What Coffee-to-Water Ratio Should Be Used for Espresso Beans? Why Use Blended Beans for Espresso?

The Art of Espresso Coffee Blends

FrontStreet Coffee uses espresso blend coffee beans to enhance richness and balance, though this isn't absolutely necessary. Nowadays, there's also the SOE (Single Origin Espresso) approach, which uses single-origin coffee beans to make espresso, highlighting the unique flavors of that region but also potentially amplifying its shortcomings. Moreover, SOE roasting parameters differ from pour-over roasting parameters. When FrontStreet Coffee used pour-over roasted Yirgacheffe beans to make espresso, the resulting acidity was so intense it became almost unacceptable (though some might enjoy it), because FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe is renowned for its fruity acidity, and under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions of espresso extraction, the acidity was amplified several times, turning an advantage into a drawback—contrary to the original intention of quality coffee. Therefore, when FrontStreet Coffee selects single-origin coffees for espresso, they employ different roasting parameters.

What is Blended Coffee?

Blended coffee, also known as mixed coffee or espresso beans, involves combining various single-origin coffee beans to fully showcase their strengths. Blends are created from coffee beans of different origins to achieve a more balanced flavor profile. For example, if one coffee is smooth but lacks aroma, another aromatic bean can be added to complement it, allowing the individual beans to compensate for each other's weaknesses in taste—either complementing or enhancing each other—to create a richer, new flavor experience. Sometimes beans are mixed before roasting (called "raw blending"), and sometimes they're mixed after roasting (called "post-roast blending").

Whether pre-mixing raw beans or individually roasting before mixing, both methods are acceptable depending on the characteristics of the coffee beans in the formula. Post-roast blending allows for different roasting degrees for each bean, enabling each component to perform at its best.

Before blending beans, one must understand the flavor profiles of different coffee varieties from around the world. Beans from different origins have distinct characteristics. Different coffee beans exhibit unique personalities due to variety and origin differences—subtle variations in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body. Single-origin beans often emphasize the unique characteristics of a particular coffee type. Blends are commonly used for espresso-based drinks like Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Cappuccino, providing more balanced, smoother, and more stable flavors that appeal to broader preferences.

Main Purposes of Coffee Blending

The main reasons for blending different coffee beans include:

1. Stable Flavor

Since coffee beans are an agricultural product, even the same type of coffee bean will have different flavors each year. Mixing several types of coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, helping maintain basically consistent flavors year after year.

2. Balanced Flavor Profile

Since espresso machines have a characteristic of amplifying the most prominent flavor characteristic of coffee beans, we almost never use single-variety coffee to make espresso. Otherwise, if that particular coffee bean is quite bitter, the resulting espresso will be exceptionally bitter; if it leans toward acidity, it will be extremely acidic. Therefore, we need to balance various flavors through blending.

Blending coffee is never a simple addition process. Instead, through the roaster's unique understanding of coffee flavors, different coffee beans complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, creating an exceptionally flavored espresso blend.

How FrontStreet Coffee Creates Their Blends

FrontStreet Coffee currently offers four types of Frontsteet espresso blends in their shop:

1. Frontsteet Premium Espresso Blend

Uses Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans in a 3:7 ratio.

Colombia Huila Region

Located in southwestern Colombia, it's one of the main coffee cultivation areas. Colombian coffee typically grows at altitudes of 1500-1800 meters, mostly Bourbon and Caturra varieties, using washed processing. The beans have high density, uniform size, and plump form (thick from bean core to surface). Because famous coffee cultivation areas are scattered throughout the Huila region, the names of various small areas have become brand names that circulate. Although cultivation conditions in this region are excellent, coffee farm infrastructure and surrounding cultivation facilities are not yet well-developed. Raw bean drying equipment or washed processing facilities are still incomplete, which is regrettable. Huila region coffee has intense flavor with a heavier body. Particularly, the nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas with suitable acidity in Huila region coffee can be called high-quality specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia Huila flavor characteristics: Rich and solid mouthfeel with pleasant acidity, mellow aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that's intriguing. Due to its affordable price and smaller bean size, it's suitable for both single-origin or espresso blend bases.

