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Many people walk into a coffee shop, see a very mini cup of black coffee with a golden foam layer floating on top, and curiously order one too, only to find that this thing actually tastes extremely strong and bitterly roasted. In fact, this cup often appears in the Americano and latte you like to drink—it isEspresso.

Espresso originated in Italy, from the Italian word "Express," meaning "pressed out, squeezed out." Through the pressure of steam in the boiler of an espresso machine, water is forced through a very finely ground and manually tamped layer of coffee grounds, squeezing out an extremely concentrated coffee liquid.

Because this method can sustain the coffee crema for a long time, with a rich, mellow, and full-bodied flavor and a balance between acidity and bitterness, it is called a work of art among coffees. In addition, espresso is often used as the base for other coffee types, such as latte, cappuccino, macchiato, and mocha, all of which are made with espresso as the base.

Espresso's flavor and taste characteristics

Front Street Coffee believes that a good-tasting espresso can be judged from the appearance and color of the golden crema on the coffee surface. First, good coffee crema has a mirror-like glossy sheen (another saying is tiger stripes, but if the amount of coffee powder is too small and causes over-extraction, white spots will appear), and its thickness should be around 3mm. In terms of taste, it usually presents a strong, mellow, and smooth mouthfeel without grittiness, and finally has a perfect sweet aftertaste, with obvious sweetness in the throat and on the tongue.

A single serving of espresso is usually not large, generally only 25–35ml, so everyone can finish it in two or three sips. In Italy's industrial era, pressurized espresso machines and espresso were invented for speed, so workers could quickly get a cup of coffee and drink it quickly, then boost their motivation to work.

This habit has been preserved to this day. Italians usually go into a coffee shop before work in the morning and have an espresso, drinking it all in one go on the spot, without even needing time to sit down. Of course, this is just the Italian habit of drinking espresso. In daily life, when we drink espresso, we can feel the charm of espresso (of course, it is still recommended to finish it in two or three sips, since after sitting for a long time, both the mouthfeel and flavor will deteriorate).

Espressois divided into three parts

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Crema (crema) is one of the most iconic components of espresso. The golden to reddish-brown foam layer on the surface of the espresso we refer to is crema. It is mainly composed of oils and carbon dioxide extracted from ground coffee beans. When hot water contacts the ground coffee under the high pressure of the coffee machine, the hot water emulsifies the soluble oils in the coffee, which are then supersaturated with carbon dioxide, creating many tiny bubbles that form a foam layer.

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Body (body) has the richest, most delicious flavor and aroma in espresso. You will taste the soft part of the coffee. The softness of a cup of espresso is the sum of the tactile characteristics we perceive: roundness, smoothness, viscosity, and fluidity.

Heart (heart) is the layer below the body of the espresso, and its color is close to black. The heart of espresso is bitterness, which balances the sweetness and aroma of the two layers above.

With the promotion of specialty coffee culture, the quality of coffee beans used to make espresso has now improved. Most specialty coffee beans pursue more in the flavor expression of espresso, so we do not need to face it with the mindset that espresso must be very bitter.

As long as the barista can understand the coffee beans from a professional perspective, use freshly roasted coffee beans, and adjust and calibrate the extraction parameters of espresso every day, espresso can also present different flavor and mouthfeel performances across the front, middle, and finish.

For example, Front Street Coffee's daily espresso offering uses a house blend called "Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Coffee Beans," available both online and in physical stores. This coffee bean blend consists of Ethiopian natural red cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduran sherry barrel coffee beans (70%). After extraction, it has a rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, the sweet-tartness of berries, and roasted nut flavors.

For those who like mellow and aromatic coffee, Front Street Classic Espresso Blend is recommended. This is a formula combining three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a dark roast, which can maximize the coffee's mellow aroma and also allow everyone to easily extract rich and dense coffee crema. It is very suitable whether making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk.

How do you drink espresso?

Before tasting, we first take a sip of ice water to clean the mouth and slightly contract the tongue muscles. After the barista serves the espresso, you can stir the coffee with a spoon to make it more uniform overall. Then taste it in three sips. The first sip tastes the flavor, the second sip feels the body, and the third sip feels the coffee's sweet aftertaste and lingering finish.

Tasting the espresso extracted from "Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Coffee Beans," the first sip reveals berry-like sweet-tartness and fermented wine aroma, the second sip reveals vanilla cream-like aroma and a smooth mouthfeel, and the third sip reveals caramel-like sweet aftertaste and a hazelnut-like finish.

How is espresso extracted?

According to Specialty Coffee Association SCA standards, a single espresso uses 7–9 grams, and a double espresso uses 14–18 grams of coffee powder to extract 25–35g of coffee liquid in 20–30 seconds, with extraction pressure at 9–10 bar and water temperature at 90–96°C.

However, different coffee machines, grinders, and different roast levels or coffee beans from different origins will also produce deviations in the extracted taste, so at this time we need to fine-tune the parameters and calibrate the mouthfeel of the espresso. Generally speaking, first adjust the water-to-coffee ratio and then adjust the grind size, so each coffee shop will make upward or downward adjustments according to the coffee beans and equipment used.

For Front Street Coffee store offerings, making a single espresso (1 shot) uses 10–11g of coffee powder to extract 20–25g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 22 seconds; making a double espresso uses 19–20g of coffee powder to produce 35–40g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 29 seconds.

However, because espresso has a strong and stimulating taste, we generally recommend adding milk to make a latte, or adding drinking water to turn it into the familiar Americano. If it is a latte, Front Street recommends using a 1:6 ratio, that is, 40g of coffee liquid added to 240g of fresh milk to make a hot latte; for an Americano, use a 1:4 ratio, pouring 40g of coffee liquid into 160g of warm hot water.

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