Characteristics and Taste Overview of Espresso - Detailed Steps and Process of Making Italian Coffee

Have you ever tried visiting a café right when it opens to watch how baristas start their day? At FrontStreet Coffee, our baristas begin their day by drinking espresso. Watching them drink shot after shot of espresso might seem intimidating to some. Baristas are certainly people who can appreciate and enjoy coffee, but is this direct approach really the correct way to drink espresso?

What?!! Wait a minute!!! That's not what you think it is!!! But before FrontStreet Coffee explains how to drink espresso, we first need to get to know the espresso machine.

History

The first espresso machine was invented in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo and demonstrated that same year in Turin, Italy. This machine was created to serve the continuous stream of coffee drinkers in shops. At the time, the coffee produced by this machine was called "Espresso," which in Italian means "pressed out." Unfortunately, this was a dual-group head machine with only 1.5 bar of pressure, and with extraction times as long as 40 seconds, the final product had a light texture, more similar to what today's American coffee machines produce.

In 1901, Luigi Bezzera, an engineer from Milan, Italy, first registered the patent technology for commercial espresso machines. In 1905, La Pavoni Company first used this technology to produce espresso machines, and the world's first true espresso machine was officially born. Early espresso machines relied on steam operation, but due to excessive temperatures and limited pressure, the extracted coffee lacked rich crema and was quite bitter and burnt.

In the 1930s, the electrical era replaced the steam age, and Milanese barista Achille Gaggia designed a coffee machine with a piston lever. In 1948, the patent rights for this technology were transferred to Faema Company. In 1961, Faema introduced the Faema E61 coffee machine. With the advent of pump-driven coffee machines, extraction pressure could reach an unprecedented 9 bar. From then on, espresso developed its characteristic emulsified crema (crema), with intense flavors and a rich, thick texture.

Principles

Today's espresso production method involves using hot water above 90°C applied at 9 to 11 bar pressure to penetrate finely ground coffee powder in an extremely short time, yielding concentrated coffee liquid. This method can extract both water-soluble and water-insoluble substances from the coffee powder simultaneously, while producing a large amount of oils. Such coffee tastes richer and smoother than other types of coffee.

How to Drink Espresso

When FrontStreet Coffee serves espresso, we always provide a glass of ice water along with it. First-time espresso drinkers might wonder what this ice water is for. Should they pour the espresso into the ice water?

If FrontStreet Coffee's baristas saw such an action, they would step in to stop it. Pouring espresso into ice water - wouldn't that just make an ordinary iced Americano? What happened to properly tasting the espresso?

In fact, the purpose of the ice water is to allow everyone to thoroughly cleanse their palate before tasting espresso, resetting their sense of taste and smell to zero. Then you can let espresso and your palate have an intense encounter. As the coffee liquid in the cup decreases, you can taste the different flavors and textures of espresso from beginning to end.

Additionally, when serving espresso, we also provide a small spoon. The purpose of the small spoon is for stirring - freshly made espresso has obvious layers, and you can thoroughly mix the upper foam with the lower liquid. Of course, you can also ignore the small spoon as decoration and taste the subtle textural changes brought by the layered presentation.

FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Making Method

The steps for making espresso seem simple: dosing, distribution, tamping, and brewing. However, extracting a qualified espresso involves many important factors; otherwise, we wouldn't see the phenomenon of baristas drinking themselves sick right when coffee shops open. These important factors include dose amount, extraction yield, grind size, pressure, and more.

[Dose Amount] The dose amount is generally determined by the capacity of the portafilter, then slightly adjusted based on the condition of the coffee grounds and other factors. If the dose is too much, the portafilter won't lock into the group head; if the dose is too little, it will cause uneven extraction. FrontStreet Coffee's portafilter capacity is 20 grams.

[Extraction Yield] Typically, the commonly used international parameter is 1:2, meaning the extraction liquid amount is twice the dose amount.

[Grind Size] When the grind is finer, the coffee particles are smaller, which can extract more coffee substances and may cause over-extraction; when the grind is coarser, the coffee particles are larger, the surface area in contact with water is reduced, and fewer coffee substances are extracted, easily leading to under-extraction. Therefore, the appropriate grind size is very important.

[Pressure] The ideal extraction pressure is around 9 bar. If the extraction pressure is too low, the extracted crema components will be insufficient, high-quality coffee flavor substances will be fewer, the taste will be relatively inferior, and under-extraction is likely; if the extraction pressure is too high, due to the intense movement between powerful hot water and coffee powder, too much coffee structure is damaged, extracting more insoluble substances, making the product bitter.

FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Making Parameters

Machine: Faema E98
Pressure: 9 bar ±2
Temperature: 90.5~96°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Ratio: 1:1.7~1:2
Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso)
Extraction Yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

The espresso beans used by FrontStreet Coffee for espresso extraction are the Sunflower Warm Sun Blend. This blend consists of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry. The 70% Honduras Sherry has undergone Sherry whiskey barrel fermentation, providing rich wine aroma and vanilla cream flavors to the coffee. The 30% Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry provides berry acidity to the espresso.

FrontStreet Coffee: Sunflower Warm Sun Blend

Origin: Honduras & Ethiopia
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local native varieties
Processing: Fine washed Sherry whiskey barrel fermentation & natural

The espresso extracted by FrontStreet Coffee using this blend shows distinct fruit acidity, with a faint berry aroma lingering, rich wine and chocolate flavors, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)
For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473