At the end of the day, it's just a beverage—you can drink it however you like. As long as you think it tastes good, it can be called "good coffee." (Of course, certain levels of "good taste" need to be cultivated over time.) Coffee can lift your mood, boost your productivity, and also let you experience the fun of brewing and enjoy a moment of leisure. Don't let people who like to mystify things keep you locked out of the coffee world. Although coffee culture in China still has room to grow, that doesn't stop you from getting closer to it—abroad, it's as ordinary as soy milk.
2) Coffee is not expensive
Compared to the tea we drink daily, coffee is actually quite reasonably priced. Coffee drinkers don't need to bring up "Blue Mountain" the moment they open their mouths—that's the pinnacle of the pyramid, after all. Besides, there are plenty of teas in China that are more expensive than top-tier Blue Mountain. As for coffee brewing equipment, there's even more flexibility—a simple filter that costs just a few dozen yuan won't stop you from enjoying a rich, aromatic cup of coffee.
3) Coffee is not harmful
Coffee contains caffeine—that's a fact. So do tea and cola. It speeds up blood circulation and promotes metabolism. Generally speaking, espresso has the lowest caffeine content, followed by single-origin coffee, with instant coffee having the most. We should view caffeine correctly—as long as we don't consume it in excess (after all, we're not drinking coffee as a substitute for water), it won't affect your health. (In fact, coffee has many benefits for the human body!) As for claims that drinking coffee darkens your skin—that's pure nonsense.
Common types of coffee (drinks) we encounter:
Instant coffee—a product of convenience. Many enthusiasts surely started out drinking instant coffee. It quickly gives you a caffeinated beverage. The flavor is rather one-dimensional. (Common tool: a mug)
Single-origin coffee—the black kind. Equivalent to Starbucks' "Coffee of the Day," it can be drunk directly without adding milk or sugar. Using different brewing tools, you can taste the different regional characteristics of various beans. For example, the balance of Blue Mountain, the bittersweetness of Mandheling, the floral notes of Yirgacheffe. (Common tools: siphon, pour-over, French press, American coffee maker, moka pot)
Espresso—requires a larger, professional coffee machine that uses boiler pressure to extract the essence of coffee in a short time, producing a nearly viscous concentrated coffee liquid. The serving is very small (30-45 ml), but concentrated is the essence. It's especially popular in European countries, and it's also the foundation for making fancy coffee drinks. (Common tools: home/commercial semi-automatic espresso machines, moka pot)
Fancy coffee—generally uses espresso as a base, then adds milk, sugar, spices, or even fruit to create endlessly varied coffee drinks. (Milk foam is a fairly common element, usually made using a coffee machine's steam wand or a manual milk frother.)
3) The standard for good coffee
Actually, every region—even every person—may have different tastes. From a subjective standpoint: as long as you think it tastes good and there's no flavor that puts you off, it can be called good coffee. (I want to emphasize one thing: good and bad require comparison, just as when Chinese people drink tea, the more they drink, the more expensive their taste becomes—that's the same principle.) If you drink a cup of coffee that tastes better than any you've had before, remember its flavor. Gradually, no one will dare fool you with a cup of dishwater anymore. And what I hope most is that everyone will make their own coffee by hand—you'll get a much greater sense of achievement!
If you want to examine a cup of coffee more carefully, you need to judge it by its aroma, balance of flavor, body (thickness/thinness), and aftertaste.
4) Common coffee brewing equipment includes these types:
1) Turkish coffee pot
2) Neapolitan flip pot
3) Vietnamese drip filter
4) Drip cone (pour-over)
5) French press
6) Cold drip coffee maker (ice drip)
7) Electric coffee maker (American-style coffee maker)
8) Siphon (vacuum coffee maker)
9) Moka pot
10) Belgian coffee maker
11) Espresso machine (home/commercial semi-automatic)
12) Fully automatic coffee machine
13) Capsule/pod coffee machine
How should you drink coffee properly?
