When purchasing Ethiopian coffee, in addition to the common Heirloom native variety label, in recent years more and more varieties with numerical codes have entered the public eye, such as 74158, 74110, and others. What exactly do these numbers represent? They are closely related to a period of disease-resistant breeding history in the Ethiopian coffee industry. In the 1970s, coffee anthracnose ravaged Ethiopian producing regions, prompting the Jimma Agricultural Research Center to launch a systematic breeding program, selecting from hundreds of samples several varieties that combined disease resistance with excellent flavor. This article will outline the origins of these numerical varieties, their classification logic, the flavor characteristics of their main representatives, and their performance in COE competitions, and will also introduce related products brought in by Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, is home to tens of thousands of native varieties, usually collectively referred to as "Heirloom." However, in recent years, numerically named varieties such as 74110 have gradually entered the public eye. Behind these numbers lies a history of disease-resistant breeding: in the 1970s, coffee berry disease ran rampant, and JARC collected and selected 13 resistant varieties, giving rise to the 74 series. This article will explain the naming logic, variety characteristics, cultivation distribution, and flavor performance of 74110, and compare its similarities and differences with 74112, helping you gain a more comprehensive understanding of this batch of numbered varieties. [more…]

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of coffee, is home to more than ten thousand incompletely identified Arabica varieties, and the Sidamo region is one of the most representative star origins among them. Starting from the geographical and cultural background of Sidamo, this article traces the evolution of its name and its terroir advantages, focusing on the unique microclimate of the Santa Vini processing station and its 96-hour anaerobic natural process, while offering an in-depth interpretation of 74158 within the JARC digital variety system. At the same time, drawing on Front Street Coffee's example of bean selection, it presents the complete picture of this Sidamo Santa Vini coffee bean from origin to processing method, taking you to appreciate the diverse charm of African specialty coffee. [more…]

In coffee brewing, the choice of measuring tools may seem like a minor matter, yet it directly affects consistency in the cup. A measuring spoon is convenient, but it measures volume rather than weight; due to differences in variety, cultivation, and roasting, the same level spoonful of different coffee beans may scoop out 9g or 11g, an error large enough to change the direction of the flavor. Front Street Coffee once conducted an experiment with Geisha Village Red Label Geisha: with water volume and other parameters unchanged, adjusting the dose by just 1g produced noticeable differences in concentration and extraction yield. This article will use experimental data to explain why electronic scales have become the first choice of coffee shops, and to show why measurement accuracy must be even higher under pressurized espresso extraction. [more…]

The coffee industry has become a popular field for various giants to compete in laying out their presence in recent years, with catering and non-catering enterprises entering the fray across sectors. According to Qichacha data, China has more than 320,000 coffee-related enterprises, with 15,000 new registrations annually. After Li-Ning, tech giant Huawei has also been reported to have applied to register the trademark "One Cup of Coffee Absorbs Cosmic Energy," classified under catering and accommodation, and is currently awaiting substantive examination. Unlike directly seizing market share, Huawei seems to place greater emphasis on coffee's connective function as a global medium, hoping to use it to attract younger groups. Ren Zhengfei once interpreted Huawei's spirit of openness with "a cup of coffee absorbs cosmic energy," and this trademark application continues that philosophy. Whether Huawei's advantages in the digital field can help it create new miracles in the coffee track is worth watching. [more…]

Many friends who are just getting into coffee often ask: what basic equipment do you actually need to prepare if you want to teach yourself pour-over at home? In fact, pour-over may seem professional and complicated, but once broken down, it is nothing more than a grinder, a digital scale, a gooseneck kettle, a dripper and filter paper, a server, and coffee beans. This article gives purchasing suggestions one by one according to budget and needs, and offers reference directions for the common bean-selection confusion beginners face. Front Street will also draw on everyday experience to share ideas for choosing everyday beans, helping you gradually build your judgment of brewing and flavor while keeping costs under control. [more…]

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, is known for beans with floral and citrus notes, but many enthusiasts notice that the coffee beans here often vary in size and shape. This is not a quality issue, but rather the result of the country's extraordinarily rich variety of coffee cultivars, diverse cultivation patterns, and a grading system that focuses on defect rate rather than bean size. This article will analyze the causes of differences in Ethiopian coffee bean morphology, introduce the three cultivation methods of garden, estate, and forest, explain the JARC digital variety series and the origin of 74158, and finally present the flavor profile of Front Street Coffee's Sidamo Santawini coffee beans. [more…]

