Golden Mandheling: Powder-to-Water Ratio, Flavor Description, Taste Profile, Processing Method, Origin, and Variety Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling: Water-to-Coffee Ratio, Flavor Profile, Taste Characteristics, Processing Method, Origin, and Variety Introduction

1. Ratio

FrontStreet Coffee's selected bean roasting workshop uses a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:16. For those who prefer SCAA standards, you can adjust it to 1:2, which will slightly decrease the coffee's concentration. For example: if you pour 500ml of water into a French press, the coffee bean usage would be 32 grams or 28 grams.

2. Grinding

We grind the coffee beans to particles similar to coarse sugar. This grinding degree is chosen because the French press requires longer steeping and extraction time. If ground too fine, you would need to reduce the steeping time, otherwise excessive soluble solids will be extracted from the coffee grounds - what we call over-extraction. To master the water-to-coffee ratio, you only need an electronic scale and not much practice. Here, we recommend using an electronic scale with a minimum unit of 0.1 grams. With the electronic scale, we can easily control the weight of coffee grounds poured into the portafilter and the total weight of the final coffee, ensuring this ratio remains consistent.

Traditional Italian Ristretto brewing methods use a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:1 (that is, using 18 grams of coffee grounds to make 18 grams of coffee) or 1:2 (using 18 grams of coffee grounds to make 36 grams of coffee), while regular Italian espresso uses a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:2 (called "Normale"). Once the water-to-coffee ratio reaches 1:3 or 1:4, it is called "Lungo".

To master the water-to-coffee ratio, you can use a constant amount of coffee grounds in practice (taking 18 grams as an example) and try matching it with different total coffee weights, then compare the differences in taste, clarity, and richness between various ratios. You need to decide on the final water-to-coffee ratio based on personal preference. Only through continuous practice and exploration can you create espresso that truly suits you.

For example, if you walk into Vivace Espresso coffee shop in Seattle, USA, you'll typically get a Ristretto with a water-to-coffee ratio between 1:1-1:1.5. The founder of this coffee shop, David Schomer, as a pioneer in the espresso world at the time, first introduced this type of coffee to the northwestern United States. Ristretto has an extremely strong flavor, thick mouthfeel, but lacks clarity. The extremely low water-to-coffee ratio, combined with dark-roasted, low-altitude grown coffee beans, produces coffee with intense chocolate and caramel flavors. When Schomer first introduced this coffee to the United States, Americans at the time were still predominantly drinking coffee with milk. This extremely strong espresso brought a brand new coffee experience to the locals.

With the increasing popularity of lightly roasted, high-altitude grown coffee over the past few years, the popular water-to-coffee ratios in the market have also changed. Nowadays, major coffee shops in the United States, Europe, and Australia are accustomed to using the "Normale" espresso water-to-coffee ratio (1:1.5 or 1:2). As more coffee shops use single-origin coffee to make espresso, people have higher requirements for the water-to-coffee ratio. Increasing the water-to-coffee ratio can improve the coffee's clarity and make lightly roasted, high-altitude grown coffee beans easier to extract.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473