Espresso is the foundation of the Italian beverage system, and Americano, latte, cappuccino, flat white, and mocha are all derived from it. This article focuses on the extraction principles of espresso, sorts out its historical origins and flavor differences with Americano, and introduces in detail the positioning and characteristics of four espresso blend beans from Front Street Coffee. At the same time, the article also compiles reference standards for Italian extraction such as dose, liquid weight, and time, explains TDS measurement and the calculation method for extraction yield, and finally attaches the seven-step espresso preparation process and extraction formula used in Front Street stores, for coffee lovers to systematically understand the making and tasting of espresso.

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Although most people who come to Front Street drink pour-over, there have always been quite a few customers who choose espresso drinks as well. As the base of various Italian-style drinks, espresso is indispensable to Americano, latte, cappuccino, flat white, and mocha.

Front Street has learned that espresso is called "espresso" abroad, and its caffeine content per unit volume is also generally higher than that of most coffee drinks. It is extracted by an espresso machine. The principle is that under high pressure, hot water (usually at about 92°C) passes through a finely ground and tamped bed of coffee grounds, extracting the solids and dissolved components, and the liquid finally obtained is espresso. Espresso is both the starting point of all coffee drinks and itself an independent coffee beverage. Many people are used to treating it as the representative of Italian-style coffee and comparing it with Americano. So where exactly is the difference between Italian-style coffee and Americano?

There are two ways to make Americano: one is to extract it directly with an American drip machine, and the other is to add water to espresso. To understand the difference between the two, we can start with the history of Americano. American drip machines first became widely popular in American households, and Americans had long been accustomed to the taste of coffee made by drip machines—lighter in flavor, thin in body, and noticeably watery. During World War II, most of the coffee American officers drank in Europe was espresso, strong and stimulating.

In order to recreate the flavor of drip machine coffee, they added water to the espresso liquid. In this way, the coffee's flavor became much softer and easier to drink. At that time, people in other European countries did not drink coffee this way, so this beverage was given the name "Americano." Behind this name there is actually a sarcastic tone; it was a local jab at Americans for not being used to espresso. The French even privately called Americano "sock coffee" to describe how bad its taste was.

Front Street Coffee's Americano is also made by adding water to espresso, and the vast majority of coffee shops on the market also use this method. Generally speaking, the water-to-liquid ratio of Americano is between 1:4 and 1:9, and standards vary from one shop to another. For Front Street's hot Americano, the ratio of water to coffee liquid is 1:4.5, which was determined by taking into account the characteristics of the Sunshine Blend espresso and the cup size served in stores. For Front Street's iced Americano, the ratio of water to coffee liquid is close to 1:9. Because it uses the store's own espresso blend beans, Front Street Coffee's Americano does not deliberately pursue nutty notes, but instead presents a rich wine aroma, abundant crema, and an overall mellow character, with a creamy texture and a long chocolate finish. Compared with hot Americano, iced Americano is more refreshing. Switching to different espresso beans will also change the flavor of the drink made. In response to needs at different levels, Front Street has designed a total of four espresso beans: Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend, the espresso bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend, and Sunshine Blend.

The espresso bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend—uses beans commonly used for espresso from Brazil, Colombia, Yunnan, and other origins, with the goal of achieving a better coffee flavor and mouthfeel at a lower cost. For coffee shops that need abundant crema, Front Street's Commercial Blend adds 10% robusta beans, which not only improves the overall body but also makes the coffee flavor richer and more aromatic. The nutty flavor stands out, and the chocolate flavor paired with the sweetness of milk is very harmonious. The Specialty Blend uses arabica coffee beans from Brazil and Colombia. All-American arabica can show a cleaner taste, and the flavor expression of these two producing regions is nutty and chocolatey, making them very suitable for espresso preparation.

Sunflower Sunshine Blend coffee beans were a new experiment by Front Street in 2019. At that time, the concept of specialty (single-origin) coffee was in vogue, and many SOEs marketed for their flavor had also appeared, but Front Street planned to use high-quality single-origin beans for blending to make a blend whose main purpose was flavor. In the end, Front Street decided to use 30% Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and 70% Honduras Sherry as the recipe for Sunflower Sunshine Blend coffee beans. The rich vanilla cream and fermented wine aroma attracted a large audience.

Generally speaking, espresso extraction has certain standards. Depending on the filter basket, the weight of coffee grounds is usually between 18 and 22 grams. Make sure the weight of the coffee grounds meets expectations, because a tiny difference can lead to a huge error. The most common brewing ratio is twice the coffee grounds, which means that if you use 18 grams of coffee grounds, it is best to extract 36 grams of espresso liquid. Once you exceed this value, the coffee is prone to an over-extracted taste.

Of course, this standard can also be adjusted according to actual needs. For example, the espresso served at Front Street stores uses 20 grams of grounds to extract 36 grams of coffee liquid, in order to make the Americano and latte richer and more aromatic, with a fuller flavor. It should be noted here that the weight of the liquid coffee is best 1 to 3 times that of the dry coffee grounds, with 2 times being commonly used.

The brewing time from pressing the button to the end of extraction usually falls between 25 and 35 seconds. If the extraction time is longer or shorter than expected, the main reason lies in the coffee grinding, and at this point it is necessary to adjust according to one's own situation and optimize the extraction parameters.

Generally speaking, fast extraction makes the coffee's acidity stand out and lowers its sweetness; slower extraction causes the coffee to develop bitter and dull flavors.

The most direct way to judge whether espresso is ready to serve is to taste it. Taste is a very good method for evaluating the quality of espresso. However, because judging whether espresso is normal by taste alone is too subjective, some forward-thinking baristas and roasters use refractometers to measure the total dissolved solids (TDS) in espresso. TDS measurement allows them to determine accurate brewing strength and extraction percentage, and to relate their preferred brewing parameters to numerical data. Measuring TDS also means we can calculate the extraction percentage with the following formula:

(%TDS x brewed coffee weight) / coffee grounds weight = extraction percentage

Many coffee lovers who come to Front Street show admiration for the baristas operating the coffee machine in front of the counter, and are curious about how they operate the seemingly very complicated coffee machine. In fact, what baristas master is merely the detailed steps of making espresso; as for how the coffee machine operates, most baristas do not understand that either. So today, Front Street will introduce the detailed production process of espresso. Taking the normal operating process of Front Street Coffee as an example:

Step 1: Wipe the filter basket to ensure the coffee basket is dry and free of water

Step 2: Weigh the coffee grounds, use an electronic scale to weigh an appropriate amount of coffee grounds, and control the error to within plus or minus 0.1 grams

Step 3: Distribute the grounds

Step 4: Tamp

Step 5: Lock in the portafilter

Step 6: Press the button to extract

Step 7: Remove the portafilter and clean the group head.

Front Street espresso extraction formula recommendation: dose 20g, extract 40g coffee liquid, time 30 seconds

Just like that, a shot of espresso is finished extracting. If you want to make other coffee drinks, it is nothing more than adding sugar and milk to it. Iced coffee is relatively simple to make: just add hot espresso to cold milk. As for hot milk coffee, you will need to use the steam wand on the coffee machine. As for how to steam milk, Front Street Coffee also has a dedicated article for teaching, and everyone can look it up if needed. It is worth mentioning that many coffee chain brands now use fully automatic coffee machines, making operation even simpler—just press a button.

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