How to Make Traditional Roman Espresso? Lemon Coffee Making Guide - What Are the Parameters and Ratios?

Lemon is a fruit with a fresh fragrance and an extremely sharp sourness, and that same flavor description exists in coffee too. When we taste a bright, uplifting acidity with a fresh aroma in a single-origin coffee, we describe it as "lemon."

That flavor, however, is only an association. In Italy, the homeland of the espresso machine, there is actually an espresso that contains lemon. By adding lemon juice directly, we can genuinely experience the fresh fruit acidity of lemon in coffee. It is Italy's "Espresso Romano."

The origin of Espresso Romano goes back to when Italians invented coffee machines and Moka pots and made coffee part of daily life. At the time, though, Italy had just come through an economic crisis and was still dealing with the fallout of the world wars, so people were forced to use low-quality, dark-roasted beans. Harsh and bitter were the negative experiences those inferior dark roasts delivered. Many people could not accept such aggressive flavors, so they began trying to add other ingredients to their coffee to cancel out the bitterness.

(For reference only.) We know that flavors influence and blend with one another. When one flavor dominates, it reduces the expressiveness of the others, turning them into supporting players. Sour, sweet, and salty flavors can all suppress bitterness. As it happens, the Campania region in southern Italy is rich in lemon production, which led to the practice of adding lemon to espresso. That is also how the rumor arose that Espresso Romano, despite the "Rome" in its name, may not have been invented in Rome. Although citric acid can soften harsh bitterness, its overly prominent sourness became another troublesome "issue," so people thought of adding sugar to balance it. In the end, along with lemon, sugar became an essential component of Espresso Romano. To this day the drink remains popular in southwestern Italy. The naming may vary, but the method is basically consistent. Now let's see how Espresso Romano is made.

Espresso Romano

The materials are simple: one espresso, one lemon, and 10g of white sugar. The espresso can be pulled with normal parameters. Here they are: use 20g of Warm Sun Blend beans, a coffee-to-liquid ratio of 1:2, and an extraction time of 30 seconds.

After pulling the espresso, pour it into a cup that already contains the sugar.

Then you can choose between two ways to add the lemon. One is to squeeze the juice out directly. The other is to drop a lemon slice straight into the cup and let the warm espresso extract the lemon juice.

The two methods differ in how much lemon juice ends up in the cup, so the choice can be made according to the roast level of your coffee. The darker the roast, the more lemon juice is needed, along with more sugar. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasted Warm Sun Blend beans, whose bitterness is not prominent, so not much lemon juice is needed to neutralize it: 4ml is enough. Once prepared, stir the espresso so everything is evenly mixed, and it is ready to drink.

Made well, Espresso Romano is actually quite enjoyable. The bitterness of the espresso is held back by the acidity, while the sharp sourness is softened by the sugar. Overall it drinks as a pleasant sweet-and-sour espresso with notes of whiskey aroma, butter cookies, and caramel sweetness. Friends who enjoy sour flavors should give it a try, though those who dislike sourness might prefer to admire it from afar.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because Espresso Romano starts with a plain espresso, a blend with a solid, stable extraction makes the whole drink more consistent, and Moka pot users can reach the same result. FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is designed for espresso and Moka pots alike, and its greatest strength is an outstanding crema: even a beginner on a non-professional home machine can pull a dense, fine layer of it. Built on the traditional Mamba recipe, it tastes mellow and rounded, a reliable first choice for home or commercial use.

If you would rather keep costs in check, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend uses 100% Arabica and still gives ample crema and a full body at a friendly price, while FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Blend, used in FrontStreet Coffee's shops for nearly a decade, pairs Brazil Cerrado with Colombia Huila for the most familiar classic espresso flavor and is well suited to both home and commercial settings. For a single-origin option in the Moka pot, the PWN Indonesian Golden Mandheling is roasted dark with very low acidity and a mellow, lingering body full of herbal and dark chocolate aromas, and the Brazil Queen Estate stays balanced with rich nut and cocoa notes and clear caramel sweetness; either one pairs well with the lemon and sugar in this recipe.