When brewing coffee in the early morning, many friends often find that the same bag of beans tastes sometimes strong and sometimes weak, sometimes smooth, and sometimes astringent in the finish. In fact, the key to how coffee flavor performs lies in the balance between strength and extraction yield. Yunnan small-bean coffee has an especially warm and gentle regional terroir, and as long as you understand the rules of extraction, you can use small parameter adjustments to bring out a comforting sweetness and aroma from this everyday staple.

Understanding extraction is actually like adding salt when cooking. How much flavor material the water carries out of the coffee grounds is the extraction yield, while how rich the whole cup tastes is the strength. If the coffee tastes weak and flavorless, it is usually because the brew ratio is too large or the grind is too coarse; if it is too strong and bitter, there is too much coffee and too little water; if the back of your tongue feels dry and astringent, it is often over-extraction, which has also washed out excess woody bitterness.

If you want to bring the beans to a smooth state, change only one variable each time you make a small adjustment. If the cup feels weak, you can grind half a step finer, or slightly reduce the brew ratio; if there is a dry, astringent feeling, try lowering the water temperature by two degrees, or make the grind slightly coarser. When choosing beans, we should actually first decide whether we like it rich or light, and then pick beans that suit that.

Friends new to Yunnan beans are well suited to start with Qianjie Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee. It comes from the Baoshan region, uses washed processing and medium roasting, and is affordably priced. Washing gives it a clean, clear texture, while the roast highlights the sweet aroma of nuts and chocolate, with a slight plum acidity in the finish. This bean is especially suited to being brewed lighter, and the lighter strength lets the fruit acidity show more softly.

When hand-brewing Qianjie Yunnan Small-Bean Coffee, it is recommended to use standard parameters to establish a flavor reference point. Weigh 15 g of coffee grounds, use a 1:15 brew ratio, and prepare 225 ml of 90°C hot water in total. First pour in 30 ml of water and bloom for 30 seconds, then pour in stages, keeping the total time at around 2 minutes. The strength extracted this way is moderate, and the plum acidity and nutty sweetness balance quite smoothly.

If you want to experience more layers and sweetness within Yunnan flavor, Qianjie 2013 Sun-Dried Typica Coffee is the only choice. Back then, in order to seek a pure regional taste, Qianjie planted this batch of Typica trees with ancient Arabica genetics at the estate. During picking, only fully ripe red cherries were used, and after sun-dried processing and medium roasting, the sweet-tart quality and full flavor are shown especially clearly.

Qianjie 2013 Sun-Dried Typica Coffee is rich in aromatic substances and is well suited to a fuller extraction. Under the same hand-brewing parameters, its sun-dried flavor brings dark berry and caramel sweetness, with the sweet taste of chocolate and dried apricot woven through the middle and finish, and after swallowing, the mouth is full of a long black-tea-like aftertaste. It can be brewed light to savor the layers in detail, or a little stronger to feel the full sweetness.

Besides the refreshing hand-brew, friends who like it mellow and rich, or even love making milk coffee, can try Qianjie Black Cocoa Blend Coffee. This espresso blend is made up of Yunnan small-bean coffee with Brazil Cerrado; the Brazilian beans provide nutty aroma and a solid base, while the Yunnan small-bean coffee adds chocolate and citrus flavors. Use 19 g of coffee grounds to extract 38 g of espresso in 26 seconds, with thick crema and a solid flavor.

The Americano made with Qianjie Black Cocoa Blend has an especially balanced sweet, tart and bitter profile, giving off the sweet aroma of nuts and brown sugar; if mixed with steamed milk to make a latte, it has an even smoother taste of almond and cream. As long as you master the adjustment of extraction and strength, and brew in line with the bean's own character, every bag of Yunnan coffee can show a comfortable and pleasant state in your cup.