The moka pot, this classic Italian coffee maker, is extremely popular in its home country—it's said that 8 out of every 10 households own this wonderful coffee-brewing device. However, in our country, the moka pot is relatively seldom used, which means many people have never had a thorough explanation of how to use it. Today, Front Street Cof [more…]

The principle of extracting coffee with a moka pot is very simple: it uses the steam pressure generated in the lower chamber. When the steam pressure is great enough to penetrate the coffee grounds, it pushes hot water up into the upper chamber. Coffee extracted with a moka pot has a strong taste, combining acidity and bitterness, and contains oils. Therefore, the greatest advantage of the moka pot lies in its small size and convenience, making it easy to [more…]

Today, Front Street Coffee will introduce you to this moka pot that is popular in Italian households. Europeans do not call this kind of pot a moka pot, but rather an Espresso Pot. Judging by this name alone, the coffee made by a moka pot is truly Espresso, though its extraction is [more…]

Whether you're just getting ready to set up a semi-automatic espresso machine at home or preparing to open a small coffee shop, choosing beans is an unavoidable step. Dark-roast blends are stable, tasty, and highly versatile—almost a safe bet for espresso-based drinks. Today we're going to talk about three blends from Front Street Coffee that are very suitable for cafés and home use. [more…]

The moka pot, this "national coffee wonder" found in almost every Italian household, was invented as early as 1933 by the Italian Alfonso Bialetti. It extracts coffee by heating the base and using steam pressure, belonging to the category of distillation-style coffee equipment. [more…]

In Front Street's view, cold brew coffee is one of the best iced coffees to make at home, because it not only works with the vast majority of coffee beans, but also has a very low barrier to entry—even without any specialized brewing equipment at home, you can still make a pretty good-tasting iced coffee, which is quite convenient. Because it is steeped in a low-temperature environment [more…]

It's May, and summer has arrived. In the scorching heat of Guangzhou, even after rain, it remains so muggy that without a refreshing cold drink, one truly lacks the courage to survive in this furnace-like city. That's why recently, many more friends have been coming to Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffe [more…]

Occasionally, at Front Street Coffee shops, we encounter customers who order "black coffee." Although Front Street Coffee knows that when these customers say black coffee, they most likely mean Americano, to be safe, we still ask just to confirm. As a result, quite a few customers are puzzled: "Isn't black coffee just Americano?" Well, that's not quite [more…]

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add our personal WeChat Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex. "Are coffee beans [more…]

Front Street Coffee believes the moka pot is one of the most reliable methods for brewing coffee. As long as the following points are met, you can make a decent cup of coffee: 1. The right amount of coffee grounds and water 2. A safe heating method 3. A grind size suited to moka pot extraction 4. Mastering the optimal brewing time 5. Reasonable adjustment [more…]

When choosing espresso beans for a coffee shop, the origin structure is the key factor determining the flavor direction. Commercial espresso beans fall into two main routes: one is the blend base, and the other is single-origin SOE; each has its own positioning and suitable scenarios. Blended beans are the mainstream choice for commercial espresso. The core idea of blending is to use beans from different origins to complement each other, with Brazil providing [more…]

One of summer's greatest pleasures is sipping a cold, smooth glass of cold brew in an air-conditioned room. It doesn't scald your mouth like hot coffee, nor is it bitter like traditional iced coffee—what greets your palate is clean fruit notes and a gentle sweetness. Many people think cold brew is a fancy "coffee shop only" specialty, but it may actually be the easiest of all coffee [more…]

To enjoy a low-caffeine pour-over bean with good aroma, the key is not to chase the roast date and open the bag right away, but to let the gases inside the bean escape gradually. If you brew too early, the bed of grounds is easily lifted by the gas, and the water flows through unevenly; wait until the right stage, and the floral and fruity notes, sweetness, and aftertaste will come through more cohesively. It should be noted that resting changes the extraction performance, [more…]

Coffee beans are not more aromatic the closer they are to the roast date. Freshly roasted beans contain more carbon dioxide, which can cause uneven water penetration in the puck when pulling espresso; the crema may look thick and rich, but the sip feels loose and disconnected. After resting for a period, the gas is slowly released, and notes of nuts, cocoa, or caramel only then become coherent. When selecting commercial beans, take the roast date into account [more…]

Think of cold brew as an "iced map of coffee origins," and the way you choose beans suddenly opens up: the character each origin shows under cold extraction is far more sharply defined than when served hot. Take a lap along the Coffee Belt and map out how well each major origin suits cold brew—brew by the map this summer, and every cup will surprise you. First stop, [more…]

To keep Yirgacheffe from tasting sharp, don't just fixate on the words "low acidity" on the flavor chart when buying—also pay attention to the roast date and your own drinking pace. Coffee beans need to go through a degassing process from the moment roasting finishes until they reach a stable state; brew too early and you may get a pungent acidity in the cup, with aromas scattering, and so on. [more…]

As soon as summer arrives, cold brew becomes a regular on many people's coffee lists. Coffee slowly brewed at low temperature has less bitterness, a more pronounced fruity aroma, and a smooth mouthfeel, like a cup of juice infused with coffee fragrance. But whether cold brew tastes good depends on the beans. Choose the right ones, and a cold-water steep alone brings out the flavor; choose the wrong ones, and no matter how long you steep it, it is still just a cup of" [more…]

Whether the aroma of coffee beans can cut through milk in a latte depends not only on the beans themselves but also on how many days have passed since roasting. Freshly roasted beans are still rapidly releasing carbon dioxide, which can cause uneven espresso flow and coarser foam; leave them too long, and the nutty, caramel, or fruity notes gradually fade. Catching that middle window of peak condition, [more…]

When many people first get into coffee, the moment they hear the words "dark roast," their first reaction is "that must be so bitter." Yet many veteran coffee drinkers who have been drinking coffee for over a decade actually end up liking dark-roasted beans more and more. Why is that? The answer is simple: the charm of dark-roasted beans has never been "bitterness," but rather that heavy, weighty richness. [more…]

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee). As coffee culture gradually becomes more widespread in China, many newcomers who have just stepped into the coffee world are beginning to pick up various brewing tools and delve into extraction. Compared with expensive and cumbersome espresso machines, the moka pot is much simpler and more accessible. [more…]