Wednesday, September 16 2026

Espresso Crema Extraction Techniques | Is Coffee Crema Actually Oil? How to Make Espresso Black Coffee with Crema Using an Espresso Machine or Moka Pot?

A while back, when Front Street Coffee was tinkering with a moka pot in the shop, a friend saw that the moka pot coffee Front Street brewed had a very thick layer of crema, so they asked Front Street for the secret to brewing such thick crema, because the moka pot coffee they brewed at home had very thin crema. The same situation often occurs with espresso machine users as well. [more…]

Coffee Latte Art | Why Does the Surface of a Latte Become Rough After Sitting for a While? How to Improve Milk Foam Stability and Delay Defoaming?

The surface of a freshly made latte is incredibly fine and smooth. But if we leave it sitting without drinking it, we can see the smooth, delicate surface gradually become rough and uneven. This phenomenon is called "defoaming," a process in which the milk foam continuously dissipates. Milk foam is a frothy substance formed by injecting air into milk. [more…]

Coffee Bean Storage | Can You Use the Freezer to Keep Coffee Beans Fresh? Do Frozen Coffee Beans Need to Be Thawed Before Brewing?

Freezing is a very popular method of "preserving" coffee beans in recent years. Simply seal the coffee beans and toss them into the freezer, and the flavor loss of the coffee will slow down, thus extending its shelf life. Many friends have adopted this method to stock up on coffee beans purchased during Front Street Coffee's discount events. [more…]

The Role of Blooming | What Does Blooming Mean in Hand-Pour Coffee? The Impact of Blooming on Coffee

Blooming is a crucial step in coffee brewing. To get straight to the point, blooming plays a vital role in determining whether the brewed coffee tastes good or not. The blooming process can even indicate whether the cup of coffee will be enjoyable, and a proper bloom can even enhance the flavor and mouthfeel of the coffee. Blooming is the starting point of brewing a pour-over coffee; if this step goes wrong, the subsequent... [more…]

Pour-Over Coffee Water Pouring Techniques | How Should Coffee Beginners Learning Pour-Over Coffee Pour Water? What Details Should Be Paid Attention to When Pouring Water in Pour-Over Coffee?

At Front Street Coffee shops, we often meet friends who have been teaching themselves pour-over coffee at home and come to discuss brewing-related questions with us. Many of them say that although the parameters they use are exactly the same as those we recommend in the shop, the coffee they brew always tastes inconsistent—sometimes good, sometimes bad—and they have no idea where the problem lies. In cases like this, [more…]

Coffee Pour-Over Equipment Buying Guide | How Can Coffee Beginners Choose Cost-Effective Pour-Over Coffee Gear? Which Is More Suitable for Coffee Beginners: an Espresso Machine or a Moka Pot?

Today's coffee equipment is dazzlingly diverse, and for coffee beginners, this is no easy matter. Looking at a pile of coffee gear wanting to buy, but neither knowing how to choose nor how to use it—this must be a feeling every coffee novice has had. In this situation, what we need to do is: "Don't pick the expensive ones, don't pick the flashy ones, only pick the practical ones." [more…]

Espresso Milk Drinks | How to make a standard latte, cappuccino, and flat white? What are the differences between the three?

Even with the same few ingredients, as long as the proportions differ, we can create infinite possibilities—coffee is a perfect example. Take the "three milk coffee musketeers" that Front Street Coffee often shares: latte, flat white, and cappuccino. Their only ingredients are milk and coffee, yet when you drink them, whether in taste [more…]

Pour-over coffee brewing method | What is the "Brazil nut effect" and how to avoid affecting coffee extraction when leveling the coffee bed

A surprise question from Front Street Coffee: when you pour coffee grounds into the dripper and end up with the scene shown below, what would you choose to do? A: Pat it flat. B: Pat it flat. C: Choose one or two. I believe most friends, just like Front Street Coffee, would choose to tap the dripper to make this unevenly distributed coffee bed become more level. [more…]

On which day after roasting do latte beans taste best?