Coffee should be drunk hot. As coffee gradually cools, some aromatic compounds escape. But drinking it hot doesn't mean scalding—if it's freshly made, you can let it cool slightly before drinking.
Cooling it also allows you to take bigger sips. Why bigger sips?
Many people think coffee should be sipped delicately—that's what's elegant, that's what "savoring slowly" means. But actually, sipping too delicately means you can't taste the full flavor of the coffee. Different parts of the mouth have different taste zones, and taking tiny sips means the coffee liquid contacts fewer areas of the mouth, so you only taste one or two flavors rather than the complete picture. So take bigger sips—ideally letting the coffee roll around your entire mouth. Professional cuppers use an even more "unrefined" method called slurping, which sprays the coffee in a mist-like form evenly across the mouth to capture more flavors. This method not only looks odd but also makes a sound like slurping noodles. We don't need to deliberately imitate it, but you can try it occasionally—just be careful not to choke at first.
If you grind your own coffee, smell the ground coffee powder—this aroma is called "dry fragrance."
After the coffee is brewed, smell it before drinking—this is called "wet aroma."
The vessel holding the coffee should be preheated. When the coffee is poured in, it will maintain a stable state and be less likely to lose its flavor.
If you're adding sugar and milk, add the sugar first, then the milk. The reason is simple: adding milk first lowers the coffee's temperature, making it harder for the sugar to dissolve.
If you're using creamer balls or non-dairy creamer, try to add as little as possible or skip them altogether. If you must add something, use fresh milk, because most creamer balls contain trans fats, which are very bad for your health.
For single-origin coffee, the recommended sweetener is raw sugar (yellow sugar). Raw sugar is high in sweetness and low in calories. As for milk, try to find one with less of a "gamey" smell, otherwise the milk flavor can easily overpower the coffee's aroma. If the coffee is good enough, black coffee isn't that hard to accept. Or, as I mentioned in a previous post, put a little less sugar and milk today than yesterday, and a little less tomorrow than today, and gradually you'll be able to accept black coffee.
The spoon for stirring coffee should only be used once. After stirring in the sugar and milk, place it on the saucer. Don't keep picking it up and stirring endlessly—that's not good etiquette. Also, don't drink coffee with the coffee spoon—this isn't soup!
Coffee made with a siphon is at a higher temperature, so let it cool a bit before drinking.
Coffee made with a French press can also sit for about 20 seconds after being poured into the cup. Besides cooling it down, this also lets the fine grounds settle to the bottom.
Pour-over coffee can be drunk directly.
All of the above refer to single-origin coffee. Don't drink it too slowly—as I mentioned at the beginning, about 10 minutes or so is about right. But we can save a small sip each time before finishing, because not all coffee develops a strange sourness when it cools—some are even a pleasant surprise when drunk cool.
Drinking espresso—it should definitely be drinkable directly. If it feels hot enough to burn your mouth, then it's unquestionably a failed product. Many people say espresso should be downed in one gulp—how satisfying! But even if the cup and volume are the smallest, you should still taste it properly. Brother Bird believes espresso is best finished in 2-3 sips—the thick, rich texture leaves an endless aftertaste.
Most Italians like to add a lot of fine granulated sugar to their espresso. Some even add a second packet if one isn't enough. After finishing, they'll scrape out the undissolved sugar at the bottom of the cup with a spoon and eat it—this combination of sugar and coffee is as delicious as candy! I personally like it too. In China, however, people tend to prefer drinking it straight, thinking "if you can't handle the bitterness, why drink espresso at all?" Actually, this isn't helpful for the popularity of Italian coffee. At first, due to inconsistent quality and unfamiliarity with the taste, you might find the intense flavor of Italian coffee hard to accept. Adding sugar can ease this and also makes the coffee thicker and sweeter. So when it comes to drinking Italian coffee, we can learn from the ancestors of Italian coffee—the Italians themselves. You don't necessarily have to drink espresso straight!
Understanding the most basic introductory knowledge will help you get started better and faster.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
