The prosperity of the coffee industry is inseparable from the promotion of various professional competitions. These competitions not only promote coffee culture but also make the profession of barista more standardized and professional. Every year, many contestants from different countries around the world participate in the competition. Among them, the seven most influential world-class competitions cover multiple fields such as barista, brewing, latte art, roasting, cupping, coffee and spirits, and Turkish coffee. This article will introduce the positioning and competition systems of these events one by one, and focus on sorting out the development history, advancement rules, and past champion data of the World Barista Championship (WBC), helping coffee enthusiasts fully understand the landscape and charm of international coffee competition. [more…]

The coffee world has its own world-class competitive stage—from barista championships to brewing, latte art, roasting, cupping, mixology, and Turkish coffee, the seven major competitions under the World Coffee Championships (WCC) each have their own highlights, testing competitors' comprehensive skills while continuously leading the trends in specialty coffee. Today, Front Street Coffee takes you through these international competitions one by one to understand their content and rules, and to see what exactly the world's top coffee professionals compete in and how they compete. [more…]

Geisha coffee has been highly sought after in recent years, but is it suitable for making espresso? Starting from the origins and flavor characteristics of the Geisha variety, this article analyzes why competitors in barista competitions favor Geisha, and offers pour-over recommendations for Front Street Coffee's Emerald Estate Green Label Geisha. At the same time, addressing the bean selection and extraction challenges of Geisha SOE, it introduces the medium-roast positioning, flavor performance, and specific espresso parameters of Front Street Coffee's Grana Geisha SOE, helping coffee enthusiasts find a balance between cost and flavor, so they can make a cup of Geisha Americano or latte with clear floral and fruity notes at home. [more…]

Walking into Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) and facing the names of dozens of coffee beans on the menu, many people wonder: Aren't Bach and Mozart musicians? How did they become coffee beans? In fact, there is a complete logic behind the naming of coffee beans. In the early days, coffee beans were mostly named after countries, regions, or ports. After entering the specialty coffee era, traceability information has become increasingly detailed. Estate names, green bean competition rankings, barista competition beans, variety names, processing methods, and even brand classifications can all become the name of a bean. This article will systematically sort out the various rules for naming coffee beans to help you no longer feel confused when ordering. [more…]

The 2022 World Barista Championship (WBC) and World Brewers Cup (WBrC) will be held concurrently in Melbourne, Australia, from September 27 to 30. As top-tier events in the coffee world, WBC and WBrC have for years driven the development of the specialty coffee industry and the professionalization of baristas. However, in recent years, multiple past champions and competitors have pointed out shortcomings in the events regarding scoring transparency, judge selection, theme setting, and gender inclusiveness, calling for reform. This article will walk you through the latest developments of the events and take an in-depth look at competitors' views and suggestions for the future development of WBC. [more…]

The AeroPress, a uniquely shaped brewing device, came from a company best known for flying discs, yet after its launch in 2005 it quickly took the specialty coffee world by storm, even spawning a dedicated World AeroPress Championship (WAC) and a documentary. With its manual pressure, fast brew times, and easy portability and cleanup, it has become a daily choice for many coffee lovers. This article will cover the AeroPress's original invention intent, its differences from the French press, the development of the WAC competition, and then move on to the actual brewing process, using "Front Street Kenya Little Tomato" as an example to give the dose, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, and inverted pressure operation steps, helping you consistently reproduce a cup of coffee that is bright, sweet, and full of juicy fruit character. [more…]

Specialty coffee drinks are becoming increasingly common in specialty cafés, and their high prices and rich flavors attract many consumers. Yet many people, after drinking them, can't taste the coffee at all and even call them "sweet water," which raises the question: why are these specialty drinks so expensive? This article starts from the definition of a specialty drink, sorts out its two main types originating from the WBC creative beverage, analyzes the reasons for the high price, discusses whether a specialty drink is worth it, and shares how to choose Front Street Coffee beans and extraction methods based on flavor pairings when recreating it at home. [more…]