After coffee beans are roasted, the aroma does not reach its ideal state on the same day. The beans are still releasing carbon dioxide, and if they are used to extract espresso too early, the puck is easily disturbed by gas, the flow rate is not stable enough, and the fruity notes and caramel sweetness beneath the milk foam may also seem loose. When making a latte, judging freshness cannot rely only on how recent the date is, [more…]

Yirgacheffe Starter Bean: Flavor Changes After Opening the Bag and Drinking Rhythm

When buying Yirgacheffe beans, the roast date is often more worth checking first than the flavor words on the packaging. Freshly roasted beans still contain a lot of carbon dioxide inside, so the water flow and aroma during brewing may not be stable enough; after resting for a few days, the floral notes, fruit acidity, and sweetness will gradually become clearer. For beginners, choosing fresh beans is only the starting point, [more…]

The Complete Guide to Moka Pot Brewing: Structure, Principles, Suitable Beans, and Grind Size Explained

Although the moka pot is not as common in cafés as commercial espresso machines, it plays an irreplaceable role in Italian households. Some call it an Espresso Pot, while others question whether it can make true espresso, but its pressure extraction principle and unique construction are enough to make every cup of coffee worthy of serious attention. From the perspective of Front Street, this article systematically sorts out the three-part structure of the moka pot, its pressure extraction mechanism, and the approach to selecting suitable bean types and grind sizes, and provides complete operating steps from pouring water, loading grounds, heating, to cooling down, helping coffee enthusiasts reliably recreate a rich and full-bodied moka pot coffee at home. [more…]

Coffee Bean Selection Guide | What is a coffee combo? Which coffee beans are suitable for making a combo? What should be noted when making a combo?

By splitting the extracted espresso into 2–3 portions, then separately crafting each into a different type of coffee and finally combining them for serving, this is a highly popular serving format in today's coffee shops—the Coffee Combo. Because you can taste different "dishes" made from a single bean at the same time. [more…]

Do freshly roasted coffee beans need resting? How long should coffee beans rest?

After purchasing freshly roasted coffee beans, the question most commonly asked by beginners is: do these coffee beans need to be rested? The answer is: yes. However, in everyday situations, Front Street Coffee often gives a completely opposite answer: "No. The freshly roasted coffee beans you receive can be brewed directly; the time spent in transit is enough [more…]

Coffee Bean Storage Methods | How to Store Roasted Coffee Beans? How Long Is the Shelf Life and Peak Flavor Period of Coffee Beans? What Factors Affect Coffee Bean Freshness?

Many people think that freshly ground coffee means fresh coffee, but that's not actually the case. In fact, to truly enjoy the aroma of coffee, it's not just about grinding fresh—there are also certain requirements for the roasting time of the coffee beans. Front Street Coffee, whether in-store or on its online Taobao shop, provides freshly roasted coffee beans, unless the customer specifically requests grinding. [more…]

How to Make a Delicious Dirty: The Trio of Bean Selection, Milk, and Temperature

Dirty (dirty coffee) has been a perennial staple on café menus in recent years: hot espresso slowly sinks into iced milk, without stirring, and you drink it from top to bottom, so that in a single sip you get the alternation of hot and cold and the layering of milk and coffee. It looks simple, but between a delicious one and a mediocre one lies the gap of bean selection and details. The principle of Dirty: why [more…]

Espresso Preparation | Do Americano and Latte Require Different Parameters for Extracting Espresso? How Can Coffee Beginners Determine Espresso Extraction Parameters?

For friends who enjoy espresso, the purpose of adjusting parameters after startup is often not for the espresso itself, but to see whether the fancy coffee drinks made with it as a base actually taste good—for example, whether the Americano with added water is fragrant enough and whether it will be bitter, whether the latte paired with milk is strong enough, whether it is mellow, and so on. Therefore, espresso [more…]

Mocha Coffee Tutorial Illustrated | What Is Espresso Milk Coffee Mocha? Which Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Making Mocha? How to Make a Delicious Mocha at Home?

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee) Recently, more friends have been visiting Front Street stores to ask about Mocha coffee. Unfortunately, Mocha coffee has already been removed from Front Street's menu, so these friends have all hit a dead end one after another. "Since [more…]

Espresso Grind Size | What Factors Affect Espresso Flavor and How to Pull a Delicious Shot by Adjusting the Grind of Espresso Beans

As we all know! The condition of coffee beans and the weather are constantly changing every day, and this directly affects espresso extraction, causing the coffee's taste to vary each day due to these changes. If we want to keep the coffee consistently delicious, we have to adjust parameters to correct the coffee's flavor. And this is [more…]

Drip Bag Coffee | How Can Coffee Newbies Make Milk Coffee with Drip Bag Coffee? What Are the Brewing Methods for Drip Bag Coffee?

Drip bag coffee is highly sought after because it is very convenient to carry and, without any complicated operation, you can easily make a delicious cup of black coffee. Although due to being "pre-made" (pre-ground powder), it does not have as rich an aroma as freshly ground coffee, as long as it is brewed properly, drip bag coffee is also quite delicious. So [more…]