The roasting of espresso blends centers on balancing the density, size, and flavor direction of different bean varieties. Starting from the choice between pre-blend and post-blend, this article combines the blending case of Front Street Colombia Medellin and Front Street Ethiopia Yirgacheffe to break down in detail the logic of adjusting heat, airflow, and moisture during roasting, as well as how to handle combinations of green beans with large density differences through stages such as steaming, heat pushing, and gliding. The article also presents an espresso blend roasting approach with a development ratio controlled at around 25%, and includes measured espresso extraction parameters and flavor descriptions, making it suitable for enthusiasts who wish to gain a deeper understanding of espresso blend roasting. [more…]

The sour and bitter flavors of coffee are not determined by origin, but are closely related to the degree of roasting. This article starts with the "development phase" in roasting, explaining how sourness and bitterness are formed, and explores the role of sweetness and aroma in flavor balance. Through examples such as Kenya, Blue Mountain, and Mandheling, it analyzes the different expressions of light and dark roasts, as well as the influence of market trends and bean quality on roasting choices. Recommendations from Front Street Coffee run throughout the article, providing practical reference for enthusiasts. [more…]

Many people are drawn to the profession of barista, yet others complain about low pay and a grab-bag of chores. In fact, the barrier to entry for baristas is not high, but the ceiling can be very high. The key to determining income level does not depend entirely on the shop where you work—it is in your own hands. This article explores how baristas can break through career bottlenecks and find broader room for growth from multiple angles: learning mindset, industry-added value, shop and roastery development, and coffee cultivation research. Whether you are an apprentice just entering the field or a practitioner seeking a breakthrough, you can draw inspiration from it. [more…]

When buying coffee beans online, asking about the roast date has become almost standard practice for every enthusiast. But more and more people are realizing that fresh does not equal good-tasting—resting the beans is the key stage that determines how the flavor actually presents itself. Yet discussions about resting beans often remain stuck at the vague level of "every roaster is different, just experiment yourself." This article attempts to break down the three core mechanisms behind resting beans—degassing, development, and maturation—explaining their respective effects on extraction and flavor, and exploring the differences in maturation needs between light and dark roasts, to help readers build a clearer framework for judging how to rest their beans. [more…]

Competition in the coffee market is spreading from the storefront to the back end of the supply chain. Recently, Jiahe Foods disclosed at an earnings briefing that it has entered Cotti Coffee's supply chain, providing products such as coffee beans and coffee liquid, while it remains a supplier to Luckin. Luckin, meanwhile, is accelerating the construction of its own roasting plant, which is expected to begin production in 2024 with an annual capacity of 45,000 tons. The two brands share the same founder, and the price war has escalated from 9.9 yuan to 8.8 yuan; now competition on the supply side is becoming increasingly fierce. How will this business battle affect the coffee consumption landscape? Front Street Coffee brings you the latest developments. [more…]

Want to learn how to roast coffee? Start by getting to know the tools and the terminology. Roasting coffee beans looks as simple as stir-frying vegetables, but doing it well requires a solid foundation of knowledge. In this article, Front Street Coffee will walk you through several common coffee roasting devices—direct-fire, semi-direct-fire, and hot-air roasters—covering their respective heat transfer principles, advantages, and drawbacks. At the same time, we'll systematically sort out the professional terms that come up during roasting, including charge point, turning point, yellowing point, first crack and second crack, as well as stage concepts like the drying phase, browning phase (Maillard), and development phase. Mastering this foundational knowledge is an important prerequisite for actually roasting beans, judging the roasting pace, and controlling the direction of flavor—and it can help you avoid detours and roast a good batch of beans faster. [more…]

Autumn has arrived, and Front Street Coffee has launched a blend designed specifically for pour-over—Sunflower Autumn Blend. This coffee is based on Yunnan Typica as the main component, paired with washed Yirgacheffe Kochere and Gesha Village sun-dried Geisha. After multiple raw blend experiments and roasting adjustments, it ultimately presents a soft and varied acidity, medium-high sweetness, and a lasting sweet finish. In terms of flavor, it has aromas of black tea, cocoa, caramel, jackfruit, orange, and nuts, with a clean and transparent mouthfeel, medium body, and a slight effervescence. This article will document in detail the development approach, bean composition process, roasting curve, and brewing performance of this autumn blend, making it a useful reference for coffee enthusiasts who enjoy pour-over blends. [more…]