Just getting into pour-over coffee, many people feel overwhelmed by the bewildering array of equipment on the market and don't know where to start. This article focuses on the six essential pieces of basic gear for pour-over—the grinder, the pour-over kettle, the dripper, the filter paper, the thermometer and the digital scale—going through each one's categories, pros and cons and the people they suit, and offering specific buying guidance. From the trade-offs between hand grinders and electric grinders, to the differences between cheat kettles, gooseneck kettles and swan-neck kettles, and on to the extraction characteristics of conical, trapezoidal and wave drippers, it helps you make the right choice based on your own budget and needs, so you don't waste money. [more…]

Drip coffee bags, with their combination of portability and flavor, have become the daily go-to for many busy coffee lovers. This article focuses on Yirgacheffe, a classic growing region, introducing the origin information and flavor characteristics of three drip coffee bag products from Front Street Coffee: the washed Yirgacheffe, the sun-dried Red Cherry, and the Gutingding, while also explaining how to make your own drip coffee bags at home using fresh coffee beans, including specific steps such as bean selection, grinding, bagging, and sealing. In response to many customers reporting unsatisfactory results when brewing drip coffee bags, the article also breaks down water temperature control and staged pouring techniques in detail, helping you consistently extract a good cup of coffee with both floral notes and fruity acidity even without a digital scale. [more…]

Hand-ground coffee and espresso machines are two common ways of making coffee, and they differ in extraction principles, flavor presentation, and suitable bean types. Espresso machines rely on high pressure for rapid extraction, delivering rich crema and intense flavor; pour-over, by contrast, uses hot water soaking and filtration to reveal the finer origin-specific character of coffee beans. In this article, Front Street Coffee provides a detailed comparison of the differences between the two, and recommends several single-origin coffee beans suitable for hand grinding and brewing, including washed Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica Tarrazú, and Indonesia Lintong Mandheling, while also providing specific brewing parameters and techniques to help coffee lovers find a hand-ground coffee solution that suits their taste. [more…]

Yirgacheffe, with its complex profile of citrus, lemon, berries, and floral notes, plus a clear tea-like body, has become the go-to entry choice for many coffee lovers. This article focuses on this classic Ethiopian bean, sorting out the key factors behind its flavor formation—from the introduction of the washed processing method and the accidental discovery of medium-light roasting, to the equipment setup, grinding, and water temperature parameters needed for home pour-over. At the same time, using 15 grams of coffee and a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio as an example, it breaks down the specific steps and timing of a three-stage pour, and explains the roasting settings of Front Street Coffee's three Yirgacheffe daily-drinker beans, helping readers reliably reproduce a bright, delicate cup at home. [more…]

The results of the 2024 Cup of Excellence (COE) Ethiopia competition have been announced, and this year's event has many highlights: all 27 winning coffees were naturally processed, and every one of them came from the JARC numerical variety series, with the Sidama region emerging as the biggest winner. Looking back, since Ethiopia first hosted the COE in 2020, it once set a record high price of $400.5 per pound; after being suspended in 2023 due to civil war, this year's relaunch has delivered a remarkable result. This article will walk you through the detailed results of this year's competition and take a deeper look at the geographical advantages of the Sidama sub-regions Bensa and Bona, as well as the origins of the JARC numerical varieties. [more…]

Yirgacheffe has won the hearts of many coffee lovers with its elegant floral aroma and bright fruity acidity. To recreate this fresh, non-bitter pour-over at home, you first need to understand its origin background, processing method, and roasting logic, and then master key parameters such as grinding, water temperature, and pouring. This article begins with the origins of Front Street Yirgacheffe, explains how washed processing shapes its clean citrus notes, analyzes why it is so widely popular, and shares the specific steps for a three-stage pour-over, helping you brew a Yirgacheffe at home that is closer to the café flavor. [more…]

The consistent output of pour-over coffee is inseparable from the precise measurement of an electronic scale, but if you run into the predicament of a broken scale, a dead battery, or simply no alternative tool to be found, does that mean you have to give up on a good cup of coffee? Starting from the two core variables of coffee dose and water volume, this article shares Front Street Coffee's hands-on experience: how to judge 15g or 20g of ground coffee by visually estimating the height of the coffee bed, how to use the dripper's markings as a reference under different roast levels, how to choose a coffee-to-water ratio between 1:14 and 1:16, and a three-stage blind brewing process that requires no scale. Even without equipment, mastering these techniques can still brew a qualified pour-over of about 210ml. [more…]

