Wednesday, September 16 2026

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…]

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…]

Pour-Over Coffee Brewing Methods | Does Multi-Stage Pouring Make Pour-Over Coffee Taste Better? How to Do Staged Pouring When Making Pour-Over Coffee?

In yesterday's post, Front Street mentioned that one of the advantages of pour-over coffee is its high level of controllability. During the brewing process, we can adjust the pouring method based on the actual situation, so that the coffee's flavor does not stray from being delicious. This statement is not unfounded; many techniques can help us do [more…]

Dark Roast Coffee Beans Pour-Over Technique Tutorial | Why Does Pour-Over Coffee Have a Burnt, Bitter Taste? What Water Temperature Should Be Used to Brew Indonesian Mandheling, Brazilian, and Colombian Coffee?

Newcomers often say that brewing coffee feels like a mystic art, and whether it tastes good or not is purely a matter of luck. But in Front Street Coffee's view, as long as you find the logic and patterns behind brewing, you'll discover that it's actually not that complicated at all—it's simply about finding a few key parameters and using hot water to fully extract the coffee grounds, ultimately getting a cup that tastes good. [more…]

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 Extraction | What Are Over-Extraction and Under-Extraction in Pour-Over Coffee? What Are the Signs of Under-Extraction and Over-Extraction in Pour-Over Coffee?

Front Street Coffee has found that many friends always run into this problem when they first start learning coffee brewing: they find that the coffee they brew doesn't taste good, but they can't quite say exactly what's wrong with it. To be honest, if we want to brew a good cup of coffee, besides learning the underlying logic of brewing and mastering the correct extraction parameters, [more…]

Espresso Crema | What Is Crema in Espresso? What Coffee Information Can the Crema on an Espresso Reveal?

As is well known, the coffee extracted from an espresso machine is not only very rich and intense, but also comes with a layer of golden crema. Because this layer of crema gives the coffee a rich aroma and a smooth, dense mouthfeel, and is also a product unique to espresso, people often call it the soul of espresso. But... [more…]

Moka Pot Brewing Tutorial | What are the finer points of moka pot coffee dosing techniques? What causes a moka pot to produce no coffee, or coffee to spurt out violently?

When brewing coffee with a moka pot, many friends don't know what grind size is suitable. They're also unsure how to fill the coffee grounds properly, and whether tamping is needed. If you have these questions too, you'll find the answers below. First, what grind size should be used for moka pot coffee? The coffee particle size needed for a moka pot [more…]

Key Points for Using a Coffee Grinder | Do You Need to Clean the Grinder Before Grinding Coffee Beans? What Should You Watch Out for When Using a Coffee Bean Grinder?

Many friends who originally used hand grinders have purchased an electric coffee grinder to grind coffee beans, with the aim of freeing their hands and no longer needing to go through the tedious grinding process. However, electric grinders are different from hand grinders, and there are many details to pay attention to when using them. If you are not careful, it is easy to shorten the life of the grinder and affect the grinding quality. [more…]

Over-extracted Coffee | Why Does Brewed Coffee Taste Bitter? How Can Coffee Beginners Avoid Over-Extraction When Making Pour-Over Coffee?

Many friends just starting out always face the trouble of over-extraction! So-called "over-extraction" refers to excessive extraction. In a coffee bean, the substances that can be dissolved out by water make up about 30% of the total. Although there is only this much, we cannot dissolve everything out. Because inside, besides [more…]

Moka Pot Coffee | Why Do Light Roast Coffee Beans Often Fail in a Moka Pot? What Should You Watch Out for When Making Moka Pot Coffee with Light Roast Beans?

After drinking too much coffee of a certain flavor, we always want to switch things up and try something new. For example, some friends who use moka pots, even though they usually buy deeply roasted coffee beans full of caramelized aroma to make moka pot coffee, occasionally want to switch to light roast beans and experience the floral and fruity notes of light roast coffee. However, due to the [more…]

Espresso | What factors affect the strength of espresso? How can you increase the strength of Italian-style coffee?

From an extraction perspective, whether a cup of espresso tastes good first depends on the choice of coffee beans, then on the flavor and strength of the espresso, and finally on details such as the ratio of accompanying ingredients and temperature. Among these, making the espresso itself troubles many home baristas because various unexpected situations can arise. For example, from [more…]

Brewing with Coffee Grounds | Can you use espresso grounds for pour-over coffee? What are the key points to note when making pour-over black coffee with fine coffee grounds?

Recently, a customer asked Front Street what to do when the coffee beans they bought were ground too fine, suitable for making espresso. I believe many friends have encountered this situation: the ground coffee they bought turned out to be too fine. If brewed with the usual pour-over parameters, it would definitely over-extract. Does that mean it has to be thrown away and can't be used? Today, Front Street will share with everyone [more…]

Milk Frothing Tutorial for Beginners | Why Does Milk Foam? How to Froth Milk for a Latte? What Are the Steps and Techniques for Latte Art Pouring and Integration?

At FrontStreet Coffee, steaming milk can be said to be a basic and core skill for every barista. Whether one can steam perfect milk is one of the factors used to judge whether a barista's level is up to standard. For example, the milk foam in a latte is on the thinner side, making it smooth and delicate to drink. The [more…]