As the most common waste product in coffee shops, coffee grounds generate over 8 million tons globally each year, and their disposal not only consumes energy but also pollutes the environment. Over the past decade, researchers have continuously explored ways to reuse coffee grounds, from blended fuels to eco-friendly boards, from clothing fabrics to food utensils, coffee grounds are transforming into a new eco-friendly favorite across multiple industries. A Japanese coffee roasting company has teamed up with a research team from Kindai University to develop a biochar fuel made from coffee grounds, and claims that the carbon dioxide released during combustion can be offset by the amount absorbed during the growth of coffee plants, thereby achieving zero carbon dioxide emissions. This "fighting magic with magic" environmental approach—how exactly is it achieved? [more…]

Many people assume that blended coffee beans can only be used for espresso, but Front Street Coffee has proven through actual research and development that pour-over can also handle blended beans. This article provides a complete record of Front Street's process in developing an autumn pour-over blend: from determining Yunnan Typica as the base bean, to pairing it with Yirgacheffe Kochere and Gesha Village Red Label Natural Geisha, and then to the repeated adjustments of the raw blend roasting curve and cupping verification. You will see the blending approach, the logic behind selecting the base and companion beans, the trade-offs between raw blending and roasted blending, the details of the roasting parameters, and the final flavor expression of black tea, cocoa, caramel, and jackfruit. [more…]

When faced with a new bean, roasters typically start by gathering origin information and the flavor descriptions provided by the green bean supplier, then gradually adjust through test roasts and cupping. Front Street Coffee Costa Rica Mozart is known for its unique raisin honey process and complex aroma. This article documents the complete roasting exploration process for this bean: first, three test roasts were conducted using a stepwise decreasing heat and extended dehydration approach, but cupping revealed the flavor was rather light; subsequently, three more roasts were done using rapid dehydration and increased heat to drive aroma, and ultimately a curve combining floral notes and fermented winey aroma was selected. The article also includes pour-over extraction parameters and brewing techniques for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

SL28, a legendary variety originating from Kenya, has now crossed the Atlantic to take root in the New Oriente region of Guatemala in Central America. Front Street Coffee presents the SL28 honey-processed lot from the Guayabo (Guava Plain) estate, located at 1,675 meters in the Suchitán volcanic area and cultivated under full shade throughout. This article will present the full varietal background of SL28, the terroir characteristics of the New Oriente region, and a comparison of two roasting curves by Front Street roasters tailored to the honey-processed bean quality. Through cupping, it reveals the impact of high-heat fast roasting versus extended development time on flavor, and finally provides pour-over parameters and tasting notes. [more…]

What exactly determines whether coffee is sour or bitter? Many people think that Ethiopian beans tend to be sour and Mandheling tends to be bitter because of their origin, but the real dominant factor is actually the roast level. This article starts with the development phase after first crack and explains how the length of the development phase affects the caramelization reaction, thereby determining whether the coffee's flavor leans sour or bitter. At the same time, using Kenya, Blue Mountain, and Mandheling as examples, it explains that dark roasting is not a cover-up for poor quality—sweetness within bitterness and a rich, balanced cup are what these classic beans insist on. Front Street Coffee also shares related insights in the article. [more…]

The coffee flavor wheel has always been an important tool for evaluating black coffee, but when it comes to drinks with milk added, such as lattes, consumers often lack a systematic reference standard. Recently, Japan's Morinaga Milk Company published a study in the journal Food Science and Technology Research, specifically developing a "milk coffee flavor wheel" for milk coffee. This flavor wheel is based on the real perceptions of 203 ordinary consumers, combined with discussions among 12 beverage developers, and selected 53 characteristic terms from 456 descriptions, striving to make it easy for the general public to judge the quality of a cup of milk coffee. This article will introduce in detail the research and development background of this flavor wheel, its creation method, and its significance for coffee lovers. [more…]

