Which Is More Bitter, American Coffee or a Latte?

American coffee is espresso plus hot water; a latte is espresso plus steamed milk. Both start from the same concentrated shot, so the difference in bitterness comes from dilution and milk. Hot water dilutes without adding flavor, so American coffee keeps more of the roasted, bitter notes, while milk fat and lactose soften them.

Espresso is brewed near nine bars of pressure, giving a dense, intense base. Blending coffee beans for that base changes the result: darker roasts and Robusta add bitterness and crema, while lighter lots add acidity. Order accordingly, or adjust the shot, water and milk ratio at home.

American coffee and latte coffee, which cup is actually more bitter? This question seems simple, but behind it lies the extraction principles of espresso, the dilution effects of milk and water, and the profound influence of coffee bean blending methods on flavor. Front Street Coffee will start with the definition and parameters of Espresso, analyze the flavor differences between American coffee and latte layer by layer, and introduce in detail the characteristics and suitable scenarios of various espresso blend beans, helping you make choices that better suit your personal taste when ordering at a cafe, and also recreate a satisfying cup of espresso at home.

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Before answering questions like "What is the difference between American coffee and latte," "Which is less bitter," and "Which is better, black coffee or milk coffee," Front Street believes it is necessary to first clarify the concept of espresso.

What exactly is espresso? It is also called Espresso, referring both to a coffee beverage and to a brewing method. When making espresso with an espresso machine, the dose, brew ratio, extraction time, grind size, water temperature, and pressure all affect the final result. The machine, at about nine atmospheres of pressure (9BAR), forces near-boiling hot water through a finely ground and evenly tamped layer of coffee grounds, producing a cup of coffee liquid with extremely high concentration and strong flavor impact.

Espresso is a touchstone for measuring coffee quality and a barista's skill. Here is a key point to highlight: Espresso is also the common base for popular drinks such as American coffee and latte. As is well known, today's American coffee is simply espresso with water added. Water itself has no taste and is only responsible for dilution, so whether a cup of American coffee tastes good depends on the espresso; and the flavor performance of the espresso depends on the coffee beans and the extraction process.

Espresso is an extremely classic presence in Italy, with a rich and layered mouthfeel that can amplify certain flavor characteristics of coffee, and slowly savoring it will give you a different experience. It can be said that Espresso, as the foundation of many Italian coffees, means that if the espresso itself is ruined, then the other fancy Italian coffees are basically not worth looking forward to either.

A shot of espresso has a volume of about 30 milliliters and is extracted in a very short time, with a beautiful golden-brown crema covering the surface, rich and delicate in texture, very enticing. This layer of crema is usually called Crema. The crema is responsible for the aroma, while the extracted liquid is responsible for the taste.

Should sugar be added when drinking Espresso?

Some people are used to adding sugar, while others are not; this completely depends on personal preference. However, from a health perspective, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends adding as little as possible or not at all.

Traditionally, the way to drink Espresso is to add a small spoonful of white sugar immediately after it is served, then stir while drinking; the texture of the coffee becomes softer, the bitterness is no longer so prominent, and an appropriate acidity also emerges.

However, if you are a coffee lover, then you must go to a cafe and order a cup of Espresso. Why? Because you will discover that espresso made by an espresso machine is so rich~ The feeling it brings you is far more than bitterness; there are also fruit acidity, floral notes, nuts, and even wine-like aromas and other flavors.

Latte coffee

When it comes to latte coffee, everyone is very familiar with it; this milk coffee is almost a must-have item in every coffee shop.

Unlike American coffee, latte coffee belongs to milk coffee. "Latte" in Italian means "milk," so if you only order a latte in Italy, what will be served is a glass of milk without coffee. Corresponding to the American practice of adding water to espresso, the latte method is to add milk or steamed milk to espresso, and the proportion of milk is larger, so the milk flavor dominates, making it more like a glass of milk with a coffee aroma.

But making a delicious cup of latte coffee is not an easy task. Different coffee bean flavors, different richness levels of fresh milk, and different extraction parameters will all change the taste of the latte.

How is latte coffee made?

Now we already know that latte coffee is composed of two parts: espresso and milk. Among them, hot latte requires adding steamed milk, which greatly tests the barista's milk steaming skills, so making a hot latte is divided into three steps: the first step is extracting espresso, the second step is steaming milk, and the third step is combining the steamed milk with the espresso and doing latte art.

One of the beans used in Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores is the Warm Sun Blend, a blend of sixty percent sherry barrel coffee beans and forty percent sun-dried Yirgacheffe. After repeated adjustments, it was determined to use 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 28 seconds.

