What Does Espresso Coffee Bean Mean: What's the Difference Between Espresso Blend and Single-Origin Coffee Beans

Understanding Espresso: Extraction Method and Beverage

Espresso can refer to both an extraction method and the name of a coffee beverage. As an extraction method, espresso is the most common and familiar approach for the general public. Perhaps because of its familiarity, it also generates the most questions.

Many beginners in coffee often have these common questions: "How to select and store espresso beans"; "Are espresso beans made from blends or single origins"; "What is the roast level of espresso beans"; "Are espresso blends considered specialty coffee"; and "Is it normal for espresso beans to be acidic."

How to Select and Store Espresso Beans?

FrontStreet Coffee has always adhered to the principle of selling freshly roasted coffee beans, because only freshly roasted, freshly ground, and freshly extracted espresso can exhibit a rich, full-bodied taste and intense, aromatic coffee flavor. To allow every enthusiast to experience the charm of freshly roasted coffee, all coffee beans ordered online are shipped within 5 days after roasting.

Espresso beans can be stored in their original packaging (with a one-way degassing valve) or in a sealed container, placed in a dry, cool environment. After coffee beans are ground into powder, aromatic molecules will dissipate more quickly, so FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding them with a grinder just before making coffee.

Are Espresso Beans Made from Blends or Single Origins?

Both blend coffee and single-origin coffee can be used for making espresso, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blend beans lies in their ability to maintain consistent quality and flavor in every cup, with lower costs, while the disadvantage is a monotonous taste profile - most coffee extracted from blend beans only exhibits rich, intense flavors. The advantage of single-origin beans lies in their ability to make espresso express unique flavor characteristics, while the disadvantages are extraction instability and higher costs.

FrontStreet Coffee's daily café offerings use blend beans to extract espresso, as blend beans compared to single-origin beans can better maintain consistent taste and quality in every cup of espresso. FrontStreet Coffee has also launched four FrontStreet Coffee espresso blend beans specifically designed for making espresso, based on the taste preferences of the general public.

FrontStreet Coffee - Warm Sun Blend

A coffee bean dominated by wine aromas. Composed of FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian natural Red Cherry beans (30%) + FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry barrel beans (70%), it presents rich wine aromas, vanilla cream, sweet and sour berries, and roasted nut flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee - Specialty Blend

An espresso bean dominated by nutty aromas. Composed of Colombian washed beans (30%) + Brazil natural beans (70%), it presents nutty, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors, meeting the daily needs of café operations.

FrontStreet Coffee - Commercial Blend

An espresso bean dominated by body. Composed of Robusta washed beans (10%) + Colombian washed beans (30%) + Brazil natural beans (60%), it presents nutty, cocoa, and caramel flavors, with high body, suitable for daily café production.

FrontStreet Coffee - Basic Blend

An espresso bean with slight acidity and rich body. Composed of Yunnan washed small beans (30%) + Brazil natural beans (70%), it presents soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nutty flavors. This cost-effective espresso bean is suitable for business and home users who prioritize cost and have general flavor requirements.

Roast Level of Espresso Beans

To ensure that the coffee extracted from espresso beans can exhibit a rich, full-bodied taste, FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-dark roast level. As roasting time increases, coffee beans will contain more carbon dioxide after roasting.

Carbon dioxide helps preserve coffee flavor, but excessive carbon dioxide can also affect espresso extraction. Therefore, after receiving espresso beans, you can let them rest in their original packaging for 5-6 days from the roast date, allowing the beans to naturally release carbon dioxide through the one-way degassing valve on the packaging, stabilizing extraction.

Although light roast beans are used by many pour-over coffees to extract richer sweet and sour sensations under appropriate proportions in pressure-free drip extraction, espresso belongs to pressure extraction. Many sweet and sour substances that perform well in pour-over coffee may exhibit unpleasant sharp acidity under high pressure and concentration.

At the same time, light roast beans have a short roasting time, not enough to produce more caramelization reactions and bring out rich flavor substances. Therefore, when light roast beans are used to make espresso, the taste is usually relatively thin, lacking body.

Are Espresso Blends Specialty Coffee?

They absolutely are! As long as the coffee beans used in the blend meet the specialty coffee requirements set by origin and SCA (Specialty Coffee Association), both single-origin and blend coffees belong to specialty coffee beans.

Is It Normal for Espresso Beans to Be Acidic?

Yes, it's completely normal! The flavor profile of espresso mainly comes from the coffee beans themselves. Espresso may have acidity because the merchant used beans with fruity acidic characteristics to make the espresso, which could be single-origin beans or possibly blend beans.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473