Brazil Cerrado Region

Brazilian coffee typically grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low. Mostly Bourbon variety, using natural processing, with moderate moisture content, softer bean texture, and thinner thickness from bean surface to core, making it unsuitable for high-temperature roasting—otherwise, the roaster's inner wall temperature will scorch the bean surface, creating burnt bitterness. We want to express nutty, milk chocolate, and good body characteristics as a blend base, so FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium heat bean-dropping approach, maintaining heat through the dehydration stage, making slight adjustments as temperature rises after first crack begins, promoting more complete caramelization reactions, and discharging beans when temperature approaches second crack.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado flavor characteristics: Comfortable bitter-sweet taste, extremely smooth entry; with light grassy aroma, fresh fragrance with slight bitterness; smooth and sweet, with a pleasant aftertaste.

Blend flavor: Sweet and aromatic taste. Using medium-dark roast, when making espresso, it has soft, slight acidity, clear sweetness, nutty aftertaste, overall not too stimulating, mellow, with medium crema—suitable for daily café offerings.

2. Frontsteet Commercial Espresso Blend

Uses Colombian, Brazilian coffee beans and Robusta in a 3:6:1 ratio; raw blending.

Robusta beans have strong disease and pest resistance and high yields. They typically lack the acidity of Arabica beans and often have a woody aroma. With 2.2% caffeine content compared to Arabica's 1.2%, and higher chlorogenic acid content, they're quite bitter and usually used in commercial beans—more cost-effective than Arabica beans.

In terms of individual bean flavor, commercial coffee beans' flavor is much inferior to specialty coffee beans. Commercial beans are typically chosen for blending, and through proper blending, can also produce coffee with excellent taste suitable for making lattes, cappuccinos, and other espresso drinks. FrontStreet Coffee's Frontsteet Commercial Blend makes espresso with richer crema due to Robusta beans, classic flavor with caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slight bitterness, with persistent aftertaste—cost-effective for meeting daily café needs.

3. Frontsteet Basic Espresso Blend

Uses Yunnan AA and Brazilian coffee beans; 3:7 ratio; post-roast blending.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan AA is Typica, the oldest native variety from Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan—all Arabica varieties derive from Typica. The top leaves are bronze-colored, called "red-topped coffee," with elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, susceptible to leaf rust, and low fruit yield. Typica has four slender branches in an spreading pattern with a 50-70 degree inclination. Opposite leaves are long-oval with smooth surfaces, terminal branches are long with few branches, and white flowers bloom at the base where petioles connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like small cherries, bright red in color.

It requires more shade when growing and can be harvested only about every two years. Yunnan's excellent geographical and climate conditions provide good conditions for coffee growth, with cultivation areas including Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other regions. Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's—high altitude, large day-night temperature differences, with mellow aromatic flavor, moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform particles, high oil content, and fruity aroma. Its quality and taste are similar to Colombian coffee.

Blend flavor: With soft fruity acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous but somewhat light in taste—suitable for shop owners and home users who prioritize cost and have moderate flavor requirements.

4. Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend

FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend uses Frontsteet Honduras Sherry Barrel Fermented coffee beans and Frontsteet Natural Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Project beans in a 6:4 ratio. Six parts Frontsteet Honduras Sherry Barrel coffee beans provide flavor and body for this Frontsteet espresso blend, while four parts Frontsteet Natural Yirgacheffe provide more aroma and acidity.

Roasting Recommendations

When roasting this Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend, FrontStreet Coffee uses a gradual heat reduction method to allow beans to develop synchronously during the roasting process.

Heat to 210°C, open damper to 4, fire power 200, return to temperature point at 1'30", 92°C; when drum temperature reaches 140°C, open damper to 6; at this point, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. When drum temperature reaches 180°C, adjust fire power to 10, open damper to maximum 10.

