How to Drink Espresso? What is the Cream on Top of Espresso?

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Espresso has long been known as the "soul of coffee"! However, because Espresso has a rich taste and strong flavor, it often feels difficult to accept. But once you embrace this unique profile, you'll discover its distinctive charm. Moreover, Espresso is also a coffee that tests the quality of coffee beans and the skill of baristas.

Since Espresso is loved by so many people, it must have a certain charm. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will take you to understand Espresso!

Espresso

By using high temperature, high pressure, and the right amount of coffee grounds, you can create a perfect cup of Espresso.

Take FrontStreet Coffee's [Premium Blend] as an example: we typically use 19-20 grams for a double shot and 13-14 grams for a single shot, extracting the required Espresso with 9 atmospheres of pressure (9Bar).

Freshly extracted Espresso has a beautiful golden layer of crema, which we generally call "Cream." The appearance of this "Cream" is inseparable from that 9Bar of pressure. When water is heated and pressurized, it extracts soluble substances from the coffee grounds. This process emulsifies the natural fats and oils present in the coffee. At the same time, freshly roasted coffee beans contain carbon dioxide. During the Espresso-making process, this carbon dioxide is pressurized and dissolves into the coffee.

Many people are very concerned about the layer of Cream when drinking Espresso, believing that more Cream means better beans. Indeed, the amount of Cream is related to the freshness of the beans, but it's worth noting that Robusta beans also have rich Cream!

How to Appreciate Espresso?

Smell

Generally, when we get a cup of Espresso, the first thing we do is smell its aroma. You'll notice nutty and caramel scents, and if the roast isn't too dark, you might even detect fruity sweet and sour aromas.

Observe

After smelling the aroma, we look at the color and thickness of the Cream, because from this we can roughly determine how well this cup of coffee was made.

Light-colored Espresso with thin crema can generally be determined as under-extracted.

Very dark color with inconsistent crema surface coloration can be determined as over-extracted.

Spots appearing on the crema surface can be determined as channeling causing partial over-extraction.

Drink

Finally, we reach the drinking stage. How should we drink a cup of Espresso? The first sip is just the Cream, the second sip is Cream + espresso, and the third sip is the coffee liquid.

From this, we can taste flavors of fruit acidity, nuts, chocolate, and caramel.

Different places also have different drinking methods. Some drink it with a glass of ice water; others place a sugar cube on top, watching it slowly sink and dissolve; and then there's adding milk, which creates latte, cappuccino, macchiato...

Espresso leaves a lasting impression with its unique taste and flavor. Due to its brewing characteristics, both its good and bad qualities are amplified, so it has high requirements for the quality of the coffee beans themselves! If you have the chance, you should order a cup of Espresso and experience the charm hidden in this small cup of coffee!

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. Online shop services are also available. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473