Electronic products are everywhere, our eyes are under long-term high load, and vision problems are becoming increasingly common. About 30% of the world's population is currently affected by myopia, and this proportion is expected to climb to 50% by 2050, with the share of high myopia not to be ignored. A recent study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology found that the caffeine metabolite 7-MX can inhibit axial elongation in the human eye, thereby potentially slowing the progression of myopia. Based on more than two decades of medical records for 711 children in Denmark, the study offers a new potential drug direction for myopia prevention and control. This article will explain in detail the study's findings, data, and limitations, and discuss the future application prospects of 7-MX. [more…]

In the 2024 28th Best of Panama (BOP) competition, Hacienda Black Moon's Chiroso submission scored 94.1 points to take the top spot in the multi-variety category, continuing this variety's impressive run on the international stage in recent years. Chiroso originates from Urrao in Antioquia, Colombia, and won the 2014 Colombia COE; it has since gradually been introduced to Panama and elsewhere. Its genetic background was once mistakenly thought to be related to Caturra, but research later confirmed that it is related to Ethiopian landraces, though it is not a natural mutation of Caturra. Chiroso beans are pointed and elongated, with prominent floral and fruity notes and complex acidity; its flavor is often compared to Geisha, with a fuller body. This article will sort through the variety's origin, spread, plant characteristics, and flavor performance, and introduce its roasting potential, providing coffee lovers with a complete variety profile. [more…]

You may or may not know what a coffee tree looks like, what a Typica coffee tree is like, or how about the Bourbon dynasty? There are many types of coffee, but it is not always clear how they differ. Setting aside variations in flavor and profile, there are obvious physical differences between the plants. Let's not even mention the many forms of coffee trees. [more…]

There are many types of coffee trees, and different varieties differ not only in flavor but also in plant morphology. From a botanical perspective, this article introduces how to identify common Arabica varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Geisha through appearance features such as tree shape, leaves, and fruit. It also combines recommended products from Front Street Coffee to provide a reference for coffee lovers when purchasing hand-brewed coffee beans. Whether you want to understand what a coffee tree looks like or want to choose a suitable flavor based on variety characteristics, this article can help you build a clear cognitive framework. [more…]

Bourbon Pointu is one of the most legendary varieties in the coffee world, sharing fame with Geisha yet standing apart due to its naturally very low caffeine content and delicate flavor. It originated on Réunion Island (formerly known as Bourbon Island) and is a natural mutation of Bourbon coffee, with an elongated bean shape and sharp points at both ends. In the 18th century, it was favored by King Louis XV of France and the writer Balzac. Around 1800, annual production reached 4,000 metric tons, but it nearly disappeared due to hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust, and other disasters. By 1942, only 200 kilograms remained and were shipped back to France, and it was widely considered extinct. It was not until 1999 to 2007, through joint efforts by France and Japan, that it was successfully revived. This article will review the cultivation history, flavor characteristics, and caffeine data of Bourbon Pointu, and include Front Street Coffee recommendations and V60 pour-over parameters. [more…]

Kebado is a small coffee cooperative in the Dara region of Sidama Province, made up of hundreds of coffee farmers with an average farm size of only about 0.6 hectares, at an altitude approaching 2,000 meters. The significant day-night temperature difference and fertile soil here provide ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. The green beans naturally carry rich raisin and fermented wine aromas, with an elongated bean shape and a yellow-brown color, feeling dense in the hand. After roasting, whether light or dark, they display bright berry notes and a chocolate-like lingering finish. This article will take you deeper into Kebado's flavor characteristics and introduce how the Red Cherry Project led by the Dutch company Trabocca enhances coffee quality in remote areas of Ethiopia through technical assistance and quality control. Front Street Coffee recommends that you pay attention to the unique charm of this producing region. [more…]

Indonesian coffee has long been known for the mellow, low-acid character of Mandheling, but this time Front Street Coffee turns its attention to the birthplace of Golden Mandheling—Mount Gayo in Aceh, Sumatra—bringing a distinctive coffee known as Longberry. This bean comes from the Lake Tawar region at an altitude of 1,200 to 1,600 meters, is processed using the wet-hulling method, has an elongated shape, and is a natural mutation of Typica. The article traces three centuries of Longberry cultivation history in Aceh, analyzes its slow-growing, low-yielding characteristics, and explains in detail how the wet-hulling method gives the beans their unique herbal and spicy flavors. Front Street Coffee also shares roasting recommendations, cupping reports, and brewing parameters, using a Kono dripper with 87-88°C water for extraction, ultimately presenting spicy fruit, green apple acidity, and a clean mouthfeel. Whether for variety exploration or brewing practice, this content provides coffee lovers with a complete and professional reference. [more…]

