Espresso is mostly made with blended beans, because espresso made from general single-origin coffee beans may taste less mellow and have a sharp acidity—even with milk or sugar added, it can still taste sour. In addition, since coffee beans are an agricultural product, they more or less change from year to year, and the resulting coffee can easily vary in flavor at any time. By using a blend, however, the shortcomings in flavor can compensate for one another, making espresso extraction more stable.
When selecting suitable coffee beans, we can approach it from three aspects:
Step 1: Find a reliable coffee bean roasting brand
Today's coffee bean market is a mixed bag—not only can you easily buy "fakes" by accident, but you may also spend a lot of money only to end up with stale, expired products. Therefore, finding a reputable coffee bean roasting brand can save you a lot of trouble.
Front Street Coffee is a self-roasting coffee bean specialty store in Guangzhou, founded in 2013, offering more than 50 varieties of fresh coffee, with all products available for online purchase through its Tmall flagship store and Taobao store. Over the years, the Front Street Coffee official account has insisted on daily posts, sharing coffee knowledge covering everything from coffee beans, coffee equipment, and brewing to flavor. Many detailed questions encountered in making and drinking coffee have been thoroughly explained and discussed by Front Street Coffee. Front Street Coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days, with stable and excellent quality and highly cost-effective prices, shipping within 24 hours. Whether you are a coffee enthusiast just starting out, one who has already reached a professional advanced level, or a user opening a coffee shop, Front Street Coffee is the recommended choice of many coffee lovers and platforms.
Step 2: Determine the taste, preferences, and needs you want
Many times, what troubles us most is not how to buy coffee, but being unable to find the category that suits us. Actually, it's very simple—let's start with our needs.
If you like espresso drinks with milk such as lattes and mochas, it is recommended to choose medium-dark roasted coffee beans; if you like the refreshing taste of black coffees such as Americano and orange C Americano, you can buy some medium-roasted espresso beans with fruity flavors; if you want to practice latte art, or like coffee with a roasted aroma, you can refer to some dark-roasted beans.
Step 3: Choose your favorite espresso beans
1. Rich and mellow flavor: Front Street Classic Espresso Blend Coffee Beans
Most coffee drinkers have only heard of Mamba coffee, yet do not know the recipe or origin of "Mamba." In fact, Mamba is a blend of Indonesian Mandheling beans plus Brazilian coffee beans, and the flavors complement and harmonize with each other. In Taiwan's early years, Mamba blends were very popular in coffee shops and could be considered an old-school coffee flavor. Front Street Classic Espresso Blend adds Robusta to the base of the Mamba recipe, fully enhancing the coffee's crema and making the body of the espresso stronger. It is suitable for home use and for latte art.
2. Rich floral and fruity aroma: Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend Coffee Beans
If you want to make a floral-and-fruity espresso, you should mainly use medium-roasted coffee beans. We recommend Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso coffee beans, which can be ordered directly from the Taobao or Tmall store. This is a blend based on two major origins: Front Street Costa Rica Tarrazú, known for its honey processing, and Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. On this basis, Colombian coffee beans are added, so that the resulting espresso is not only not harsh but, under extraction by the coffee machine, has good crema and a velvety texture, while also offering a sweet-and-sour taste like strawberry gummy candy. It is suitable for making Americano or latte.
3. Rich nutty notes: Front Street Specialty Espresso Blend Coffee Beans
As one of the world's leading coffee-producing countries, Brazil and Colombia have long been famous for their coffee. Front Street combines coffee beans from these two regions: the nutty aroma and balanced taste of Brazilian coffee plus the chocolate notes of Colombian coffee perfectly achieve an effect where one plus one is greater than two. The extracted espresso has flavors of cream cookies, cocoa, and roasted nuts. It is suitable for friends who do not like acidity, and for making Americano and latte.
4. Coffee shop style: Front Street Commercial Espresso Blend Coffee Beans
If you want to recreate the same Americano or latte as a coffee shop, you can buy Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans. It is made from a blend of three major origins—Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam. After medium-dark roasting, it has rich coffee crema and roasted aromas. Made into Americano, it tastes sweet and mellow and is very easy to drink; made into a latte, it is rich and smooth, leaving a lingering fragrance after drinking. Moreover, the price is affordable, making it a daily staple bean for home brewing.
5. High cost-effectiveness: Front Street Basic Espresso Blend Coffee Beans
For friends just starting out, of course we first consider cost-effectiveness, and this coffee can meet the needs of the vast majority of home users. It has soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, and nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, while also being affordably priced. It is suitable for coffee shop and home users who prioritize cost and have general requirements for flavor.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