Front Street believes that choosing a suitable espresso blend bean is also very important. Blended coffee, also called mixed coffee, is the mixing of various single-origin coffee beans so that the strengths of each bean can be fully brought out. Blend beans are made by mixing coffee beans from different origins to create a more balanced taste. At the same time, before blending coffee beans, one must first understand the different varieties of coffee in the world and their flavors. Beans from different origins have different characteristics. Different coffee beans have different personalities due to different varieties and origins, with subtle differences in flavors such as acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body.

Currently on the market, there are 2 types of espresso coffee beans : one is single-origin espresso beans, and the other is the more common blend espresso beans. Single-origin coffee beans tend to focus more on expressing the unique characteristics of a certain type of coffee.

Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will guide everyone to learn about the contents of several blend beans from Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). According to different coffee types, Front Street's formulated espresso coffee beans also have different characteristics in taste and flavor.

The several espresso coffee beans currently sold by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all blend types, namely the espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend, Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend, and Warm Sun Blend coffee beans, which can be ordered directly through the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

1. Specialty Blend Coffee Beans

Specialty Blend Coffee Beans are an espresso coffee bean that has accompanied Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores for many years. Until the end of 2019, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores used this coffee bean as the espresso base bean. To blend a stable espresso coffee bean, one must start from stable, high-yield coffee-producing countries, so when formulating this Specialty Blend Coffee Bean, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s roaster chose two countries with the highest and most stable Arabica coffee bean production worldwide - Colombia and Brazil. The ratio is sixty percent Colombian mixed with forty percent Brazilian coffee beans. The washed Colombian coffee beans give this Specialty Blend Coffee Bean a soft fruit acidity and black cocoa tone, while the Brazilian coffee beans are responsible for providing this coffee bean's rich mouthfeel.

Therefore, when this espresso coffee bean is made into espresso, it will carry very obvious dark chocolate, a solid and rich mouthfeel, and a nutty finish. This espresso blend coffee bean's balance and obvious dark chocolate flavor make it very suitable whether as black coffee or milk coffee, so Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chose this blend coffee bean as a store product for more than 6 years.

2. The espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans

The espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend is a very stable and high-quality espresso blend coffee bean, very suitable for many independent cafes as a daily product, while the espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend is the second choice provided by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - high cost performance. The operation of cafe stores cannot do without cost; the goal is to provide stable coffee products while keeping costs as low as possible. The espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans is a coffee bean with higher cost performance, originating from the choice of blending Brazilian and Yunnan coffee beans, with a ratio of sixty percent Brazilian and forty percent Yunnan coffee beans.

Coffee beans from both Yunnan and Brazil tend toward nutty tones, while the Brazilian coffee beans give the espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend a more solid mouthfeel and rich crema.

With the gradual popularity and development of specialty coffee, the baristas of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) found during store operations that many customers were no longer satisfied with the stability brought by the Specialty Blend Coffee. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) rethought, and perhaps it was time to bring in more fresh blends to invigorate the store's offerings. In 2019, after repeated adjustments, this Warm Sun Blend coffee bean finally made it onto Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s bean list, and the store's Specialty Blend was replaced with Warm Sun Blend coffee beans.

The baristas of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believe that among these three blend coffee beans, the Specialty Blend is the choice for pursuing stability, the espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend is the choice for high cost performance, and the Warm Sun Blend is the choice for flavor. The three have different goals, so the customers they suit are naturally different.

The unique taste of Warm Sun Blend comes from its Honduras sherry barrel coffee beans. After the coffee fruit undergoes partial washing processing steps, it is placed in sherry barrels for low-temperature fermentation, and finally dried. This processing method gives the sherry coffee beans an obvious wine aroma, and Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s roaster mixed in forty percent sun-dried Yirgacheffe coffee beans to provide more acidity to the Warm Sun Blend coffee beans and increase the layering of the entire blend bean.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores adjust parameters daily according to the condition of the beans, such as using 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid. The extraction time will be between 26 and 28 seconds. The espresso made with these parameters will have medium acidity, medium bitterness, medium body, balance, with flavors of obvious black cocoa and citrus, and a finish of fermented wine aroma.

When made into American coffee, it will have obvious winey chocolate and citrus acidity; when made into latte coffee, it will have flavors such as vanilla cream and liqueur chocolate.

4. Commercial Blend Coffee Beans

This Commercial Blend coffee bean is different from the other three blend coffee beans; the Commercial Blend is a choice made for commercial purposes. The main base of the Commercial Blend coffee beans is Colombia and Brazil, with a ratio of 60 percent and 30 percent, and for the remaining 10 percent, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s roaster chose Robusta coffee beans.

The purpose of doing this is to increase more crema. Although it is not one hundred percent Arabica coffee beans, mixing in a small amount of Robusta coffee beans can increase the coffee bean's body, crema, and rich coffee flavor.

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