How to Drink Espresso? What Does Espresso Mean? What's the Coffee-to-Water Ratio? How to Make Espresso?

The Challenge of Espresso for Beginners

For most people, the taste of espresso is intense and stimulating, as few individuals encounter such high-concentration coffee in their daily lives. To prevent beginners with "lighter palates" from accidentally ordering this high-concentration "bomb," most establishments don't include espresso on their menus.

However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that while browsing online, many have come across videos of coffee connoisseurs downing espresso in one swift motion. Seeing the blissful expressions on these connoisseurs' faces after drinking, most beginners can't resist the temptation to try it themselves. The result? Instead of finishing it in one gulp, even a small sip might make them tremble (no names mentioned), and they quietly add espresso to their blacklist.

This situation is the consequence of using the wrong tasting method! Because you didn't use the right approach, you couldn't appreciate the deliciousness of espresso and only tasted the bitter substances concentrated on the surface. Don't worry! To protect beginners from the troubles of espresso, FrontStreet Coffee will share how espresso should be properly savored today!

The Origin and Evolution of Espresso

In 19th-century Italy, the first-generation espresso machine was invented by Angelo Moriondo. Subsequently, people continuously improved upon it, eventually creating a pressurized version capable of extracting coffee with pressure - the espresso machine we see today. Because pressure assisted the extraction process, the machine could depart from conventional methods of the time (which took a long time to make a cup of coffee) and quickly produce a small cup of coffee with extremely high concentration. This type of coffee was named "Espresso," marking the birth of espresso.

Espresso can be considered the spiritual sustenance for the Italian people. Because it's quick to prepare and contains a high amount of caffeine, one cup could ensure excellent energy throughout the day. For Italians at that time, espresso was truly an effective stimulant! During work breaks, they would step out to order a cup, drink it quickly, and return to work with high spirits (truly model professionals!)

At the same time, because coffee bean quality wasn't high and roasting techniques were immature, very deep roasting was necessary to cook the coffee beans. The espresso extracted from these beans had almost no distinctive flavor - only a stimulating, rich burnt bitterness. Therefore, "drinking in one gulp" was particularly suitable for espresso consumption at that time, as it was both time-saving and reduced the impact of the burnt bitter taste. Even to avoid the bitterness, people would add various flavorings to neutralize it. From this, we can see that the reason people needed coffee at that time was primarily for the stimulating effects of caffeine!

With the evolution of time, coffee quality improved with the spread of specialty coffee concepts, and roasting techniques have also advanced. People's demand for coffee is no longer limited to its stimulating effects; they now have higher requirements for the overall drinking experience, such as coffee's flavor and mouthfeel. Because these demands have changed, naturally, we no longer need to follow old habits for coffee tasting.

Although espresso doesn't need to be consumed in one gulp, it still needs to be finished quickly. This is not only because cooled high-concentration coffee becomes aggressively flavorful, but also because the soul of espresso - Crema - dissipates quickly. To enjoy the best taste of espresso, we need to drink it quickly within a short time frame.

How to Appreciate Espresso

Because of the time constraint, we must experience the deliciousness of espresso within just a few sips. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share what aspects to focus on when appreciating espresso:

Aroma: The aroma emitted by coffee is like the title of an article, playing an important role in captivating attention. Simply put, it's a key element that attracts people to drink coffee. Before drinking espresso, we can bring our noses close and inhale the aromatic fragrance it releases. Generally, deeply roasted Italian espresso will emit rich nutty and creamy aromas, while lighter roasts will release lighter, enticing floral and fruit aromas.

Mouthfeel: Because of the presence of Crema, espresso tastes not only richer but also allows us to experience a silky-smooth texture like cream. Therefore, when appreciating espresso, the mouthfeel is also an important aspect of evaluation.

Aftertaste: Unlike regular single-origin coffee, for espresso, the aftertaste actually reveals more flavor attributes than the taste experienced while drinking. Because espresso's concentration is too high and flavors are extremely concentrated, it's difficult to distinguish specific flavor attributes during consumption. However, after drinking espresso, the coffee substances remaining in the mouth continue to release sweet flavors and aromas as the flavor compounds hidden in the oils begin to volatilize. The taste and aroma experience we perceive at this moment is the aftertaste.

How to Drink Espresso Correctly

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to properly drink espresso!

Before formal tasting, it's best to drink a sip of ice water first. Because the flavor of espresso is indeed too concentrated, drinking ice water before tasting can cleanse the palate, thereby enhancing our perception of coffee flavors.

After drinking ice water and rinsing our mouths, we should take a spoon to stir the espresso! There are two reasons for this: first, the coffee concentration isn't uniform during the dripping process, so we need to stir to evenly distribute the concentration; otherwise, the coffee liquid at the bottom will be very strong while the surface will be quite thin. Second, we need to incorporate the crema into the coffee! Many friends taste bitterness when taking a small sip because there are fine coffee particles hidden in the crema, which not only make the coffee bitter but also make it richer. By stirring, we can not only better integrate the advantages of the crema into the coffee liquid but also disperse the bitterness caused by fine particles.

Of course, not stirring is also acceptable, as this provides a more layered experience. But for beginners, FrontStreet Coffee still recommends stirring to reduce the bitter stimulation from the crema.

Then, we need to drink it in large gulps, letting the well-stirred espresso rush into the mouth, filling and enveloping the tongue. This allows us to fully experience the silky texture brought by the crema, which is very pleasant! If using light-roasted beans instead of dark-roasted ones for SOE (Single Origin Espresso), the extraction will produce less crema, resulting in a relatively thinner mouthfeel. (Friends in front of the screen, drink first!)

Then begin to experience the coffee's aftertaste. After swallowing, we close our mouths and breathe out, fully enjoying the flavors that come back up from the throat and the coffee aroma that continuously blossoms in the mouth! Finally, take another sip of clean water to feel the sweet aftertaste of the coffee on your taste buds. Absolutely delightful!

If at this point you still think espresso doesn't taste good, that's okay! After all, everyone has their own preferences - just choose what you like! - END -

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473