Friends who are just getting into specialty coffee are often eager to replicate a delicious pour-over at home. But faced with the bewildering array of equipment and beans on the market, how can beginners on a limited budget spend as little as possible while still buying the most suitable gear? This article will analyze the key points for choosing coffee beans, a grinder, a pour-over kettle, a dripper and filters, and a digital scale, one by one in order of priority, and give specific product recommendations from the Front Street brand. The core idea is: save the bulk of your budget for the grinder, start with low-spec entry-level gear for everything else, and only consider upgrading after you have grasped the principles of extraction and found your flavor preferences. [more…]

Specialty coffee is becoming more and more popular, and many friends who are just getting into coffee have begun to toy with the idea of brewing at home. Yet faced with a dazzling array of equipment, how to avoid wasting money and choose gear that truly suits you has become a problem for many beginners. Starting from the importance of coffee bean freshness and fresh grinding, this article goes through the key points for choosing a grinder, dripper, gooseneck kettle, filter paper, server, and digital scale one by one, and includes practical advice from Front Street. Whether you are just starting out or preparing to upgrade your equipment, this guide can help you clarify your thinking, avoid common pitfalls, and build a stable, easy-to-use pour-over setup on a reasonable budget. [more…]

Right after the May Day holiday, the "three-way battle" among food delivery platforms sent tea beverage stores into another order explosion frenzy, and Heytea's move to drop the price of some drinks to single digits drew in a flood of orders. Yet for back-of-house staff, this was a nightmare—the newly switched imported green grape "Sweet Globe" variety has firm flesh and is extremely hard to peel. Employees peeled until their gloved fingers wore through, their right hands covered in medicated patches, and some even felt nauseated at the sight of fruit with skin on. Although some tried using peelers or small round spoons to improve efficiency, the output speed still could not keep up with store demand. Why not equip stores with peeling machines? Employees admitted frankly that the high loss rate and difficulty of cleaning make them worse than peeling by hand. This article takes you into the real daily life of Heytea's peelers, along with Front Street Coffee's attention to industry trends. [more…]

Mandheling is where many coffee lovers begin their journey into specialty coffee, and PWN Golden Mandheling is one of the most iconic beans of them all. Using this bean as an example, Front Street Coffee breaks down the reasons behind Mandheling's rich, full-bodied flavor step by step—from the growing conditions of Sumatra, Indonesia, and the characteristics of the Ateng variety, to the ins and outs of the wet-hulling process. It also systematically lays out the key parameters for pour-over coffee, including the equipment needed, water temperature, grind size, and coffee-to-water ratio, along with a specific staged extraction plan. Whether you're a beginner who has just picked up pour-over gear or a more advanced drinker looking to deepen your understanding of Mandheling's flavor, you'll find practical guidance here. [more…]

What exactly is the difference between a French press and pour-over coffee, and which one suits you better? From the perspective of Front Street, this article systematically sorts out the core differences between these two brewing methods. The French press is an immersion-style extraction, simple to operate, with a rich and balanced taste; pour-over is classified as a drip-filter extraction, with distinct layers and greater room for experimentation. The article lists in detail the equipment needed for pour-over, including a grinder, thermometer, dripper, and gooseneck kettle, and gives the specific parameters recommended by Front Street; it also breaks down the four major factors affecting the French press—coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, water temperature, and steeping time. Whether you prefer rich layers or pursue simplicity and efficiency, you can find the answer that suits you. [more…]

Pour-over coffee, with its flexible and versatile brewing methods, has become an important way for specialty coffee enthusiasts to explore flavors. Drawing on the practical experience of Front Street Coffee, this article systematically introduces the basics of pour-over coffee, equipment selection, and brewing key points, and uses the Panama Hartmann Estate wine-process coffee beans as an example to share in detail its estate background, bean variety information, and specific brewing parameters. Through a V60 brewing plan with 15 grams of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a water temperature of 91°C, it presents the complete flavor layers of this coffee, from fermented wine aroma to citrus acidity, nutty chocolate, and brown sugar sweetness, providing coffee enthusiasts with a practical pour-over reference guide. [more…]