What Does Espresso Taste Like? Is Espresso Bitter? How to Drink Espresso

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow the WeChat official account: FrontStreet Coffee

Espresso is the least frequently served beverage in coffee shops when ordered individually. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's store keeps it "hidden" from the menu, only making it "appear" when customers specifically request it. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the flavor profile of this small cup of coffee and how it should be properly enjoyed.

Is Espresso Very Bitter?

When a customer orders "a cup of Espresso," FrontStreet Coffee's barista will begin preparing it. Two minutes later, they'll serve a glass of water and a small cup of rich coffee liquid with a golden-brown crema layer. Before drinking Espresso, take a sip of water first to cleanse your palate and avoid affecting your taste perception. A standard Espresso features rich crema and a full-bodied texture, but each coffee shop's Espresso has its own unique characteristics depending on the coffee beans used. FrontStreet Coffee's store uses their own house-roasted "Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend," composed of 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and 70% Honduras Sherry.

When savoring a freshly extracted cup of Espresso, FrontStreet Coffee will first smell the coffee's aroma. This particular coffee features rich notes of whiskey, vanilla, nuts, and cream. It can be consumed directly or with added condiments such as sugar or milk.

Using a prepared metal spoon, gently stir the coffee liquid to combine. The first sip reveals the delicate crema, with full-bodied roasted aromas. Next, the warm coffee liquid enters your mouth, where you can experience intense flavors of nuts, chocolate, berries, and wine notes. Halfway through, take another sip of water to appreciate the clean, sweet aftertaste in your mouth. The bottom of the finished cup reveals a rich caramel aroma that leaves a lingering memory.

What Are the Characteristics of Espresso?

The Chinese name for Espresso, 意式浓缩咖啡 (yì shì nóng suō kā fēi), indicates its Italian origins. "Espresso" in Italian means "fast." From preparation to serving the customer, Espresso only takes a few minutes, which is why Italians named it using the word "Express" (meaning fast).

The biggest difference from other extraction methods is that making Espresso requires an espresso machine with pressure functionality. Commercial espresso machines typically provide stable pressure above 9 atmospheres and hot water above 90°C. The high pressure forces hot water to quickly pass through finely ground coffee powder, extracting a coffee liquid rich in crema, intense aromas, and a full-bodied texture. To extract an ideal cup of espresso, baristas need to master various parameters that affect coffee flavor and adjust them to achieve the optimal extraction range.

Theoretically, making Espresso is not limited to specific types or roasting degrees of coffee beans—any preferred type can be used for Espresso extraction. However, because Espresso is extracted under fine grinding, high water temperature, and high pressure, the concentrated coffee gathers multiple flavors, with various flavor compounds impacting our taste buds exponentially. Therefore, if we use lightly roasted coffee beans for extraction, the elegant and sweet fruit flavors that appear in pour-over coffee might become stimulatingly strong and acidic in Espresso; the full-bodied texture of pour-over coffee becomes quite bitter and burnt in espresso. Consequently, to extract Espresso with high-quality and stable taste, most coffee shops typically use Italian-style blended coffee beans.

Italian-style blended coffee beans are roasted beans carefully selected and mixed by roasters from coffee beans of different origins and flavor profiles (either roasted together or blended proportionately after separate roasting). The purpose is to highlight the rich aroma of Espresso, maintain balanced flavors, and ensure more consistent taste of espresso-based beverages in the store. FrontStreet Coffee's understanding of blended beans is to maintain stable flavors and balanced mouthfeel, making blended coffee achieve an effect where one plus one equals more than two. For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean with rich aromas can be added to complement each other in flavor, thereby creating a richer new coffee taste experience.

Recommended Espresso Coffee Beans

Many friends are fascinated by the unique charm of Espresso and want to replicate the deliciousness of Italian-style coffee at home. FrontStreet Coffee recommends several options here that help achieve stable extraction. FrontStreet Coffee hopes everyone can taste coffee with the most abundant aromas, ensuring only coffee beans roasted within 5 days are shipped. Since freshly roasted coffee beans need to release large amounts of carbon dioxide internally (medium-dark roasts require 7-10 days), they are generally still in the degassing period when received. You can store them in a cool, dark place for a few more days, which will be more conducive to stable extraction.

Delicate Wine Aroma Type — Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend Coffee Beans

Ethiopia Sun-dried Red Cherry Coffee Beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry Barrel Coffee Beans (70%)

This blended coffee bean is the daily serving formula used at FrontStreet Coffee's store. When made into Espresso, it presents very rich dark chocolate flavors with strong caramel notes. After swallowing, the released whiskey aroma and tropical fruit sweet and sour notes are deeply loved by many of FrontStreet Coffee's customers. Whether diluted with water for Americano coffee or enhanced with milk for latte coffee, both present layered aromas and textures.

Slightly Acidic and Full-bodied Type — FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend Coffee Beans

Yunnan Washed Arabica Coffee Beans (30%) + Brazil Semi-washed Coffee Beans (70%)

Yunnan small-bean coffee with soft acidity is paired with the rich, full-bodied aroma of Brazil Cerrado coffee. The espresso has flavors of caramel, nuts, and soft plum acidity.

Balanced and Rich Aroma Type — FrontStreet Coffee Premium Blend Coffee Beans

Colombia Washed Coffee Beans (30%) + Brazil Semi-washed Coffee Beans (70%)

Colombian coffee is added to the classic nutty notes of Brazilian coffee, resulting in espresso that presents dark chocolate flavors, caramel sweetness, and full roasted aromas.

Classic Full-bodied Type — FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend Coffee Beans

Robusta Washed Coffee Beans (10%) + Colombia Washed Coffee Beans (30%) + Brazil Semi-washed Coffee (60%)

The extracted espresso features rich golden crema and nutty aromas. When tasting, you'll experience burnt coffee bitterness, but it's accompanied more by creamy full-bodied texture. After swallowing, the bitterness dissipates, leaving a lingering aroma on the lips and teeth.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add private WeChat FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473