The world of coffee is vast as an ocean. Beyond the varieties we know well, such as Bourbon, Typica, and Geisha, many rare varieties remain little known. These varieties have gradually come into public view, whether because of their unique flavors or their appearances in competitions. This article will introduce you to four rare coffee varieties: Eugenioides, Wush Wush, Sidra, and Laurina, covering their origins, characteristics, cultivation challenges, and performances in major competitions. Whether you are a coffee enthusiast or a professional in the industry, the stories behind these varieties are worth exploring. At the same time, we will also introduce the Colombia Sidra coffee beans brought to you by Front Street Coffee, so you can experience their unique flavor charm. [more…]

Every year, global coffee production is enormous, and different regions and processing methods give coffee beans an endless variety of flavors. Rather than trying blindly, many enthusiasts choose to buy award-winning beans from competitions directly, which ensures quality and lets them experience the award-winning flavors. Coffee farmers also hope to achieve good rankings through competitions to increase the selling price and reputation of their green beans. However, a specialty coffee evaluation in Yunlin County, Taiwan, for self-produced beans was disrupted by a computer system failure that scrambled the codes linking entrants to coffee beans, causing errors in the previously announced rankings: a Grand Prize winner became a Gold Award winner, drawing attention. The organizers urgently corrected the list and promised to pay the bonus difference, but the credibility of the competition still faces a test. [more…]

In the past decade, a coffee estate in Colombia has won more than sixty awards at major coffee competitions around the world, and is known within the industry as coffee's "rising star" — this is Finca La Esperanza. From a couple acquiring Finca Posido to the family gradually expanding to five estates, and then in 2007 leasing the La Carreta farm in Boquete, Panama, and winning the BOP championship, the rise of Finca La Esperanza has been full of legendary color. This article will take you through the historical development of Finca La Esperanza, the terroir advantages of Cauca Department, and a tasting of a sun-dried Geisha from Finca Margarita, to experience the charm of flavors interwoven with blackcurrant, blueberry, and red wine. [more…]

In the past dozen years or so, Geisha coffee has swept through major competitions, capturing more than twenty championship trophies, even eclipsing Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona. This legendary bean variety originated from the Gesha Mountains in southwestern Ethiopia, journeying through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Costa Rica, before finally achieving fame at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. This article will guide you through the spread of Geisha, clarify the core differences between the three grades—Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label—explore the real reasons behind its high price, and let you experience its stunning floral and fruity tea-like flavors. Whether you are new to it or already familiar, you will find practical purchasing references here. [more…]

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow the WeChat official account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). The coffees at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) often share: "The core of Italian coffee is espresso," and a good espresso is greatly [more…]

In the world of specialty coffee, the two English abbreviations COE and SOE often confuse enthusiasts—they appear similar but actually point to completely different domains. COE stands for Cup of Excellence, the world's most authoritative specialty green coffee competition, first held by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence in Brazil in 1999 and since expanded to Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and many other producing countries. SOE, on the other hand, is short for Single Origin Espresso, referring to espresso made from single-origin coffee beans. This article will systematically sort out the essential differences between the two from the perspectives of competition systems, judging procedures, and extraction characteristics, and explore the common question of whether SOE is necessarily superior to blended espresso. [more…]

The Cup of Excellence (COE), as the world's first internet auction platform for award-winning coffee, has been a highly anticipated event in the coffee world since it was founded in Brazil in 1999 by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee, hosted the COE for the first time in 2020 and set a record high of $400.5 per pound in 2022. However, due to the termination of partner funding and the civil war, the 2023 event was forced to be suspended. This year, as the situation has stabilized, the COE has officially returned to Ethiopia, with more than 600 samples arriving at regional warehouses and, for the first time, separate natural and washed categories. The European Commission is selecting international judges, and the industry is looking forward to the emergence of a new batch of high-quality coffee beans. Front Street Coffee will also continue to follow this grand event and bring the latest information to enthusiasts. [more…]