Although Bolivia is landlocked and produces scarce amounts of coffee, its superior natural conditions give rise to distinctive specialty coffee. The Rodríguez family has cultivated deep expertise over many years through Agricafe, growing special varieties such as Geisha and Java at the Huari Estate in the Caranavi region. Among these, the Java variety originated in Ethiopia and made its way to Bolivia via Indonesia and Central America, and is known for its elongated bean shape and outstanding flavor. Front Street Coffee is pleased to present this natural-process lot of Java beans from the Huari Estate, roasted on a Yangjia 800N semi-direct-fire roaster, with a cupping profile of hazelnut, cream, citrus, and fermented wine aromas. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of its origin background, variety lineage, processing method, and brewing recommendations. [more…]

Many people are curious about how some coffee experts can identify the variety and origin of coffee beans at a single glance. In fact, different varieties within the Arabica family each have their own distinctive bean shapes and appearances, and as long as you grasp the patterns, you can do it too. This article, from the perspective of Front Street Coffee, walks you through the bean shape characteristics of common varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, SL28, SL34, Caturra, Catuai, and Geisha. Roasted bean images are used as visual aids throughout the article so that you can take out the coffee beans on hand and compare them as you observe. Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned connoisseur looking to sharpen your identification skills, this guide will help you build the correspondence between variety and appearance. [more…]

Sumatra Mandheling coffee from Indonesia is famous for its full body and low acidity, and within this producing region there is a rather special variety—Longberry. It comes from the Gayo highlands by Lake Tawar in Aceh Province, has an elongated bean shape, is a natural mutation of Typica, and its cultivation history can be traced back three centuries. This Sumatra·Lake Tawar Wet-Hulled Longberry offered by Front Street Coffee uses wet-hulled processing and presents flavor notes of spicy fruit, herbal spices, and clean acidity. This article will guide you through a comprehensive understanding of this rare long-shaped Mandheling by covering the regional terroir, the origin of the variety, the processing method, and Front Street's roasting and brewing recommendations. [more…]

Arabica accounts for more than seventy percent of global coffee production and is also widely recognized as the coffee species with superior flavor performance. But Arabica is not a single variety; under it there are also many subdivided subspecies such as Typica, Bourbon, and Geisha, each differing in bean shape, flavor, and cultivation characteristics. From the perspective of Front Street Coffee, this article systematically sorts out the basic characteristics of Arabica coffee, its caffeine and sugar content, as well as the appearance and flavor characteristics of major varieties such as Typica, Maragogype, Pacamara, the Bourbon group, and Geisha, helping coffee enthusiasts build a clearer understanding of varieties. [more…]

Pacamara is a precious variety bred by El Salvador's coffee research institute by crossing Pacas with Maragogipe, combining the dual advantages of the sturdy, stress-resistant Pacas and the giant-bean Maragogipe. Since the 19th century, the Pacas family has been deeply involved in the coffee industry, passing down through five generations and witnessing this variety's long journey from its cultivation in 1958 to its gradual promotion only in the late 1980s. This article will guide you through the story of Pacamara's discovery and cultivation, analyzing its flavor characteristics—the interweaving of a creamy mouthfeel, elegant acidity, and chocolate butterscotch sweetness—as well as its botanical features, including a medium-sized tree, large leaves, and elongated oval beans, providing coffee enthusiasts with a comprehensive reference for understanding this variety. [more…]

Front Street Coffee recently launched a Costa Rican La Pastora Estate Geisha. The beans are full of floral aroma, the green beans are pale green and elongated, and they smell of fresh bergamot and berries. To investigate how different water temperatures affect the flavor of these beans, we brewed them at 93°C, 92°C, 91°C, and 90°C, keeping all other parameters the same. The results showed that the high-temperature extraction had a fuller mouthfeel but relatively simple flavor layering, while the lower water temperatures presented a richer fruity tea-like quality and a refreshing mouthfeel. If you are also wondering what water temperature to use for Geisha, take a look at the detailed record of this comparative brewing. [more…]

