For those who prefer a full-bodied taste and dislike acidic coffee, Front Street Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon is a bean well worth paying attention to. It comes from a historic volcanic valley estate in Brazil, and its owning family has won numerous awards in COE competitions, even taking the Cup of Excellence championship in 2011. This Yellow Bourbon undergoes a semi-washed process, with a flavor profile centered on rich chocolate, nuts, and soft fruit sweetness. Its acidity is low and clean, and it performs consistently whether brewed with pour-over, French press, moka pot, or espresso machine. This article will provide a complete analysis of this non-acidic coffee bean, covering the estate's background, award records, green bean processing methods, grading system, and actual brewing flavors.
Some friends have asked: if they can't accept coffee with acidity, are there any beans that don't taste sour? The answer is yes. This Front Street Coffee Brazil Queen Estate is a typical representative. It comes from Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate), which covers a total area of 280 mu and is located in Vale da Grama, an ancient volcanic valley in Brazil. In 2011, this estate won first place in Brazil's COE competition.
Queen Estate (Fazenda Rainha) belongs to the renowned Brazilian coffee family Carvalho Dias. The four estates under this family have appeared on the list every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, winning more than 12 awards in seven years. In 2004, they took home the championship, 9th place, 11th place, and more. While many large and small estates in Brazil have sought entry for years without success, this family has continued to win multiple awards year after year. The Queen Estate purchased by Front Street also has an impressive record: runner-up in 2000, third place in 2001, and 29th place in 2005, and it has won awards three times so far.
The Carvalho Dias family is also a founding member of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association, and its commitment to coffee quality and ecological conservation is evident to all. The family's farm uses natural waterfalls to develop pollution-free hydroelectric power to meet its own electricity needs (another award-winning estate in the family is named Waterfall Estate after this waterfall). The estate also has a church, classrooms, a nursery, and a medical station, and it insists on protecting native vegetation and continuously planting forests. Taking Queen Estate as an example, environmental protection is carried out quite thoroughly. Because the terrain is relatively high and not flat, mechanical harvesting cannot be used, so all fruit picking is done by hand. The estate grows low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties, making it a prime representative of Brazil's high-quality coffee.
Front Street Coffee Brazil Queen Estate
Country: Brazil
Origin: Queen Estate (Fazenda Rainha)
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing Method: Semi-washed process
Altitude: 1400 — 1950m
Processing Method: Natural
The flavor is expressed as a rich chocolate mouthfeel, with a sweet, clean bean character, and some even have tropical fruit aromas.
Queen Estate Award Record:
2014 COE Cup of Excellence 13th place
2013 COE Cup of Excellence 2nd place
2012 COE Cup of Excellence 8th place
2011 COE Cup of Excellence Champion
2010 COE Cup of Excellence 20th place
2009 COE Cup of Excellence 6th place
2008 COE Cup of Excellence 14th place
Front Street Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Green Bean Analysis
This bean uses the Cerezadescascado method (pulped process) invented in Brazil. This processing method is similar to honey processing and can make the coffee flavor more rounded, with an effect between washed and fully natural. During processing, a small amount of water is first used to remove the pulp and skin, after which the coffee is placed directly on drying racks to dry, being turned constantly to ensure every bean is evenly exposed to sunlight. After several days of drying, it is then machine-dried to reach the appropriate moisture content. The processed coffee beans are relatively stable and can be stored for a long time, with low moisture content and larger bean size. 98% of the beans can reach 16 mesh or above, and half of them can reach 18 mesh.
The Brazilian coffee grading system scores based on defect ratio, size, flavor, and mouthfeel, and is a grading system independent of other countries and relatively complex. For example, in "Brasil Santos NY 2 SC17/18 SS FC," NY2 represents the defect ratio grade; the larger the number, the more defects, in order: 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4... NY indicates that the New York grading standard is used as the benchmark. Therefore, this is a very cost-effective coffee bean.
When brewing Front Street Queen Estate with pour-over, French press, or drip bags, you can feel fresh sweetness like sugarcane juice, black tea notes, a soft and refreshing fruit sweetness, obvious nutty flavor, balanced and smooth acidity, a faint clean bitterness, and it is accompanied by rich chocolate aroma and nutty tones, with a bright, refreshing, smooth, and delicate mouthfeel.
If you have a moka pot or espresso machine on hand, you can also make espresso. Front Street habitually uses 20g of coffee grounds and extracts 40g of coffee liquid within 25–30 seconds. At this point the crema is moderate and very delicate, giving off caramel aroma. When made into milk coffee, such as a latte, flat white, or cappuccino, it highlights the flavors of cocoa, cream, and chocolate cookies.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
