FrontStreet Coffee Shares 3 Espresso Blend Recipes: Espresso #2, Commercial Blend, and Basic Blend Characteristics

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Understanding Coffee Blends

Blended coffee, also known as mixed coffee, involves combining various single-origin coffee beans to fully showcase the unique characteristics of each bean. Blends are created by mixing coffee beans from different origins to achieve a more balanced flavor profile. For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean with rich aroma can be added to complement each other's strengths, creating a more enriched new taste experience through flavor complementation or enhancement. Sometimes beans are mixed before roasting (called raw blending), while other times they are blended after roasting (called roasted blending).

Whether using pre-mixed raw beans or blending individually after roasting, the approach must depend on the characteristics of the coffee beans in the formula. Both methods are acceptable. Post-roasting blending allows different roasting levels 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, as beans exhibit distinct characteristics based on their origin. Different coffee beans have unique personalities due to variety and origin differences, with subtle variations in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body. Single-origin coffee beans typically emphasize the unique characteristics of a particular coffee type. Blends are commonly used for espresso-based drinks such as Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Cappuccino, offering more balanced, smoother, and more stable flavors that appeal to a broader audience.

Purposes of Coffee Blending

Mixing different coffee beans primarily serves the following purposes:

1. Stable Flavor

Since coffee beans are agricultural products, even the same variety of coffee beans will have different flavors each year. Therefore, blending several coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, allowing the taste to remain basically consistent year after year.

2. Balanced Flavor

Espresso machines have a characteristic of amplifying the most prominent flavor characteristic of coffee beans, which is why we almost never use single-variety coffee to make Espresso. Otherwise, if that coffee bean is particularly bitter, the resulting Espresso will be exceptionally bitter; if it's acidic, it will be very acidic. Therefore, we need to balance various flavors through blending.

Coffee blending is not simple addition; rather, it hopes to use the blender's unique understanding of coffee flavors to allow different coffee beans to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, creating exceptionally flavored blended coffee beans.

3. Consistent Flavor

Because coffee beans are agricultural products, even coffee beans from the same variety and region will have different flavors each year. Therefore, blending several coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, allowing the flavor to remain basically consistent year after year.

The Rise of Single Origin Espresso (SOE)

Recently, SOE has become popular. SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso. While not necessarily equivalent to specialty coffee, if you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create uniquely typical flavored espresso. For example, the typical citrus flavors of Yirgacheffe or Kenya's fruity notes, combined with espresso's amplification of coffee flavors, make specific characteristics more prominent compared to pour-over coffee. However, although SOE performs outstandingly, because it comes from a single origin, its disadvantages are also relatively easily amplified. Factors such as roasting and grind size will affect the flavor, so it's not necessarily better tasting than blended coffee.

How We Blend

(1) FrontStreet Coffee Espresso Blend No. 2 Formula:

Colombia: Brazil, ratio 3:7

Colombia Huila Region

Located in southwestern Colombia, it's one of the main coffee cultivation areas. Colombian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1500-1800 meters, mostly Bourbon and Caturra varieties, processed using the washed method. The beans have high density, uniform size, and full shape (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 and are circulated. Although cultivation conditions in this region are excellent, the cultivation infrastructure of coffee farms and surrounding conditions is not well-developed. Raw bean drying equipment or washing processing facilities are incomplete, which is quite regrettable. Coffee from the Huila region has strong flavor and heavy texture.

Particularly, the nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas and suitable acidity of Huila region coffee can be called high-end specialty coffee.

Flavor characteristics: Rich and solid taste with pleasant acidity, fragrant aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is intriguing. Due to its low price and small beans, it's suitable for blending mixed coffee. The coffee has strong flavor and heavy texture. Its nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas with suitable acidity make it high-end specialty coffee, suitable for single-origin or espresso blend base.

Brazil Cerrado Region

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low. Mostly Bourbon variety, processed using semi-washed method. Moderate moisture content, softer bean texture, and thin thickness from surface to core, making it unsuitable for very high-temperature roasting, as the inner wall temperature of the roasting drum will scorch the bean surface, creating burnt bitterness.

At the same time, to express the characteristics of nuts, milk chocolate, and good body, and as a blend base, we choose to use medium heat bean投入方式, maintaining heat through the dehydration stage, making fine adjustments as temperature rises after the first crack begins, promoting more complete caramelization reactions, and discharging beans when approaching the second crack.

