Italian Coffee Bean Blending Schemes Espresso Extraction Parameters: Brew Ratio, Grind Size, and Time

Regular followers of FrontStreet Coffee know that we specialize in freshly roasted coffee. Freshly ground coffee is not the same as fresh coffee, and of course, it's not always better the fresher it is. FrontStreet Coffee typically provides coffee beans that are two to three days from the roasting date, as coffee beans that have been rested for a few days can better showcase their true flavors during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee not only offers single-origin coffee beans but also espresso beans. Whether single-origin or espresso beans, FrontStreet Coffee always emphasizes freshness.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans, also known as blended coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee often encounters requests for rich crema and full-bodied flavor. The most important elements that constitute the flavor profile of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso beans are their blending formula and roasting level, which is the biggest difference from single-origin coffee beans. When it comes to rich crema and full-bodied flavor, many types of espresso beans on the market contain Robusta coffee beans (abbreviated as Robusta), and secondly, they use dark roasting.

The image shows FrontStreet Coffee's commercial espresso blend (containing 10% Robusta)

What are Espresso Beans? FrontStreet Coffee's Blending Formula?

Espresso beans, also known as blended coffee, are the primary beans used for specialty coffee drinks, often paired with milk or water. Today's popular espresso drinks almost all fall into the category of blended beans. Common espresso beverages include latte, Americano, flat white, cappuccino, and more.

Generally, a mixture of two or more different varieties of coffee beans, or coffee beans of the same variety but with different roasting levels, is called espresso beans or blended coffee beans. This blended coffee is far from a simple addition; rather, through the blender's unique understanding of coffee flavors, different coffee beans complement each other, creating a blended coffee bean with exceptional flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's blending approach is to create another coffee with unique flavor by balancing acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body. Good blended coffee, after completion, has a fragrant aroma, smooth and refreshing taste, and a golden color, making it a premium coffee. When made into a latte, the sweetness of milk and the richness of espresso are perfectly balanced, without one overpowering the other.

When making latte art, the crema of the espresso is just right—not too thick to affect the fusion of milk and coffee, nor too thin to cause dispersion when milk and coffee mix, providing a good foundation for creating latte art patterns.

FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Bean Blending Formulas

Depending on the different types of coffee, blended espresso beans will have different characteristics in flavor and profile.

1. Balanced Flavor Espresso Beans

Formula: Guatemala (30%), Colombia (30%), Brazil (20%), Tanzania Kilimanjaro (10%).

This FrontStreet Coffee comprehensive blend shows a good balance in acidity, bitterness, and aroma. It's neither too acidic nor too rich, making it suitable for those new to espresso coffee. The Tanzania Kilimanjaro coffee beans with strong acidity, Guatemala coffee beans with rich fruity and smoky notes, Colombia coffee beans with both acidity and rich body, and Brazil coffee beans with mild bitterness are all proportionally blended by FrontStreet Coffee to ultimately create this balanced, medium-strength FrontStreet Coffee comprehensive blend.

2. Bitterness-focused FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Beans

Formula: Colombia (30%), Brazil (60%), Robusta (10%).

Considering the diversity of customers, FrontStreet Coffee selects rich-flavored coffee beans to create a blend with strong flavor. These include Colombia coffee beans with rich nutty and chocolate notes, Brazil coffee beans with mild bitterness, and Robusta coffee beans known for their rich body and crema. This blend results in a coffee with stronger bitterness, deeply loved by coffee enthusiasts, and also suitable for daily café production needs.

3. Acidity-focused Espresso Beans

Formula: Tanzania Kilimanjaro (40%), Yirgacheffe Red Cherry (20%), Brazil (20%), Colombia (20%).

To create coffee beans with strong acidity, the focus should be on coffee beans that represent acidity. FrontStreet Coffee selected two African coffees known for their acidity: FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee beans. On this basis, Brazil and Colombia coffee beans are added to create a blended coffee with prominent acidity but without overly stimulating sourness.

4. Wine Aroma-focused FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend

Formula: FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry (60%), FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry (40%).