Geisha is now a star variety in the specialty coffee world, but Panama Geisha and Ethiopian Geisha actually represent two different flavor paths. After comparing them, Front Street Coffee found that although both possess outstanding acidity and floral aromas, their specific expressions differ markedly: Panama Geisha leans toward jasmine florals, citrus, and honey-like sweetness, with a soft, easy-drinking entry; Ethiopian Geisha also has florals, but its main thrust is abundant juiciness and explosive fruit flavors. This article examines, from the perspectives of historical origins, dissemination routes, terroir conditions, and green bean appearance, why these two coffees sharing the same name taste like two different beans, and also answers how the true Geisha flavor should be understood. [more…]

Arabica, the most widely cultivated coffee species in the world, has given rise to numerous sub-varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, Geisha, and Caturra, each differing noticeably in plant morphology, bean characteristics, and cup profile. This article systematically sorts out the classification and identification points of major Arabica varieties from the perspectives of origin, botanical characteristics, and bean shape identification, while combining Front Street Coffee's brewing and purchasing suggestions to help coffee enthusiasts more clearly understand the coffee beans they encounter in daily life. [more…]

Beijing time this morning, the results of the BOP "Best of Panama" competition, known as a bellwether for the specialty coffee world, were announced. Hacienda La Esmeralda, which once discovered and promoted the Geisha variety in Panama, once again became the biggest winner, sweeping the top scores in three categories: the Varietal group, the Geisha Natural group, and the Geisha Washed group, with 97 points for Natural Geisha, 98 points for Washed Geisha, and 92.88 points for the Varietal group, earning it the title of Best Producer of the Year. The competition leaderboard also featured many well-known estates such as Sofia, Nugu, Totumas, Elida, San Ignacio, Lerida, Maya, and Dark Moon. With its slender bean shape and floral characteristics, Geisha rewrote the landscape of origin after appearing on the BOP stage in 2004, with auction prices climbing all the way from $21 per pound. In 2024, Elida Natural Geisha even set a new record at $10,013 per kilogram. This article walks you through this year's results, the historical context, and the market significance. [more…]

Bourbon Pointu is a rare coffee variety with elongated beans and pointed ends, discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810. Its caffeine content is only half that of ordinary Bourbon, making it a naturally low-caffeine coffee. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was widely cultivated, with annual production once reaching 4,000 metric tons. However, disasters such as hurricanes, fire ants, and leaf rust followed one after another. After 1942, it completely disappeared from Réunion Island and was considered extinct by the coffee world. It was not until Japanese Ueshima Coffee expert Yoshiaki Kawashima spent years searching that in 2001, more than thirty surviving plants were discovered in the wild on Bourbon Island. Subsequently, French scientists collaborated with Ueshima Coffee to carry out revival efforts, and only in 2006 was the first small batch of beans harvested. This article introduces the origin of the name Bourbon Pointu, its historical rise and fall, flavor characteristics, and expensive price, as well as Front Street Coffee's recommendation and interpretation of this legendary variety. [more…]

Bourbon Pointu is a rare coffee variety with a natural caffeine content of only 0.5%, named for its narrow, elongated beans with pointed ends. It is naturally low in caffeine due to genetic degradation and has outstanding flavor, but its yield is extremely low and it is susceptible to leaf rust and black spot disease, having once become extinct. In the 18th century, it was highly praised by Louis XV and Balzac, but later disappeared due to disasters, and was only rediscovered and revived in 2001. At the 2018 World Coffee Brewing Championship, Swiss competitor Emi Fukahori won the championship using it, proving its exceptional quality. This article will introduce in detail the characteristics, history, flavor of Bourbon Pointu, and Front Street Coffee's brewing parameters. [more…]

Geisha and Java—one is famed for its floral and fruity aromas, the other is called Geisha's cousin. What exactly sets them apart? Front Street Coffee recently got hold of a Bolivian Java, and took this opportunity to conduct a comprehensive comparison with a Panama Janson Estate Geisha. This article will dissect the similarities and differences between these two natural-process beans, from variety origins, green bean appearance, and roasting curves to cupping and pour-over flavors. Java first originated in the forests of Ethiopia, spread to Indonesia via Yemen, and later made its way to Central and South America; Geisha, on the other hand, set out from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia and ultimately rose to prominence at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. Through actual brewing and tasting, Front Street found that the Janson Geisha has a cleaner mouthfeel, while the Bolivian Java boasts rich layers—each has its own strengths. [more…]

Many people ask Front Street, how long does it take to learn latte art? If we're just talking about producing a good-looking pattern, with a bit of luck it only takes one day. If we're talking about truly mastering a pattern, it takes at least 4 days. So many people ask, where do these 4 days come from? It's simple: Day one, read this article from Front Street; day two, practice; day three, [more…]