What is Espresso: Introduction, Definition of Italian Espresso Coffee, and How to Drink Espresso

In the Italian coffee system, there exists a soul core element: espresso. Coffee beverages such as latte, Americano, and cappuccino are all Italian coffee drinks made with espresso as the base. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will guide you to understand espresso.

What is Espresso?

The English name for espresso is "Espresso," which is a concentrated coffee extract of about one ounce extracted by a pressurized coffee machine. It is very popular in Italy. Espresso sounds similar to "Express" in English, and Espresso also has the attribute of being fast and quick—extracting a shot of espresso takes only 30 seconds. In Italy, customers lean against the bar counter and order a shot of espresso. When the barista hands it to the customer, the customer finishes the coffee in one or two sips, pays, and leaves—the entire process takes no more than 2 minutes.

What is Crema in Espresso?

When the coffee machine extracts espresso, the coffee is ground extremely fine and extracted under high pressure of up to 9 bar. When hot water passes through the coffee puck, the carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds is under too much pressure, and water shows a supersaturated state for carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide cannot be released and directly dissolves into the coffee liquid. The high pressure also forces the oils contained in the coffee to separate from the coffee puck, thus being carried out by the hot water.

After the coffee extraction is complete, when the coffee liquid flows out of the coffee machine, the atmospheric pressure returns to normal. The carbon dioxide still remaining in the coffee liquid is ready to return to the air, but when it encounters the oils in the coffee liquid, the oils trap the carbon dioxide that was trying to return to the air. This golden layer of Crema is the soul of the entire espresso.

How to Make Espresso?

Step 1: Clean the Portafilter

Before extracting espresso, you need to remove the portafilter and clean the coffee basket with a dedicated cloth to ensure it's clean and free of water stains.

Step 2: Grind Coffee and Collect

Turn on the grinder switch and start grinding coffee beans. Before collecting the coffee grounds, place the portafilter on an electronic scale and tare it, then collect the coffee grounds and place it on the scale to ensure consistent coffee weight each time. When collecting coffee grounds, pay attention to where the grounds fall in the portafilter to ensure they distribute evenly across all areas of the portafilter.

Step 3: Distribute Grounds

After collecting the coffee grounds, use your fingers or a distribution tool to distribute the grounds, aiming to ensure even distribution and avoid density inconsistencies during tamping.

Step 4: Tamp

After distribution, tamp the grounds. When tamping, the direction should be perpendicular to the basket, and the pressure should be moderate—not too light and not too heavy. Too light will make the coffee puck loose, while too heavy will make the coffee puck too dense, making it difficult for water to pass through, leading to over-extraction.

Step 5: Lock Portafilter and Extract Espresso

Gently lock the portafilter onto the coffee machine, avoiding collisions that could crack the coffee puck and cause channeling, leading to under-extraction and uneven extraction. Immediately after locking, turn on the extraction switch to begin extracting espresso. While extraction starts, use an electronic scale to weigh the espresso liquid weight, and constantly monitor the extraction time and the color state of the coffee liquid.

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso extraction parameters reference: 20g of coffee grounds to extract 40g of coffee liquid, time 25-30 seconds

Step 6: Extraction Complete, Clean Portafilter

Knock the puck into the knock box and clean with a dedicated cloth, then lock the portafilter back onto the coffee machine.

Flavor Characteristics of Espresso

Aroma

When discussing food, there's an emphasis on "color, aroma, and taste," meaning the first impression of appearance is important, but the first impression of aroma is even more like an "entry ticket" that determines whether you'll try it. The aroma of coffee is precisely an important impression that attracts everyone to drink coffee.

The range of espresso aroma is relatively small, generally requiring you to bring your nose close. Traditional espresso has a rich cream and nutty aroma, making you imagine almond cream cake. If you choose a lighter roasted SOE, the aroma is even lighter and more elegant, emitting enticing floral and fruit notes.

Body

This is the most attractive aspect of espresso. The Crema is the soul of the entire espresso and also what gives espresso its rich body. Therefore, when tasting espresso, unlike pour-over coffee where you sip slowly, you need to drink it in large gulps, letting the espresso and oils coat your tongue and mouth, enjoying the silky smoothness. Traditional espresso has a texture similar to cream and honey. SOE espresso will have a relatively lighter body.

Taste

Traditional espresso taste generally expresses bitterness, which is also why many people cannot accept it. If FrontStreet Coffee were to describe the flavor performance of espresso, it could be described as "a village emerges after dark willows and bright flowers." Even when drinking espresso, we might describe the flavors as nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel, which translates to "colorful bitterness," but as you swallow the coffee liquid, the coffee remaining in your mouth will return a lasting sweetness and aroma—this is the aftertaste, and it's an important category in espresso tasting.

Of course, the flavor performance of espresso is closely related to the coffee beans used. For example, FrontStreet Coffee currently uses their own house-blended "Sunflower Warmth" Italian coffee beans, which produce espresso flavors of vanilla cream, sherry wine aroma, caramel, and chocolate.

Correct Way to Drink Espresso

1. First, drink a sip of ice water to cleanse your palate.
2. Use a spoon to stir or shake the cup to make the espresso even.
3. Pick up the cup and feel the coffee's aroma.
4. Drink the coffee in large gulps, using your tongue to rub against your upper palate to feel the texture of the espresso. Generally, one shot of espresso should be finished in 2-3 sips.
5. After swallowing the coffee, close your mouth and exhale to feel the aroma and aftertaste of the espresso.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

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Important Notice :

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