What Does the Coffee Association of America Say About Espresso?

The Specialty Coffee Association of America once defined a single espresso shot as 7 to 9 grams of coffee extracted to 45 ml in 22 to 28 seconds, at 9 to 10 atmospheres and 88 to 92 degrees Celsius. In practice, specialty shops often dose close to the basket capacity and pull closer to a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio.

Roughly 70 percent of a coffee bean's components never dissolve in water, and only part of the remaining 30 percent is worth extracting. Because espresso is concentrated, bean defects are magnified, which is why the base shot matters as much as the milk. A blend coffee such as Front Street's Sunflower Warm Sun shows how a whiskey-like aroma can be expressed in the cup.

Many coffee enthusiasts often confuse the concepts of espresso and ristretto, and are also full of questions about extraction parameters. Starting from the golden cup extraction standard, this article will sort out the evolution of the definition of espresso and analyze the effects of factors such as dose, water temperature, time, pressure, and grind size on flavor. At the same time, drawing on the practical experience of Front Street Coffee, it introduces the unique whiskey aroma expression of the Sunflower Warm Sun blend and shares the correct way to taste espresso, helping readers understand the extraction logic of espresso more systematically.

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When it comes to making coffee, many people first ask how many grams of coffee should be used and what coffee-to-water ratio should be set. Ultimately, what everyone really cares about is the extraction yield of the coffee. You should know that about 70% of the components in coffee beans cannot dissolve in water, and among the remaining 30%, only part of the ideal flavor is worth extracting.

Compared with pour-over, espresso has a more concentrated flavor, which also means that the defects of the beans themselves will be magnified exponentially. This is precisely one of the major characteristics of espresso. Therefore, if you want to get an excellent latte or cappuccino, in addition to choosing the right milk, an almost perfectly extracted espresso as the base is equally indispensable.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) once gave this definition of espresso: a single shot of espresso extracted as 45 ml within 22 to 28 seconds at 9 to 10 atmospheres of pressure, with a dose of 7 to 9 grams, and a water temperature of 88 to 92 degrees Celsius. However, if you go to a specialty coffee shop and ask a barista about the extraction parameters, you will find that the actual dose and liquid yield are often far from the above standard.

Taking Front Street's method of making espresso as an example, the dose will be as close as possible to the capacity of the filter basket, and the coffee-to-liquid ratio will be closer to 1:2. Of course, these numbers are only for reference.

The roast level of coffee beans in the past and consumers' flavor preferences are already very different from today. In the early years, people preferred dark-roasted espresso beans, liked espresso with nutty and cocoa notes, and even quite appreciated bitter and burnt flavors.

With the rise of the third wave of specialty coffee, everyone hopes even more to taste floral and fruity notes in coffee, and the roast level of coffee beans has accordingly become lighter. If the same water temperature is still used, the taste will differ. Today, the extraction parameters of espresso tend to be: dose 18 grams, liquid weight about 30 grams, water temperature 92 to 94 degrees Celsius, time 25 to 27 seconds. It is worth noting that the judging standard has shifted from the volume of the espresso to the more precise liquid weight, because factors such as brewing pressure, roast level, and freshness all affect the thickness of the crema, and looking only at volume is unreliable.

In recent years, coffee machine technology has developed rapidly, and models with variable pressure and emphasis on pressure profiles have continued to emerge. Brewing pressure is no longer fixed at 9 atmospheres. Whether it is the introduction of pre-infusion pressure or extraction with a gradual pressure decline in the middle and latter stages, various pressure profiles that break old rules have been repeatedly experimented with and tested. Even for the same bean, different pressure profiles will present completely different flavor spectra.

When making espresso, Front Street comprehensively considers factors such as grind size, extraction pressure, water temperature, dose, time, and extraction yield.

[Dose] The dose is usually determined according to the capacity of the filter basket. For example, the filter basket used by Front Street has a capacity of 20 grams, so slight adjustments will be made within that range, but it will not exceed the capacity. Too little coffee easily leads to underextraction; too much coffee may make it impossible to lock onto the group head.

[Water temperature] The higher the water temperature, the faster and greater the extraction of coffee substances; the opposite is also true. The extraction water temperature for espresso is usually close to boiling.

[Time] In coffee, sour and bitter substances are the most prominent, and sour substances are extracted faster than bitter substances.

[Extraction pressure] In the early days, the pressure for making espresso was extremely close to atmospheric pressure, resulting in a weak-tasting product with hardly any crema. With improvements in coffee machine technology, it was only after the introduction of the Faema E61 that 9 bar pressure and rich crema appeared.

[Grind size] Grind size is the pain point of every barista, and air humidity also changes over time. If the coffee particles are too fine, the contact area between hot water and coffee grounds increases, more substances are extracted, and overextraction is likely to occur.

When producing espresso, Front Street adjusts the parameters according to the day's temperature, humidity, and the roast date of the espresso beans in order to extract an almost perfect espresso. The extraction parameters are as follows:

Front Street espresso extraction parameters:

Grinder: Galileo Q18

Grind size: 2.1

Coffee machine: Faema E98

Pressure: 9 bar±2

Temperature: 90.5~96°C

Time: 20~30 sec

Dose: 19.7g (double espresso)

Extraction yield: 35ml

After parameter adjustment, the espresso extracted by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) shows a rich whiskey aroma, accompanied by thick flavors of vanilla and cream, with berry acidity on the palate, a long-lasting dark chocolate finish, and a viscous and smooth mouthfeel.

The reason it can have such a rich whiskey aroma is that the espresso beans used in Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores are the carefully blended Sunflower Warm Sun blend, composed of 70% Honduras Sherry and 30% Ethiopian natural Red Cherry.

Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans

Region: Honduras & Ethiopia

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas, local native varieties

Processing method: washed & natural

Seventy percent Honduras Sherry, after refined washing, is placed into sherry whiskey barrels for low-temperature fermentation for dozens of days, allowing the whiskey aroma substances in the barrels to penetrate into the green coffee beans. The thirty percent Ethiopian natural Red Cherry brings the berry acidity unique to Ethiopia. The flavor of the entire blend is very appealing.

Some friends who have tasted Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) lattes discover that the espresso has a rich whiskey aroma and cannot help wanting to drink the espresso straight to find out more. When Front Street serves espresso, it pairs it with a small spoon and a glass of ice water. Seeing this, you may ask, why serve ice water, and how should espresso be drunk correctly?

Front Street will now explain the correct way to drink espresso. The role of the ice water is to let the drinker clean the palate before drinking the espresso, so as to better perceive the flavor and mouthfeel. Before the coffee liquid enters the mouth, you can use the small spoon to check the state of the crema, or stir the entire cup of espresso so that the upper and lower layers fully merge, making the mouthfeel more balanced.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.