The Cup of Excellence (COE), one of the most authoritative specialty coffee competitions in the world, was founded in 1999 by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), with the aim of providing a showcase platform for high-quality coffee from coffee-producing countries and helping coffee farmers earn higher incomes. The 2024 Brazil COE competition coincides with the 25th anniversary of the event's founding in Brazil, and the results have now been officially announced. This year's competition was once again divided into three categories: natural, washed and honey, and experimental processing. Among the winning varieties, rare varieties such as Arará and Topázio emerged, attracting widespread attention. This article will take you through an in-depth look at the origins and characteristics of these two varieties and their performance in the COE competition, while also highlighting related product information recommended by the Front Street Coffee brand. [more…]

Africa, as the core region of the coffee-growing belt, has nurtured many high-quality coffee-producing countries, among which Ethiopia is widely recognized as the birthplace of coffee. The African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), established in 2000, launched the Taste of Harvest (TOH) competition, whose format is similar to that of the Cup of Excellence (COE) and is divided into national competitions and the Africa regional final. In 2024, the Ethiopia TOH competition was held in Addis Ababa, with a total of 75 companies and 212 Arabica coffee entries participating. This article will introduce in detail the origin backgrounds and processing details of the natural group champion Testi Trading Plc, the washed group champion Eseham Trading plc, and the honey process group champion Yihonal Trading plc, and will also include relevant recommendations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

In the world of specialty coffee, COE (Cup Of Excellence) has long been regarded as one of the most credible competitions. It not only determines whether a lot of coffee beans can be sold through auction, but also directly affects a estate's reputation and the income of coffee farmers. This article will walk you through the COE competition format and process, the advantages of auction coffees, and why it has maintained its authoritative status among numerous competitions. At the same time, we will also talk about a coffee on Front Street Coffee's bean list—an auction lot from Ethiopia's first COE competition in 2020, COE22—and look at the origin story and flavor performance behind it, as well as how to bring out its best state in daily brewing. [more…]

In the pouring techniques of hand-brewed coffee, the fast circular swirl pour is a controversial yet frequently seen aggressive method in competitions. It uses centrifugal force to fling the water outward, accelerating the tumbling of the coffee bed, thereby improving extraction efficiency and even helping to form a coffee wall that locks in flavor. However, this technique demands extremely high control from the operator; a slight mistake can lead to uneven extraction of the coffee bed and imbalanced flavor. Front Street Coffee will objectively analyze the pros and cons of the swirl pour in this article, and, in conjunction with coffee bean quality, roast level, and the differences between competition beans and everyday beans, explain why beginners are not advised to blindly imitate it. The article will also point out that the pouring technique is only one part of the brewing parameters and must be coordinated with grind size, water temperature, and other factors to be effective. [more…]

Front Street Coffee recently acquired a sun-dried Geisha coffee bean produced by Colombia's Finca La Esperanza. When brewed, it presents aromas of blueberry and smoked plum, with layers of blackcurrant juice, orange, and berry flavors on the palate, a full-bodied juicy feel, and a red-wine-like texture in the finish. This Geisha comes from a renowned, long-established estate in Colombia—Cafe Granja La Esperanza, whose Chinese name means "Hope." Over the past decade, Finca La Esperanza has accumulated more than sixty awards in major global coffee competitions, is a regular contender in Colombia's green coffee competitions, and has even crossed regions to participate in Panama's Best of Panama (BOP) competition with notable results. This article will provide a comprehensive introduction to this legendary estate from the perspectives of its background, the terroir of the Cauca growing region, the history of its variety introductions, and its processing techniques. [more…]

In recent years, coffee-themed films and television works have gradually increased, but "Coffee Wars" takes a unique perspective—focusing on the situation of vegetarians and plant-based milk in coffee competitions. The film tells the story of Jo, a highly skilled vegan barista whose business is struggling because the shop only offers plant-based milk, yet she resolutely leads her team into the finals of the World Coffee Championship, attempting to prove that plant-based milk can also create outstanding coffee. At the same time, in reality, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) also revised the WBC rules at the end of 2022 to allow plant-based milk to compete, a change that coincides with the film's theme. This article will guide you through the film's highlights, the evolution of WBC rules, and Front Street Coffee's continued attention to specialty coffee culture. [more…]