Nowadays, pour-over coffee and espresso are the two most mainstream brewing methods, so coffee beans in the consumer market are almost entirely developed around these two uses. The extraction principles of pour-over and espresso are different. Pour-over coffee belongs to atmospheric pressure drip extraction, a bit like brewing tea, and its taste is relatively refreshing; while espresso belongs to pressurized extraction, using high pressure to force the coffee substances out, and the extracted coffee is a very small cup, rich and intense. The raw materials used by the two, namely coffee beans, as well as the adjustment of extraction parameters, are also somewhat different.
What we call pour-over coffee is first grinding coffee beans into powder, then pouring hot water to contact the coffee bed, "dissolving" out the substances in the coffee. In fact, it uses a dripper with filter paper or other tools to filter out the coffee grounds so they do not enter the server together, and then you can get a cup of black coffee with a clear taste. To brew a cup of pour-over coffee, based on Front Street's brewing experience, in addition to high-quality coffee beans, Front Street believes you need at least these utensils: a pour-over kettle for pouring water, a dripper and filter paper for filtering coffee grounds, a server, a grinder for grinding coffee beans, an electronic scale for recording the amount of water poured and time, and a thermometer for measuring water temperature.
Because drip coffee takes a relatively long time to extract, usually at least several minutes, in order to extract a cup of rich coffee in a short time, Italians thought of using steam pressure to push high-temperature, high-pressure water through the coffee puck to speed up the original drip extraction rate. With continuous improvement and updates, the common semi-automatic/fully automatic espresso machines we see today were derived. When using an espresso machine, coffee beans are ground into powder, tamped into a portafilter, and high pressure pushes hot water through the coffee grounds to extract a cup of full-bodied espresso, also called espresso. Because the concentration is relatively high, we add water or milk for tasting. Common drinks such as Americano, latte, and cappuccino are all made with espresso as the base.
Although it looks very simple to operate, when extracting with an espresso machine, to make the soluble flavor substances in coffee release into hot water in just a few dozen seconds, the contact between coffee and water must be more sufficient, and the grind size must be very fine and uniform, so it greatly tests the quality of the coffee beans and the skill of the barista. There are many factors affecting the flavor of a cup of espresso, including coffee bean quality, roast level, grind size, espresso machine boiler pressure, water temperature, distribution and tamping pressure, dose, extraction time, yield, and many other factors and details. In daily use, the four major factors used to adjust extraction are dose, time, yield, and grind size. Brewing parameters will produce subtle changes according to daily air humidity and the condition of the coffee beans, so they need to be adjusted up or down to achieve a better extraction effect.
Friends who have come to Front Street's Dongshankou store to drink coffee should have seen Front Street's small blackboard bean list. Nearly fifty single-origin coffees are divided into multiple different producing regions. Front Street offers them as pour-over or cold drip, while Front Street uses only one Front Street house-roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend" to make espresso. If light-roasted single-origin pour-over coffee beans are used to make espresso, under finer grinding and high pressure, the coffee flavor will be very intense and concentrated, and it is easy to present negative bitterness, acidity, and astringency. Therefore, generally, according to the two different extraction forms of pour-over and espresso, Front Street suggests choosing the corresponding coffee beans for extraction.
Pour-over lets people taste the most original aroma and flavor of black coffee. If you are a newcomer just starting out, Front Street suggests using coffee beans with relatively high cost performance for practice. First, it is easier to begin understanding major producing regions from regional flavors, and it can also avoid waste caused by operational mistakes.
On Front Street's bean list there is a daily drinking bean series. So-called daily drinking beans are delicious but not expensive. Front Street has selected 7 classic origins, covering multiple highly representative producing regions, varieties, and natural processing methods, including Ethiopia washed Yirgacheffe, Guatemala washed Huehuetenango, Colombia washed Huila, Brazil semi-washed Cerrado, Costa Rica washed Tarrazu, Indonesia wet-hulled Lintong Mandheling, and China Yunnan washed Baoshan. This lets everyone taste the flavor tone of the producing regions at an affordable price, thereby confirming their own coffee preferences. It is a very cost-effective coffee series from Front Street.
Because espresso is extracted under fine grinding, high water temperature, and high pressure, espresso gathers multiple tastes, and various flavor compounds impact our tongue exponentially. As a crop, coffee changes with climate, soil, and so on. Even if it comes from the same place, the flavor of each batch of coffee beans will be somewhat different. Blended coffee beans use the method of making up for each other's shortcomings, ensuring that every batch of coffee beans can show a balanced and stable aroma and taste.
Here at Front Street, we recommend Front Street's house-roasted "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans," made by blending Ethiopia natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry Barrel coffee beans (70%). Made into espresso, the entry is the flavor of sherry, vanilla, and cream. Paired with Red Cherry's tropical fruit and fermented notes, the coffee in the cup has a rich yet soft mouthfeel. The aroma released after swallowing is endlessly memorable. Whether it is an Americano diluted with water or a latte supported by milk, both present a rich aroma and taste.
When producing Americano, Front Street grinds the coffee beans into powder, then extracts espresso according to a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, and pours it into water to dilute it, that is, using 20 grams of coffee powder to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid. According to many experiments and adjustments by Front Street, the ratio of coffee liquid to water of 1:6 is most suitable for expressing the aroma of Warm Sun, that is, pouring 40 grams of coffee liquid into 240 grams of 88°C hot water, and hot Americano is ready.
If producing iced Americano, replace the hot water with 120 grams of ice cubes and 120 grams of room-temperature water. The taste is best before the ice cubes melt. Front Street's iced Americano presents a fresh and pleasant sweet-and-sour taste, and even friends who do not often drink coffee can easily accept it.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
