Pu’er Coffee

 We all know that coffee drippers usually come in two sizes—large and small. Some people assume that if a large dripper can handle a big dose of coffee, it should naturally work just fine for a smaller dose as well. So why not just buy one large dripper and call it a day? In reality, that way of thinking isn’t ideal. Today, let’s talk about why using a large dripper to brew a small dose of coffee is generally not recommended. Hopefully, this will be helpful—and if it is, feel free to share it with your fellow coffee friends. First, let’s clarify two concepts: how big is a “large” dripper, and how small is a “small” dose? Let’s use the V60 as an example. A V60 labeled 02 is considered a large dripper, designed for brewing coffee for 1–4 people. A “small” dose, in this context, refers to using around 15 grams of coffee , typically brewed at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio . When a large dripper is designed, it’s meant to accommodate a larger amount of coffee grounds —usually 20–30 ...

 You bought beans with a great reputation — so why does your coffee taste off when you brew it at home? Don’t blame the beans first. Most likely the problem is in the brewing steps. Drip-bag coffee looks simple — just pour boiling water, right? There’s a lot more to it. Those drips that come out creamy and smooth with bright fruit or nutty notes weren’t made by chance. Here are four of the most common brewing mistakes, each with practical fixes. Follow them and your next drip-bag brew will taste noticeably better. Mistake 1: Judging water temperature by feel? Boiling water kills the flavor Pouring boiling water straight onto the grounds is a common habit. You might think hotter water brings out more flavor, but the result is often bitter, burnt-tasting coffee that feels harsh on the throat. That’s not the beans’ fault — the high temperature is extracting the “bad” compounds. There are two key groups of compounds in coffee grounds: one group contains the aromatic and fruity/aci...

“WOW!!! Why does your coffee bed look like a perfect bowl—so big and so evenly shaped?!” I’m not exaggerating (okay, maybe a little ). Friends often react this way after watching me finish a pour-over. Most of the time, the coffee bed left in my dripper looks exactly like what you’ve seen—a deep, symmetrical crater. Even though I often say that the final shape of the coffee bed doesn’t determine whether a cup tastes good, it’s hard not to feel a bit mesmerized by a perfectly carved-out coffee crater—especially when you’re just getting into pour-over brewing. Some people can’t help but wonder: How do you make a coffee bed look like that? Why does mine always end up flat? So today, let’s break down how to create a beautiful, bowl-shaped coffee bed—and why, in the end, it has very little to do with flavor. How Do You Create a Deep Crater? You don’t need advanced brewing skills. If you meet these three conditions, forming a bowl-shaped bed is surprisingly easy: Use lower-density coffee ...

 When choosing coffee beans, many people focus on factors like flavor and origin—but “variety” is another angle some coffee lovers consider. Since our Front Street Coffee shops, both online and offline, specialize in selling beans, we often meet customers who pick their beans based on variety alone. The two requests we hear most often are: “I want Gesha,” or, “I want something special that isn’t Gesha.” And Sidra happens to be one of the varieties we recommend for the second group. Since its breakout performance on the world coffee competition stage in 2022, Sidra has become an absolute star—everywhere and impossible to ignore. The reason is simple: this variety truly is special in many ways. So today, we’re going to dive into what makes Sidra so unique, and how you can brew this distinct coffee properly if you’ve purchased our Front Street Sidra. What Exactly Is Sidra? Sidra (also spelled “Sydra” or “Bourbon Sidra”) is a phonetic transliteration of Sidra , a Spanish word me...

 Among all espresso-based drinks, if someone asks which one contains the most milk, most of us would instantly answer: the latte. And lattes come in two main forms—iced (or cold) lattes and hot lattes. Even though the recipe is technically the same, the methods differ to bring out the best flavor in each version, which leads to many detailed variations in preparation. For iced lattes, the ratio between espresso and milk directly determines the overall strength of the drink. But when it comes to hot lattes, flavor isn’t only affected by ratios—milk temperature also plays a crucial role. What Temperature Should the Milk Be for a Hot Latte? The end point of steaming milk is mainly based on whether the temperature is high enough. Generally, in a specialty coffee shop, milk for a hot latte is steamed to around 55–65°C (or at least kept under 70°C). Many people may wonder: why this specific range? Next, we’ll walk through two sets of experiments to understand the reasons behind it. ...

 A good cup of coffee should always be enjoyed hot — that’s when you can truly experience its full range of aromas and flavors. This is one of those little mantras I often repeat to my friends. Yet here I am, still wearing short sleeves as autumn slowly creeps in. The air indoors is already getting chilly, and a freshly brewed cup of pour-over coffee cools down far too quickly. Before I know it, the rich aroma fades, the taste dulls, and what was once pure pleasure becomes something “too bland to enjoy, too precious to throw away.” Naturally, the thrifty part of me wonders: can I just reheat it? What Happens When Hot Coffee Cools Down? When coffee is first brewed, hot water extracts a variety of flavor compounds and sets them in motion. We enjoy coffee because we not only smell its aromatic compounds released into the air, but also taste the balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness on our tongues. However, as coffee transitions from hot to cold, those sensations change dr...

 In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that one of the biggest advantages of hand-pour (pour-over) coffee is its high degree of control . During the brewing process, we can adjust the pouring method based on real-time conditions, ensuring the flavor stays balanced and delicious. This isn’t just theory — there are many techniques that help achieve this level of control. Today, I want to share one of my favorite little brewing tricks: splitting your pours into multiple stages . This is a technique I often use in many pour-over methods. “Multi-stage pouring” simply means dividing your total brewing water into several smaller pours. For example, if you’re brewing 15g of coffee using a 1:15 ratio, you’ll need 225ml of water. Normally, we don’t pour all 225ml at once — instead, we divide it into several smaller pours. A three-pour method splits it into three stages; a 4-6 method divides it into five, and so on. That’s how most people brew. But sometimes, you don’t have to follow this routi...