The two major schools of coffee roasting—Japanese slow roasting and Nordic fast roasting—reflect fundamentally different philosophies of tasting: the Japanese value a rich, clean mouthfeel, while the Nordics prefer bright, elevated acidity and aroma. This time, Front Street Coffee selected the sun-dried Yirgacheffe Worka Red Cherry and, through two actual roasting curves, compares the differences between slow roasting and fast roasting one by one—from airflow and heat adjustment, the pace of temperature rise, to the appearance of the roasted beans and cupping performance. Slow roasting is like braising pork until tender, letting heat penetrate evenly; it results in a high degree of development, rounded sweetness, and a short resting period. Fast roasting emphasizes the efficiency of hot air and pursues bright floral and fruity aromas, but it demands stricter quality from the green beans. The article also introduces the origin background of the Worka cooperative and the division of labor at the Banko processing station, and, combining green bean grade, appearance consistency, and actual cupping results, sorts out the applicable scenarios and flavor orientations of the two roasting methods for coffee lovers' reference. [more…]

Pour-over coffee has always pursued the goal of showcasing the terroir of a single origin, while espresso blends are mostly designed for espresso. Can the two collide to create new possibilities? Front Street Coffee, inspired by autumn, tried using Yunnan Typica as the base, supplemented by Yirgacheffe and Gesha Village natural beans, to explore a blend recipe suitable for pour-over. From the logic of bean selection, the trade-offs between pre-roast blending and post-roast blending, to the step-by-step adjustment of the roasting curve, and then to multiple rounds of cupping and ratio optimization, the entire process not only sorts out the principles of blending but also includes specific reference parameters and flavor records, opening up new ideas for coffee enthusiasts in pour-over blending. [more…]

As autumn turns to winter and the weather gradually cools, Front Street Coffee created the Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun espresso blend, suited to espresso, quite some time ago. Following this line of thinking, Front Street also wanted to make a blended coffee bean suitable for autumn drinking and usable for pour-over coffee. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet C [more…]

When it comes to blended beans, most people only think of espresso, but hand-brewed coffee can use them just as well. This article fully reconstructs the entire process behind Front Street Coffee's development of the "Autumn Hand-Brew Blend": why Yunnan 2013 Typica was chosen as the lead bean, how Yirgacheffe Kochere and Gesha Village sun-dried Geisha filled in the supporting roles, how raw blending and roasted blending were weighed against each other, what cup-testing iterations the 6:3:1 ratio went through, and two complete roasting curve data sets. The finished cup has soft acidity, clear sweetness, and layers of black tea, caramel, orange, and floral-fruity aromas unfolding one after another, offering a detailed reference for enthusiasts who want to try hand-brew blending. [more…]

Huakui coffee beans originate from Hambela in the Sidama region of Ethiopia and are known for their berry cream and tropical fruit flavors. The degree of roast directly determines the direction of their flavor: a medium-light roast preserves bright acidity and floral-fruity aromas, while a medium-dark roast brings caramel and bitterness, masking the character of the origin. Front Street Coffee's roasters screened through cupping with three curves and ultimately determined the optimal roasting plan for Huakui, with the key points being the control of dehydration and yellowing, first crack timing, and development pace. This article will provide a complete analysis of Huakui's origin background, variety characteristics, and natural processing method, and will disclose Front Street Coffee's roasting curve data and V60 brewing parameters, helping coffee enthusiasts understand how to adjust the charge temperature and development time to release Huakui's layering and sweetness. [more…]

The allure of dark roasting lies in its ability to push the flavor characteristics of certain regions toward richer, more complex levels. Not all regions are suited to dark roasting, but there is a category of beans that is naturally in harmony with deep roasting—they typically possess a foundation of low acidity, full body, and solid sweetness, and after undergoing the high-temperature development following second crack, [more…]

Pour-over drip coffee may seem simple—just a dripper, a hand gooseneck kettle, filter paper, and a cup are all you need—but once you actually start brewing, you realize there are countless variables at play. This article begins with the basic equipment, then gradually introduces the standard brewing process, the interrupt-pour technique, advanced setups, and the five major variables, along with specific water temperature and grind size recommendations for light, medium, and dark roasts. Whether you're a beginner just getting into pour-over or an enthusiast looking to refine your technique, you'll find practical parameter references here. The article also covers methods for adjusting variables to suit your taste, key points for cleaning and maintenance, and practical approaches for making flavored coffee bases and super-concentrated iced coffee, and recommends related products from Front Street Coffee. [more…]