Introduction to Espresso Coffee Beans—Flavor Review of Sunflower Warm Blend Coffee Beans and Espresso Making Tutorial

The Foundation of Italian Coffee: Understanding Espresso

Italian coffee culture cannot be separated from espresso, so the story of Italian coffee is tied to it. Seasoned drinkers know that Italians treat coffee like water, drinking it from childhood. In the 20th century, Luigi Bezzera of Milan invented an entirely new steam-driven brewing system. Because the brewing time was so short, people decided to call it "Espresso," which means "express" in Italian. Espresso is fast, concentrated coffee. Under steam pressure, around 9 atmospheres, hot water rushes through the coffee grounds and fully extracts the essence, completing a cup that is rich, aromatic, and full-bodied with caramel-like bitterness. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a double shot of espresso, 20 grams of coffee powder, to make roughly 40 grams of concentrated coffee, topped with a very fine, rich layer of coffee oils also known as crema.

Espresso is also the foundation of many Italian coffees, which is why FrontStreet Coffee says that if the espresso is not extracted well, the other Italian drinks will not taste good either. Judging whether the extraction is good involves adjusting the relevant parameters, but the most important thing is choosing suitable Italian coffee beans.

Introducing FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Italian Blend: Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee

Flavor: noticeable fruit acidity, light berry aroma, wine fragrance, rich chocolate flavor, with a distinct sweet aftertaste.

Formula: Honduras Sherry : Yirgacheffe Red Cherry = 6:4

This FrontStreet Coffee blend is made from Yirgacheffe sun-dried red cherry and Honduras sherry. FrontStreet's design goal for this blend is that it works for both espresso and pour-over. Used for espresso, it gives off a distinct fermented wine aroma. On the palate, the acidity of citrus and berries comes through immediately, carrying the fragrance of whiskey, with a black chocolate aftertaste.

The Ratio for Making Latte Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee uses the Faema E98 espresso machine with the following extraction parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar ± 2
Temperature: 90.5~96°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Powder-to-water ratio: 1:1.7~1:2
Powder amount: 12g (single shot espresso) 20g (double shot espresso)
Extraction volume: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

FrontStreet Coffee uses a double shot of espresso to make its latte. After extraction, the coffee flavor presents as noticeable fruit acidity, with light berry aroma lingering, rich wine fragrance and chocolate flavor, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste.

How to Make a Hot Latte Coffee?

Milk: whole fresh milk (FrontStreet uses Kowloon Dairy fresh milk)
Steamed milk temperature: 50-60°C (too low a temperature cannot stimulate the release of lactose in milk; too high a temperature will destroy the protein in milk, resulting in a grainy texture)
Milk foam thickness: 1 cm (foam thinner than 1 cm is used for flat white; foam thicker than 1 cm is used for cappuccino)

How to Steam Milk for Hot Latte Coffee?

1. Rinse before turning on the steam switch: rinse the steam wand to discharge the water vapor at the front, avoiding overly wet milk foam (cover with a clean cloth to prevent splattering).

2. Insert the steam wand into cold milk and let steam rush into the milk. (Depth of the wand: inserted too deep, it will only heat without creating foam; inserted too shallow, it will create large bubbles and make latte art unattractive. You can tap the pitcher on the table to burst large bubbles.)

3. Position of the steam wand: the most reliable steam injection point is with the wand inserted into the steel pitcher, leaning against the pitcher's small spout, with the nozzle pointing to the center and slightly offset by 1cm.

4. Turn on the steam and start frothing the milk. During steam injection, listen carefully: there should be a sound like blowing into a straw in a drink, not a crisp sound of bubbles hitting the metal pitcher. When the temperature reaches 50-60 degrees, it is time to turn it off.

Recommended Ratios for Hot Latte Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:6.5 for latte, which is 40ml espresso to 260ml hot milk. Stir in a circular motion to fully integrate the milk with the espresso, and you have a hot latte. Fresh milk releases its lactose sugar molecules better when heated, and mixed evenly with espresso, the whole latte has a natural milky sweetness without overpowering the espresso. Against the backdrop of milk, in fact, the espresso's flavor comes through even more prominently.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The Yirgacheffe component is what gives this blend its fruit and wine character, and it is worth tasting on its own. FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry is a G1 grade coffee processed using natural methods, with a very sweet taste and berry flavors and rich layers. Yirgacheffe is a town in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia at roughly 1700-2100m, with the coffee trees planted above 1800m, making it one of the highest growing regions in the world, and its white floral and lemon-citrus profile became so recognizable that the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange separated it from Sidamo in 2010.

For a deeper dive, FrontStreet Gudingding Cooperative comes from Gudingding village in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe and follows traditional washed processing, showing clean citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance and no classic bitterness. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe is the classic everyday option, bringing white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body at a price that makes it easy to keep on the shelf for both espresso experiments and pour-over.