What is Espresso? What kind of coffee is Espresso? How to drink espresso coffee?

Espresso is a Way of Life

In Italy, Espresso is simply the soundtrack of daily life.

The morning starts with a latte; later in the day, people drift into the bar for an Espresso.

Everyone queues at the counter, and once their shot lands in hand, it disappears in three small sips.

The regulars know one another and chat, and even the barista joins in.

The coffee bar thus becomes a social gathering place.

In the United States and Taiwan, Italian-style cafés line the streets, serving as spots for young people to date and talk.

Most of them never order a straight Espresso — only milk-laced Cappuccino or Latte.

Those young people may never learn how delicious Espresso truly is, but they come for the Espresso atmosphere — and presumably,

that counts as an Espresso life too!

Espresso is a Blend Coffee

Espresso is an art of blended coffee, and one could spend a lifetime studying its formula.

Because high-pressure hot water exaggerates whatever a bean has to offer, single-origin beans easily yield

an Espresso whose taste is lopsided.

That is why every coffee company develops its own formulas with great seriousness — and takes pride in them.

Broadly speaking, natural process beans contribute more body, while washed beans bring more sweetness;

fresh beans of one to two years offer lively acidity and texture, while aged beans are mellow and thick.

As for how to compose the blend itself, it is as difficult as writing a concerto, resting on the long experience and self-experimentation of master craftsmen —

no wonder baristas enjoy such revered status in Italy.

Espresso is a Roasting Method

Espresso is also a roasting method. You can buy a bag labeled "Espresso" in any store,

meaning dark-roasted beans suited to brewing concentrated coffee.

We have already discussed the importance of oils in earlier chapters. Emulsified oils are the main source of body,

so Espresso roasts often go deeper to drive the oils to the mouths of the cell pores,

without letting them flood out across the surface of the beans. At that point the roasting temperature exceeds 200 degrees Celsius,

and a few seconds one way or the other can ruin an entire batch. Mastering the roast degree is, without question, an art.

Espresso is a Cuisine

Because Espresso is so rich in taste, adding milk or other ingredients never dilutes it into nothing,

so the possible additions are nearly endless, and it can become many kinds of coffee — a form of cuisine.

For example: Espresso plus milk makes Cappuccino or Caffè Latte;

adding chocolate sauce makes Caffè Mocha;

adding only milk foam makes Espresso Macchiato;

and a dollop of whipped cream turns it into Espresso Con Panna.

Espresso is the Coffee Revolution of the 20th Century

Traditional brewing, at its core, relies only on gravity and hot water;

Espresso uses machines to generate pressurized hot water and extract the coffee's substances in seconds —

a revolution in coffee, and in the 20th century at that.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Want to build your own Espresso drinks at home? A cappuccino needs just three things: espresso, milk, and a solid layer of thick foam. FrontStreet Coffee pulls its cappuccino base at 20g of coffee, a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, and about 30 seconds of extraction, then spoons the foam into the cup's center to form the golden ring. For the bean, beginners should reach for the "crema bomb" Classic Blend or the value-priced Black Cocoa Blend, both made for espresso machines.

If you would rather try a floral-and-fruit cappuccino, the Strawberry Candy espresso blend delivers aromas of berries, rose, raisins, and fruit candy, while the natural-processed, medium-roasted Grana Gesha SOE offers berry, orange, and persimmon flavors that turn to milk-candy sweetness against milk — proof of just how far a great Espresso base can carry a menu.