What is Espresso Coffee? Italian Espresso Brewing Methods and Essential Brewing Parameters

Understanding Italian Espresso Brewing Methods

Today we are looking at how espresso is brewed in Italy. We will begin with the statistical standards that the Italian National Espresso Institute (INEI) publishes for espresso extraction across the country, and then talk through the extraction principles behind Italian espresso beans.

Basic Brewing Parameters from the Italian Espresso Institute (INEI)

Coffee Dose: 7g ± 0.5

Extraction Temperature: 88°C ± 2

Serving Temperature in Cup: 67°C ± 3

Extraction Pressure: 9 bar ± 1

Extraction Time: 25 seconds ± 5

Caffeine Content:

Extraction Volume: 25ml ± 2.5 (including crema)

*List compiled by vchcafe

*All values refer to a single-cup (Single) filter extraction

Notice how small that dose is. Pulling 25ml of liquid from so little coffee will not give you a particularly concentrated shot. Many people assume a cup like this leans toward American-style brewing, but that is not the case at all, particularly once you remember that in Italy this drink is simply called "coffee."

If you extract using the INEI figures and adjust the shot properly, you end up with an espresso that is exceptionally smooth and velvety, balanced in flavor, with an aromatic aftertaste that lingers. This is the coffee Italians drink every day. Apart from a morning cappuccino, where the coffee-to-milk ratio is itself closely specified, they drink their espresso without milk at almost every other hour.

The Italian method is built around making espresso smooth enough to drink straight. The two governing factors are degree of extraction and concentration: use the smallest amount of ground coffee that will still produce the best and most palatable shot. That is, in effect, Italy's golden-cup standard for espresso.

It is also why Italian roasters develop their roast profiles around Italian taste preferences and drinking habits. The result is a bean that makes it easier for local baristas to pull a shot expressing the roaster's intended character.

Because Italian espresso beans go through these particular roast profiles, an ordinary commercial blend cannot simply be substituted for them. The brewing technique has to be adjusted to match as well, or the cup turns out distinctly unpleasant.

How to Brew Italian Espresso

Work to the values above. Dose roughly 7g for a single shot, hold the brew water at about 88°C, and apply 9 bar of pressure across a 25-second extraction to bring about 25ml into the cup, crema included, served at roughly 67°C. Because the dose is small, the grind and the tamp have to be consistent: a level bed and an even tamp are what keep the flow steady and the extraction balanced. Serve it straight, without milk, and drink it soon after it is pulled.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee roasts a dedicated espresso lineup for shots like this, beginning with the FrontStreet Classic Blend. Built on the classic Mamba pairing of Mandheling and Brazil and finished with a small proportion of Robusta, it pulls as a rich, full-bodied shot with notes of butter, toasted bread, and caramel biscuit. A 20g dose at a 1:2 dose-to-yield ratio over a 30-second extraction gives a concentrated yet fully developed espresso that behaves consistently even on a home machine.

For a lighter and more affordable everyday option, the FrontStreet Black Cocoa Basic Blend is 100% Arabica and delivers a rounded, creamy shot with generous crema at a gentler price. Drinkers who prefer fruit-forward espresso can move up to the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend, where the cup opens into berry, rose, raisin, and fruit candy aromatics.

If a single-origin shot is the goal, the FrontStreet Grana Geisha SOE uses a natural process and a medium roast, giving the bean its own notes of berry, orange, and persimmon. Paired with milk it takes on a distinctive milk-candy sweetness.