How to Blend Espresso Coffee Beans? Analysis of Espresso Bean Blending Techniques and How to Drink Espresso

Friends who frequently follow FrontStreet Coffee should know that FrontStreet Coffee specializes in fresh roasted coffee. Freshly ground coffee is not the same as fresh, and of course, fresher isn't always better. FrontStreet Coffee typically provides coffee beans that are two to three days from the roast date, as coffee beans that have been rested for a few days can better reveal their true flavors during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee not only offers single-origin coffee beans but also espresso beans. Whether single-origin or espresso beans, FrontStreet Coffee emphasizes freshness above all, therefore only shipping products roasted within 5 days.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans, also known as blend coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee often encounters requests for rich crema and full-bodied, intense flavors. The most important elements that determine the flavor profile of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans are its blend formula and roast degree—this is the biggest difference from single-origin coffee beans. When it comes to rich crema and full-bodied flavor, many commercial espresso beans on the market contain Robusta coffee beans (abbreviated as Robusta), followed by deep roast levels.

Picture shows FrontStreet Coffee's commercial blend espresso beans (containing 10% Robusta)

What are espresso beans? FrontStreet Coffee's bean blending formula?

Espresso beans, also known as blended coffee, are the primary beans used for specialty coffee drinks, often paired with milk or water. Popular espresso coffees today almost all fall into the category of blended beans. Common espresso beverages include latte, Americano, flat white, cappuccino, and more.

Generally, espresso beans or blended coffee beans refer to mixed coffee beans made by combining two or more different varieties of coffee beans, or the same variety but with different roast degrees. This type of blended coffee is far from simple addition—rather, through the blender's unique understanding of coffee flavors, different coffee beans complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, creating a perfectly balanced blended coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee's blending approach is to balance acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body to create another coffee with unique flavor. Good blended coffee, when completed, has a refreshing fragrance, smooth and refreshing mouthfeel, and golden color—truly premium coffee. When made into a latte, the sweetness of milk and the richness of espresso are perfectly balanced, without one overpowering the other.

When making latte art, the espresso's crema is just right—not too thick to affect the fusion of milk and coffee, nor too thin to cause scattering when milk and coffee blend, creating a perfect foundation for latte art patterns.

FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Bean Blending Formulas

Depending on different coffee varieties, blended espresso beans will have different flavor characteristics.

1. Balanced Flavor Espresso Beans

Formula: Guatemala (30%), Colombia (30%), Brazil (20%), Tanzania Kilimanjaro (10%).

This FrontStreet Coffee blended coffee shows balanced performance in acidity, bitterness, and aroma—neither too acidic nor too rich, making it suitable for friends new to espresso coffee. The highly acidic Tanzania Kilimanjaro coffee beans, rich fruit and smoky-flavored Guatemala coffee beans, Colombia coffee beans with both acidity and rich body, and mildly bitter Brazil coffee beans—FrontStreet Coffee blends these beans in proportion to ultimately create a FrontStreet Coffee blended coffee with balanced flavor and moderate concentration.

2. Bitterness-focused FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Beans

Formula: Colombia (30%), Brazil (60%), Robusta (10%).

Considering the diversity of its audience, FrontStreet Coffee selects intensely flavored coffee beans to create bold-tasting blends. These include Colombia coffee beans with rich nutty chocolate flavors, mildly bitter Brazil coffee beans, and Robusta coffee beans known for their rich body and abundant crema. The resulting coffee has a prominent bitterness, deeply loved by coffee enthusiasts, and also well-suited for daily café production needs.

3. Sweet and Fruity Espresso Beans

Formula: Costa Rica + Ethiopia + Colombia

To create fruity espresso, medium-roasted coffee beans should be used as the base. FrontStreet Coffee recommends its Strawberry Candy espresso beans, available for direct order on Taobao or Tmall stores. This blend features FrontStreet Coffee's honey-processed Costa Rica Tarrazú and Ethiopian coffee beans from the birthplace of coffee. Combined with Colombia coffee beans, this creates an espresso that's not harsh, extracting under the espresso machine with good crema and dense texture, while delivering sweet and sour flavors like strawberry candy.

4. Wine Aroma-focused FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend

Formula: FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry (60%), FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Red Cherry (40%).

FrontStreet Coffee named this uniquely flavored espresso bean "Sunflower Warm Sunshine." True to its name, this special FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso bean has a fragrance as comforting as warm sunshine, with a flavor profile that's eye-opening. Primarily featuring FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry coffee beans with rich fermented wine aroma, complemented by the acidity-focused FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee beans, this creates an intensely aromatic blended coffee.

5. FrontStreet Coffee Premium Espresso Blend

Formula: Brazil (70%), Colombia (30%).

For those who don't like extreme flavors and don't care for single-origin coffee but pursue coffee quality, this FrontStreet Coffee premium espresso bean should be the first choice. It uses medium-dark roasted coffee beans, primarily featuring balanced Brazil coffee beans, complemented by Colombia coffee beans with soft fruit acidity and nutty aftertaste. The flavor is both classic and intriguing, meeting daily café operation needs.

6. FrontStreet Coffee Basic Espresso Blend

Formula: Yunnan coffee beans (40%), Brazil (60%).

This FrontStreet Coffee basic blended coffee bean offers excellent cost-effectiveness while presenting the most popular flavor profile. Whether for friends new to coffee or serious coffee enthusiasts, this espresso bean is easily acceptable. It primarily uses balanced Brazil coffee beans, complemented by Yunnan coffee beans with weaker flavor than Brazil for adjustment, suitable for business and home users who prioritize cost and have general flavor requirements.

What aspects should be noted when blending FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans?

The uniqueness of espresso beans lies in their blend formula—every coffee shop's espresso will have a different taste. Having already learned the specific blend data for several of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans, FrontStreet Coffee now shares several aspects to consider before blending coffee beans.

1. Choose high-quality coffee beans

Actually, FrontStreet Coffee feels this point is somewhat obvious. Using poor-quality coffee beans will greatly diminish the coffee's flavor. Even if blended with excellent coffee beans, delicious coffee cannot be made. Choosing high-quality coffee beans is the most crucial point.

2. Remove defective beans

When defective beans are mixed in, the taste will deteriorate. Worm-infested beans with holes, abnormally developed beans, shells without kernels—all must be removed. Of course, if the coffee beans you select contain too many defective beans, it also indicates poor quality of these coffee beans.

3. Understand the characteristics of coffee beans

If you don't have a good understanding of the coffee beans you're blending, it's difficult to create good espresso beans. At this point, you're like a team manager—you must understand your team members well to utilize their strengths. If you give blind commands without understanding, everything will be chaotic.

4. Understand different roast degrees

Different coffee beans will have different optimal roast degrees, which is why FrontStreet Coffee emphasizes in-house roasting. When roasters fully understand the quality characteristics of a certain coffee bean, they naturally know what roast parameters suit it best, so the final coffee flavor will match the regional characteristics and the essential taste of the coffee bean. For example, Brazil coffee beans need to highlight their rich body and nutty chocolate flavors, requiring medium-dark roasting methods.

How FrontStreet Coffee Makes Its Selection

After comprehensive consideration, FrontStreet Coffee selected an exclusively designed blend as the raw material for its store's espresso coffee production, called "FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend." It's a blend coffee composed of FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry barrel-fermented coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe natural Red Cherry in a 7:3 ratio. Seventy percent of FrontStreet Coffee's Sherry barrel provides aroma and richness to this espresso, while thirty percent of FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry aims to impart light fruit acidity and subtle floral notes.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473