At 9'30", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma—can be defined as prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for first crack sound. At 10'38", first crack begins, develop for 3'40" after first crack, discharge at 197.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee chooses Frontsteet Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend to make iced lattes.

Espresso extraction parameters:

Coffee amount: 20g
Coffee liquid amount: 40g
Extraction time: 28s

Since iced latte coffee has a large amount of milk added, the milk flavor is quite noticeable.

The espresso made from FrontStreet Coffee's own Frontsteet Warm Sunshine blend has prominent chocolate liqueur flavor. When made into iced latte with milk and ice, it creates a very smooth texture with persistent chocolate flavor mixed with pleasant alcoholic notes, long-lasting aftertaste, and noticeable sweetness—perfect for summer cooling.

Why is a Spoon Provided?

When drinking espresso, a spoon, sugar, and water are usually provided.

Espresso is extracted using hot water and pressure, so besides water-soluble components that dissolve in water, some fat-soluble components are also extracted. Water-soluble components are heavier, so they settle at the bottom as coffee liquid, while fat-soluble components float on top as foam. This foam-like component is called crema—it contains many components that influence aroma, consistency, and texture. The water-soluble components that settle at the bottom mainly consist of substances that let the tongue taste flavors. Simply put, crema handles the aroma part, while the extraction liquid handles the flavor part.

If you drink directly without stirring, the water-soluble and fat-soluble components will be separated. By stirring or shaking to mix the espresso components before drinking, you can experience rich and harmonious flavor and aroma. Therefore, espresso is always served with a spoon.

Should Sugar Be Added to Espresso?

Whether to add sugar to espresso is a matter of personal preference. However, adding sugar to rich crema and watching it slowly sink while imagining the coffee's rich flavor is also a blissful experience. Sugar can also be used to judge the richness of crema: carefully place a spoonful of sugar on the crema without breaking it. If the sugar stays for 2-3 seconds before slowly getting wet from the edges and sinking, it indicates rich crema.

Since sugar reduces coffee's bitterness, the acidity originally masked by bitterness becomes prominent when bitterness decreases, making the coffee impression more premium. Moreover, sugar can make coffee's texture gentler—it can be said to be coffee's excellent companion.

Is More Crema Always Better?

The thickness and duration of crema are closely related to coffee freshness. Richer crema indicates potentially fresher coffee; the more gas produced during roasting, the more crema will appear. When extracting coffee that hasn't been roasted long ago, you'll find abundant crema, but unfortunately, it also disappears relatively quickly. When tasting this coffee, the sensation on your tongue will be similar to drinking carbonated water. Since roasting gases dissolve in water, bitter tongue-stinging or astringent tastes may appear instead.

From this, we can see that even fresh coffee isn't necessarily always good coffee—it still requires careful management. Depending on roasting methods, coffee bean maturation times vary. Keeping coffee isolated from light and oxygen for at least 3-4 days to 2 weeks or more allows gases produced during internal roasting to naturally release. Using such coffee can produce good coffee with beautiful crema. In stable condition after extraction, when crema doesn't exceed 3-5mm, it's in the optimal state.

Must Espresso Always Use Blended Beans?

Espresso is just one of many coffee extraction methods. Regardless of what coffee is used, as long as it's made with an espresso machine, it can be called espresso. As long as it tastes good, whether single-origin or blended, light roast or dark roast—all are acceptable. There are no strict rules about what kind of coffee must be used.

Espresso machines have optimal extraction conditions, so regardless of what coffee is used, they can achieve the best extraction. However, so-called "good extraction" doesn't just maximize the extraction of wonderful components from coffee—equally, undesirable flavors are also maximally extracted, so this must be carefully considered. Therefore, bean selection must use high-quality coffee beans without defects. If the coffee beans themselves have shortcomings, as mentioned earlier, these defects will also be heavily extracted and amplified to an unbearable degree.

All coffee has advantages but also accompanies disadvantages, so compared to using only single-origin coffee for espresso, for richness and balance, various single-origin beans are often mixed to create special blends.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add private WeChat: FrontStreet Coffee, 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