Flavor characteristics: Comfortable sweet-bitter taste, extremely smooth entry; light grassy aroma, slightly fragrant with bitterness; sweet, smooth, and pleasant to drink; aftertaste is refreshing.

Blended Flavor

Sweet and fragrant taste. Using medium-dark roast, when making espresso, the taste will have soft, slight acidity, clear sweetness, nutty aftertaste, with an overall non-stimulating, balanced flavor and medium crema.

(2) Commercial Blend:

Colombia: Brazil: Robusta; ratio 3:6:1, raw blend; together medium-dark roast

Robusta Beans

Robusta beans have strong disease and pest resistance and high yield. Usually not as acidic as Arabica beans, often with a slight woody aroma. Caffeine content is 2.2%, higher than Arabica's 1.2%, and chlorogenic acid content is also higher, making it quite bitter. It's usually used in commercial beans, cheaper than Arabica beans.

In terms of individual bean flavor, the coffee taste from commercial beans is much inferior to specialty coffee beans. Commercial beans are generally chosen for blending. After blending, they can also produce very tasty coffee suitable for making lattes, cappuccinos, and other espresso-based drinks. Our commercial blend makes Espresso with Robusta beans, resulting in richer crema, classic taste, caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slight bitterness, and persistent aftertaste.

(3) Basic Blend:

Yunnan AA: Brazil; ratio 3:7, roasted blend;

Our Yunnan AA is Typica

Typica is the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, grown in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties derive from Typica. The top leaves are copper-colored, called red-topped coffee, with elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, prone to leaf rust disease, and low fruit yield. Typica has four slender branches in an spreading posture, with inclination angles of 50-70 degrees. Opposite leaves are long-oval, smooth leaf surface, long terminal branches with few branches, and white flowers that bloom at the base where leaf stems connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries, bright red in color.

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

Blended Flavor

With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and thick, but taste is relatively light.

When blending, there should be primary and secondary distinctions to create a more wonderful taste than single-origin coffee. Before formulating a blend plan, first envision suitable combination methods, then blend through appropriate roasting, determine the best plan through cupping and later adjustments. Hope this helps everyone~

Quick Guide: Differences Between Espresso, Macchiato, Latte, Cappuccino, and Flat White

Flavored Coffee Latte

In Italian, "latte" means "milk," so if you order a latte in Italy, you'll only get a glass of milk, not coffee. Some cafes in China also offer flavored lattes, such as matcha latte, purple potato latte - remember, these don't contain coffee.

Latte Coffee (200ml): Single shot espresso 30ml + milk

Cappuccino (180ml): Single shot espresso 30ml + thicker milk foam

Flavored Coffee Affogato

In Italian, "affogato" means "drowned" - pouring espresso over ice cream balls, drowning them. Not only is it visually appealing, but it's also a very delicious coffee, deeply loved by women in summer.

Flavored Coffee Flat White

Whether it was invented in Australia or New Zealand remains controversial. Initially translated in China as "Xiao Bai" (Little White), "Ping Bai" (Flat White), or "Ao Bai" (Australian White). After being introduced to China by Starbucks, it was translated as "Fu Rui Bai" (Flat White). Compared to regular latte, its foam layer is thinner, foam is finer and smoother, and coffee taste is stronger.

When drinking cappuccino, you'll feel a layer of foam over 1cm thick, with relatively soft texture. Flat White, although it also has some foam, is finer, with foam layer under 5mm, and high fusion between milk and espresso, with silky smooth taste.

Flat White (200ml): Based on double shot espresso 60g, some places extend the extraction time on this basis, using double Ristretto (Ristretto: 1:1 Espresso)

Toffee Iced Latte Recipe:

1. Fill a glass with five parts ice, then add 10g toffee syrup.
2. Pour fresh milk + ice into the glass until seven parts full, then stir well to dissolve the syrup in fresh milk to increase milk density.
3. Pour coffee slowly along the back of a spoon into the glass. The pouring speed should not be too fast to avoid damaging the layered effect.

Americano Black Coffee

Espresso + hot water

Taste Characteristics:

Americano extracted coffee has mainly bitter taste, making this black coffee the purest. If you want to taste the flavors of different coffee beans, Americano is a great choice.

Brewing Method:

Having an Americano coffee machine will make making Americano simpler than you imagine: add 1 scale of water - pour 1 flat spoon of coffee powder - start - in about two minutes, a fragrant Americano is ready.

Commonly used: Espresso blend beans, Mandheling, Honduras, Colombian, Brazilian beans can all make delicious Americano coffee.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473