Pu’er Coffee

 The first time I tried a Dirty coffee served in an ultra-low-temperature ice cup was back in 2023, at UNCLE SHU Coffee in Binjiang, Hangzhou. It was my first real encounter with that striking “hot-meets-cold” contrast, and the experience left a strong impression. Dirty coffee is something most coffee lovers in China are already familiar with. It’s fairly common in cafés across Asia, yet you’ll rarely find it in Europe or the U.S. At its core, a Dirty is simple: ice-cold milk topped with hot espresso. This collision of temperatures creates a dramatic, almost theatrical drinking experience that many people love. In recent years, however, a new trend has taken things to the extreme—using ice cups chilled to −86°C to make Dirty coffee. Compared with a traditional Dirty, which usually uses milk and a cup chilled to around 4°C, a −86°C ice cup paired with espresso at roughly 65–70°C creates a temperature difference of more than 150°C. This extreme contrast delivers a sharper, more int...

 You’ve probably heard the saying, “Small but complete.” Some customers describe our Front Street café this way. Despite its small size, the shop is packed with character: in addition to all kinds of coffee beans we sell online, you’ll also spot a variety of brewing tools tucked into every corner — siphon brewers, French presses, Clever drippers, Turkish coffee pots, Eritrean coffee pots, and more. Because of this, we often get customers asking if we can use those tools to make their single-origin coffee. When we politely decline, they usually follow up with: “Is it because coffee brewed with those tools doesn’t taste as good?” “Why do cafés always seem to favor pour-over for single-origin coffee?” If you’ve ever wondered the same thing, let’s dive into why most coffee shops prefer to brew single-origin coffee with pour-over methods. 1. Pour-Over Brings Out Distinct and Complex Flavors Since the rise of the specialty coffee movement in the 1990s, coffee lovers have become inc...