Espresso is an indispensable part of Italians' daily life and the core foundation of the modern coffee system. From the birth of the steam-powered coffee machine patent at the end of the 19th century to the continuous improvements made to the equipment by Bezzera, Gaggia, and others, espresso gradually evolved into the form we are familiar with today. This article will trace the development of espresso, introduce Italy's unique coffee culture, and explain in detail the extraction parameters, operating steps, and key variables of espresso. Front Street Coffee will also share the single and double espresso parameters used in its stores, the pairing of the Q18 grinder with the Lelit coffee machine, as well as recommendations for the Sunflower Warm Sun blend and the commercial blend coffee beans, helping enthusiasts recreate the same flavors as coffee shops at home.
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In Italians' daily lives, coffee occupies an irreplaceable position. Behind each cup of Italian coffee lies regional characteristics, cultural accumulation, and the historical process that accelerated the pace of society. Italian coffee can be traced back to the late 19th century, while the Italian coffee we encounter today originates from the pressurized coffee machine improved in the early 20th century.
Espresso
One important driver behind espresso becoming known to people around the world was Starbucks introducing espresso machines to its global stores and sparking the Italian coffee wave. Is espresso tasty? How do you make Italian coffee? In this article, Front Street will walk you through the story of the birth of the espresso machine.
Early Italian Coffee Culture
Italy has a very long history of coffee drinking. Since 1580, coffee beans originating from Africa and the Middle East entered Italy through the port of Venice, and at first they were a beverage only the upper class could enjoy. Because it was a "Muslim drink" originating from the Middle East and Turkey, many Christian Italians called it the "devil's drink."
It was not until the early 17th century that Pope Clement VIII fell in love with this black drink and performed a baptism for coffee, officially designating it as a Christian beverage and giving it the name "the drink of God." Soon after, in 1645, Rome opened Europe's first coffee house, also Italy's earliest shop specializing in selling coffee, and from then on coffee spread rapidly throughout Italy.
Italians' contribution to coffee lies not only in taste, but even more in the development of equipment
In the early days, people used old-fashioned Turkish pots to brew coffee and then filtered it. With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, it seemed everything was pursuing a faster pace, and Italians were no exception. In 1884, Angelo Moriondo successfully registered a patent in Turin, Italy, for a steam-powered machine used to make coffee. However, because this machine relied entirely on steam, the temperature was difficult to control and often made the coffee burnt and bitter, so it was later modified many times by different people.
(Angelo Moriondo's Espresso Machine)
In the early 19th century, Milanese manufacturer Luigi Bezzera improved this patent and launched the prototype of the world's first steam-pressure coffee machine. It not only had a detachable handle and a separable assembly head, but could also extract a cup of coffee in a short time using high pressure.
(Luigi Bezzera's Espresso Machine)
With the introduction and application of the new machine, more and more Italians fell in love with the coffee quickly extracted by this machine. The word "espresso" was also first included in an Italian dictionary around 1920, explained as: concentrated coffee made using a pressurized machine or filter.
For people tasting this "fast coffee" for the first time at the time, it did not taste good, but after learning that it was a method of quickly obtaining coffee through steam pressure, Italians seemed to be injected with adrenaline, constantly thinking about how to upgrade and transform this steam-powered coffee machine to make the coffee it produced taste better.
For example, a Milanese engineer named Achille Gaggia managed in 1938 to add a lever to the coffee machine, which could forcefully increase the water pressure sharply from 1.5 bar to 9 bar. This not only gave the coffee a layer of dark brown "crema," but also quantified the volume of the solution, making coffee quality more stable.
In this way, thanks to people's refinement and popularization of these machines, the method of making coffee underwent earth-shaking changes. High speed and convenience also became new indicators of service in every coffee shop, and that small cup of espresso even began to evolve into the foundational core of today's modern coffee system.
When espresso reached its final form, coffee culture had also kept pace. Compared with many other countries, Italian coffee shops emphasize an efficient, fast-paced atmosphere, and this perfectly matches the small cup of espresso, allowing people coming and going to enjoy it quickly and then chat briefly with acquaintances before leaving. Taking advantage of a brief moment of leisure to order an espresso in a coffee shop can be said to be one of Italians' most deeply rooted habits.
Walking into a coffee shop, they will directly tell the barista to bring a single espresso. Most are dominated by the bitter taste of dark roasting, and robusta is generally added to make the crema richer. Some people add a little yellow sugar and stir before tasting, then drink it in one go, which is very satisfying. A cup of espresso in Italy usually costs only 1 euro, equivalent to 7 yuan, making it a very accessible beverage.
How Do You Make Espresso?