FrontStreet Coffee named this uniquely flavored espresso bean "Sunflower Warm Sunshine." As the name suggests, this special FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso bean has an aroma as comfortable as warm sunshine, with a flavor profile that is truly impressive. Mainly featuring FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry coffee beans with rich fermented wine aroma, complemented by the acidity-focused FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee beans, this creates a richly aromatic blended coffee.

5. FrontStreet Coffee Specialty Espresso Blend

Formula: Brazil (70%), Colombia (30%).

For those who don't like overly strong flavors, don't prefer single-origin coffee, but pursue coffee quality, this FrontStreet Coffee specialty espresso bean should be the first choice. It uses medium-dark roasted coffee beans, primarily balanced Brazil coffee beans, complemented by Colombia coffee beans with mild fruity acidity and nutty aftertaste. The flavor is classic and intriguing, meeting the daily needs of coffee shops.

6. FrontStreet Coffee Basic Espresso Blend

Formula: Yunnan Coffee Beans (40%), Brazil (60%).

This FrontStreet Coffee basic blend offers an extremely high cost-performance ratio, presenting the most popular flavor profile. Whether you're new to coffee or a heavy coffee enthusiast, you can easily accept this espresso bean. It primarily selects balanced Brazil coffee beans, complemented by Yunnan coffee beans with a slightly weaker flavor profile than Brazil, suitable for business and home users who prioritize cost and have moderate flavor requirements.

Aspects to Consider When Blending FrontStreet Coffee's Espresso Beans

The uniqueness of espresso beans lies in their blending formula—every coffee shop's espresso will have a different taste. Having already learned about the specific blending formulas of several FrontStreet Coffee espresso beans, FrontStreet Coffee will now share several aspects to consider before blending coffee beans.

1. Choose high-quality coffee beans — FrontStreet Coffee finds this statement somewhat redundant, but using poor-quality coffee beans will greatly diminish the coffee's flavor. Even if the other blended beans are excellent, you can't make delicious coffee. Choosing high-quality coffee beans is the most crucial point.
2. Remove defective beans — When defective beans are mixed in, the taste will deteriorate. Whether it's insect-damaged beans with holes, abnormally developed beans, or shells without kernels—all must be removed. Of course, if the coffee beans you select contain too many defective beans, it also indicates that the quality of these beans is not good.

3. Understand the characteristics of coffee beans — If you're not very familiar with the coffee beans you're blending, it's difficult to create good espresso beans. At this point, you're like a team manager—you must understand your team members well to utilize their strengths. If you give blind orders without understanding, it will be a mess.
4. Understand different roasting levels — Different coffee beans will have different roasting levels. This is why FrontStreet Coffee emphasizes in-house roasting. When roasters fully understand the quality characteristics of a certain coffee bean, they naturally know what roasting parameters it's suitable for, so the final coffee flavor presented will match the regional characteristics and the essential taste of the coffee bean. For example, Brazil coffee beans need to highlight their rich body and nutty chocolate notes, requiring medium-dark roasting techniques.

FrontStreet Coffee's Choice

FrontStreet Coffee has chosen blending as the standard for its in-store espresso beans. Currently using a blend of FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry barrel-fermented coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe natural Red Cherry beans—the FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine espresso blend.

The ratio is 7:3, with seventy percent FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry barrel coffee beans providing flavor and body to this blend, and thirty percent FrontStreet Coffee's natural Yirgacheffe providing more aroma and acidity.

Can Espresso Beans Be Used for Pour-Over?

Of course, espresso beans can be used for pour-over coffee, and the resulting flavor won't be bad. Some enthusiasts even try blending their own beans. FrontStreet Coffee's suggestion is to first understand what flavors of coffee you like, then either blend your own or ask the shop for recommendations. This way, the chance of disappointment will be much lower.

FrontStreet Coffee's Pour-Over Parameters: V60 dripper, 15g coffee dose, 90°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, grind size (75% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve, coarser than espresso grind). Pour-over coffee is actually quite simple—with the right brewing parameters, accurately measured grind size suitable for brewing, and proper equipment, ensuring that the injected water passes through the coffee grounds and forms a bowl shape during the brewing process will naturally result in delicious pour-over coffee.

Regarding pour-over brewing technique, FrontStreet Coffee uses a staged extraction method: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then pour in a small circular motion to 125g for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) The total extraction time is 2'00".

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473