Which Espresso Beans Are Best? Why Must Espresso Blends Be Dark Roasted and What Makes Them Special?

Understanding Espresso Beans: A Comprehensive Guide

With the emergence of single-origin and dark roast products, purchasing espresso beans has actually become more complex than ever before. Now FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to all the information you want to know about espresso beans.

What Makes Espresso Beans Unique?

Most coffee shops use blended coffee beans to make espresso, rather than just regular coffee, for several reasons:

Tradition: Espresso has always been roasted darker than other types of coffee. People have come to expect an "espresso flavor" that regular coffee beans cannot achieve.

Better with Milk: If you want to use espresso in milk-based drinks like lattes or cappuccinos, you need a rather dark roast to eliminate the milky taste.

It's Cheaper: Single-origin coffee is expensive. For this reason, it makes sense to use espresso blends in busy coffee shops. Typically, blends use inexpensive beans from countries like Brazil and Indonesia. They might even blend in 20% Robusta coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee offers four types of espresso beans: Warm Sun Blend, Specialty Coffee Blend, Basic Blend, and Commercial Blend. The Commercial Blend contains 10% Robusta beans. The primary purpose is to reduce costs, followed by increasing the coffee's crema.

Should Espresso Be Dark Roasted?

Yes, espresso should at least be slightly darker in color than regular coffee beans. This is tradition, and it's what most people prefer.

The debate between Arabica and Robusta coffee can be quite intense and complex. Due to stereotypes, Robusta coffee was once considered inferior to Arabica coffee, but in recent years, I have changed my perspective. From a natural standpoint, compared to Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee has lower sweetness and acidity. It tastes different and is somewhat rougher (but it also contains more caffeine and produces more crema, which is a positive effect for some people). When it comes to espresso, you actually don't need too much acidity. For this reason, Robusta coffee beans from suitable regions can actually be appreciated as a single-origin espresso. This species naturally contains higher caffeine content and produces more espresso crema than Arabica coffee.

Important Notice :

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