Each extraction of espresso will have different limits on the amount of coffee powder used depending on the size of the filter basket. When making a single espresso (1 shot), Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses 10-11 g of coffee powder to extract 20-25 g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 22 seconds; when making a double espresso, it uses 19-20 g of coffee powder to produce 35-40 g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 29 seconds.
The performance of every espresso machine and espresso grinder is different, and different coffee beans also have different conditions. It is not 100% guaranteed that you can extract delicious espresso under these data. The above are only the parameters for extracting espresso at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores, using the Q18 grinder, Lelit coffee machine, and Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans (made from a blend of 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe coffee beans + 70% Sydney coffee beans).
Through extremely fine grinding and in a vacuum environment of 9-10 bar, 94°C water is quickly passed through the coffee particles. The extracted espresso drips from the portafilter as smoothly as honey, with the color changing from reddish-brown to golden yellow. After extraction is complete, the surface of the espresso is covered with a delicate layer of golden crema (the oily foam produced when carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combines and emulsifies with coffee oils in a vacuum environment).
Important Factors Determining the Flavor of Espresso
The most important things in making espresso are dose, ratio, time, grind size, water temperature, and pressure. Each step will change the final expression of the coffee's flavor. Water temperature and pressure have preset settings on most machines and do not need to be changed unless necessary. So the parameters we ultimately need to determine are dose, ratio, time, and grind size.
"Dose" Depending on the size of the filter basket, there are different limits on the amount of coffee powder used. When making a single espresso (1 shot), Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses 10-11 g of coffee powder; when making a double espresso, it uses 19-20 g of coffee powder.
"Coffee-to-Liquid Ratio" A relatively common espresso ratio is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. Front Street suggests starting with a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio for extraction, that is, if using 20 g of coffee powder, extract 40 g of coffee liquid.
"Extraction Time" Keeping the extraction time within 20-30 seconds makes it relatively easy to extract delicious espresso. Espresso that finishes extracting in less than 20 seconds will most likely taste thin and watery. Espresso that finishes extracting in more than 30 seconds is prone to a burnt, bitter taste. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses double espresso in its daily output, with an extraction time of about 28-30 seconds.
"Grind Size" The scale on every grinder will differ somewhat, so it is necessary to continuously extract and taste, sensing the changes in the coffee's flavor until it is balanced. The coffee machine is very sensitive to the degree of coffee grinding. If the grind is slightly coarser, the flow rate will be too fast, the extraction time will become shorter, and the coffee will taste thin; if the grind is slightly finer, the flow rate will be too slow, the extraction time will become longer, and the coffee will taste burnt and bitter.
Espresso Extraction Steps
① Dosing
Before dosing, wipe the coffee filter basket clean and keep it dry. Turn on the grinder switch and begin grinding the coffee beans. Use the coffee filter basket to catch the coffee powder.
② Distribution & Tamping
Use your fingers or a distribution tool to distribute the coffee powder, with the aim of ensuring the coffee powder is evenly distributed and avoiding areas of inconsistent density during subsequent tamping. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using a distribution tool, as it ensures stability and speed for beginners. Place the distribution tool flat on the coffee filter basket, rotate it several times, and then lift it off.
③ Confirmation Before Extraction
Before locking on the group head, confirm two things: first, confirm whether the tamp is level; second, confirm there is no residual powder around the filter basket. After that, press the brew button to wet the group head, then gently lock the portafilter onto the group head, making sure to confirm it is tightly secured to avoid water leakage.
④ Extraction
After locking on the group head, quickly press the brew button to avoid the high-temperature group head scorching the surface of the coffee powder. At about the 4th second after pressing the extraction button, the espresso drips from the portafilter as smoothly as honey, with the color changing from reddish-brown to golden yellow. After extraction is complete, the surface of the espresso is covered with a delicate layer of golden crema (the oily foam produced when carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combines and emulsifies with coffee oils in a vacuum environment).
Espresso Bean Recommendations
To give espresso a more stable flavor performance, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using blend coffee beans specially customized for espresso. The advantage of blend coffee beans is that by combining coffee beans from different origins in different proportions, they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses to stabilize and balance the coffee's flavor performance, while dark roasting can enhance the coffee's body.
The main flavor expression of espresso is determined by the coffee beans. Among the products currently sold by Front Street, many are espresso blend coffee beans. If you want to recreate the same effect as coffee shops at home, the Front Street commercial blend coffee beans are recommended. This is a formula designed specifically for people opening shops, allowing espresso to have rich crema and a full-bodied mouthfeel, while also being suitable for common categories such as Americano, latte, cappuccino, and flat white.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
