What Are the Differences Between Japanese Coffee and Italian Coffee | How Does Japanese Coffee Taste

Coffee is a beloved beverage worldwide and the most popular drink globally. When it comes to dedication to coffee, Japan undoubtedly stands out, as Japanese coffee culture has a considerable history, and Japanese coffee artisans are remarkably dedicated. As another mainstream representative, Italian coffee is equally well-known for its enduring popularity. Many people's daily Americano, latte, and cappuccino all derive from espresso. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will provide a detailed introduction to this school of coffee, exploring its distinct characteristics.

Japanese Coffee Culture

When speaking of Japanese coffee, besides the dark, oily, extremely dark-roasted coffee beans, the gentle and elegant water pouring method is also a Japanese coffee impression that comes to mind. Indeed, most of our current pour-over coffee water pouring methods are turbulent and "coarse," as this allows us to obtain a richly layered pour-over coffee in the shortest time possible. Therefore, the slow water pouring of Japanese brewing forms a stark contrast, appearing more elegant and refined. Thus, today FrontStreet Coffee will share several of the most classic brewing methods in Japanese coffee.

Kono-style Brewing

Kono-style drip brewing originated in 1973. As its name suggests, it was invented by the Kono family, who founded the renowned Japanese coffee equipment manufacturer "Kono." The Kono family particularly loved mellow, dark-roasted coffee, so they used the brewing effect of flannel filter cloth as a reference template to design and invent the Kono dripper. Then, to make the brewed coffee even richer, they further improved the brewing method and developed the drip brewing method, showing their profound love for rich, dark-roasted coffee.

The reason this brewing method is called the drip method is largely due to the fact that during the brewing process, the initial water pouring is not the usual injection of hot water, but rather continuous, distinct droplets that constantly drip extract. This action prolongs the blooming time during brewing, allowing the carbon dioxide in the coffee to be fully released, enabling the subsequent hot water to better extract the flavor compounds from the coffee.

Matsumoto-style Brewing

It can be said that Matsumoto-style brewing is a unique representative in Japanese brewing, as it has three extremely impactful brewing characteristics: ultra-long blooming time, ultra-high water pouring height, and, super-concentrated coffee liquid that needs to be diluted with water.

The extended blooming is to ensure that coffee beans of different freshness levels have the same extraction efficiency; pouring from an ultra-high position is to give the injected hot water a precise temperature without a thermometer; the super-concentrated coffee liquid is because under ultra-high extraction efficiency, flavor compounds don't need much hot water to be fully extracted, so by increasing the coffee-to-water ratio, a pot of high-concentration coffee liquid is obtained, which can then be diluted to personal preference through bypass.

Volcano-style Brewing

Volcano brewing is the most visually spectacular among these three methods. This method causes the coffee bed to continuously release gas during the brewing process, creating a scene reminiscent of a volcanic eruption, truly magnificent!

Similarly, volcano brewing also requires blooming and degassing first, followed by extraction of flavor compounds. The difference lies in the flavor extraction phase, where the injected hot water is not poured all at once, but divided into several segments. Each pour is in small circles around the center of the dripper, with small, light injections, followed by a 5-second interval before the next segment, until the target water volume is reached.

In this process, we can see the coffee bed expand due to hot water injection, then contract as coffee liquid permeates, then hot water is injected again, expanding again, coffee liquid permeates again, contracting again, repeating this cycle. Because volcano brewing has relatively high extraction efficiency, it also uses a relatively high coffee-to-water ratio, so the final extracted coffee liquid will also be high-concentration that needs to be diluted through bypass. (Friends interested in volcano brewing can check out this article → "Volcano Brewing")

However, regardless of which of the above brewing methods, they are all more suitable for dark-roasted coffee beans, as they were all developed around how to extract rich, dark-roasted coffee. If you also enjoy deep, mellow, bitter coffee, then you might want to try these Japanese brewing methods. I believe that with these different brewing approaches from the usual, you'll gain a unique experience.

Early Italian Coffee Culture

Compared to Japanese coffee culture, Italy's coffee drinking history is much longer. Since 1580, coffee beans native to Africa and the Middle East entered Italy through the port of Venice. Initially, it was a drink only enjoyed by the upper class. Because it was a "Muslim drink" originating from the Middle East and Turkey, many Christian Italians called it "the devil's beverage."

Until the early 17th century, Archbishop Clement VIII fell in love with this black substance, performed a baptism for coffee, officially designated it as a Christian drink, and named it "God's beverage." Shortly after, in 1645, Rome opened Europe's first coffee house, which was also Italy's earliest shop specializing in selling coffee. From then on, coffee rapidly spread throughout Italy.

Italian Contributions to Coffee: Both in Flavor and Equipment Development

In early times, people would use old-fashioned Turkish pots to brew coffee, which was then filtered. With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, everything seemed to be pursuing a fast pace, and Italians were no exception. In 1884, Angelo Moriondo successfully registered a patent in Turin, Italy, for a steam-powered machine for making coffee. However, because this device relied entirely on steam, temperature was difficult to control, often making the coffee burnt and bitter to swallow, so it was later modified multiple times by different people.

(Angelo Moriondo's Espresso Machine)

In the early 19th century, Milan manufacturer Luigi Bezzera improved this patent and introduced the prototype of the world's first steam pressure coffee machine. It not only had a detachable handle and separable assembly head but could also extract a cup of coffee in a short time using high pressure.

(Luigi Bezzera's Espresso Machine)

With the advent and application of new machines, more and more Italians fell in love with the coffee quickly extracted by this machine. The term "espresso" was first included in Italian dictionaries around 1920 and was explained as: concentrated coffee made using pressure machines or filters.

For those who tasted this "fast coffee" for the first time at that time, the taste was not good, but knowing that it came from a method quickly obtained through steam pressure, Italians seemed to be energized, constantly thinking about how to upgrade and transform this steam-powered coffee machine to make the coffee it produced taste better.

For example, Milanese engineer Achille Gaggia managed to add a lever to the coffee machine in 1938, which could forcibly increase water pressure from 1.5 bar to 9 bar. This not only gave the coffee a layer of dark brown "crema" but also quantified the solution volume, making coffee quality more stable.

Thus, thanks to people's refinement and popularization of these machines, coffee making methods underwent earth-shaking changes. High speed and convenience became new indicators for every coffee shop's service, and that small cup of espresso began to evolve into the foundation and core of today's modern coffee system.

About Italians' Strong Taste Preferences

When espresso reached its final form, coffee culture also kept pace. Compared to many other countries, Italian coffee shops feature an atmosphere of high efficiency and fast pace, which perfectly matches the small-volume espresso, allowing people coming and going to enjoy it quickly, then chat with acquaintances for a few moments before leaving. Using brief leisure time to order an espresso at a coffee shop can be said to be one of Italians' most deeply rooted habits.

Walking into a coffee shop, they will directly tell the barista to bring a single espresso, mostly dominated by the bitter taste of dark roast, generally adding robusta to make the crema richer. Some people will add a bit of brown sugar to stir before tasting, drinking it all in one go, which is very satisfying. The price of an espresso in Italy usually only costs 1 euro, equivalent to about 7 RMB, making it a very popular beverage.

It should be noted that in the eyes of most Italians, only espresso is "real" coffee. Because compared to those lighter roast levels and specialty coffees that emphasize single origins, they are more accustomed to rich, full-bodied, thick-textured, even bitter flavors. It is said that in Italians' belief, coffee is "digestive aid" and has nothing to do with refreshing, so after every meal, if there isn't a cup of espresso, they feel like something is missing.

It's not difficult to see that the reason Italians are so enthusiastic about espresso is their loyalty to their cultural roots. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Italy invented the espresso machine, which not only made the preparation of coffee drinks faster but forever changed the global coffee industry. Therefore, for the Italian people, espresso is an important component of national identity, making Italy distinctive in the world.

Would You Get Hit for Ordering an Iced Americano in an Italian Coffee Shop?

Although most traditional Italians still adhere to their drinking habits, as the Italian coffee system has become popular worldwide, coffee drinking methods in many countries and regions have developed their own styles. Out of respect for others' dietary habits, when foreigners want an iced Americano, some local Italian baristas will also try to meet the needs of foreign tourists.

(espresso + ice cubes + water)

Of course, it's not excluded that there are many "stubborn" places that only serve espresso. When you ask them for an iced Americano, you'll most likely get a "roll of the eyes," and then they'll serve you such a combination. (FrontStreet Coffee is joking, if any similarities exist, it's purely coincidental.)

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