How does espresso become the base for classic coffees?

Espresso originated in Italy, where the word evolved from Express, meaning pressed or squeezed out. A boiler generates steam pressure that pushes hot water through a finely ground, manually tamped puck, producing a small, concentrated cup. That method keeps the crema on the surface longer and yields a full body with balanced acidity and bitterness, which is why espresso serves as the base for classic coffees.

A serving is typically 25 to 35 ml, easy to finish in two or three sips. Ideal crema has a glossy, mirror-like sheen and sits roughly 3 mm thick; white spots can signal over-extraction when the dose of grounds is too small. In the mouth it feels intense, smooth and silky, with a sweet aftertaste that lingers in the throat and on the tongue.

Espresso originated in Italy and, through high-pressure extraction, presents a rich and full-bodied flavor. It is the base for classic coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos. A qualified cup of espresso, from the golden crema layer to the three-part structure of body and heart, contains rich dimensions for tasting. This article will start from the origin and definition of espresso, break down in detail its flavor and mouthfeel characteristics and its three-part structural composition, and, combined with Front Street Coffee's production practice, share tasting methods and ideas for adjusting extraction parameters, helping coffee lovers understand this "work of art among coffees" more comprehensively.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow the WeChat public account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Espresso Originated in Italy. In Italian, it evolved from the word Express, carrying the meaning of "pressed out, squeezed out." With the steam pressure produced by the boiler of an espresso machine, hot water passes through a finely ground and manually tamped coffee puck, resulting in a cup of extremely concentrated coffee liquid. This brewing method allows coffee crema to be retained for a longer time, with a rich and full flavor and a good balance between acidity and bitterness, and is therefore praised as a work of art among coffees. At the same time, espresso also often serves as the base for other coffee drinks. Lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, mochas, and others are all made on the basis of espresso.

Flavor and mouthfeel characteristics of espresso Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that for a high-quality espresso, much can be seen from the appearance and color of the golden crema on the surface. First, ideal coffee crema should show a mirror-like glossy sheen (some also call it tiger stripe, but if the dose of coffee grounds is insufficient and causes over-extraction, white spots will appear), and its thickness should be about 3 mm. In terms of mouthfeel, it usually appears intense, full-bodied, smooth, and silky, without a gritty texture, with a pleasant sweet aftertaste in the finish; sweetness can be clearly felt in both the throat and tongue.

A serving of espresso is usually not large in volume, generally between 25–35 ml, making it convenient for the drinker to finish in two or three sips. In Italy's industrial era, the pressurized coffee machine and the birth of espresso were originally meant to pursue efficiency, allowing workers to quickly get a cup of coffee, drink it quickly, and then return to work. This habit continues to this day. Italians often walk into a coffee shop before work in the morning, order an espresso , and drink it in one go standing at the bar, without even needing to sit down. Of course, this is only the traditional Italian way of drinking espresso. In daily life, when we taste espresso, we can carefully appreciate its charm (though it is still recommended to finish it within two or three sips; after all, if left for too long, both the mouthfeel and flavor will be compromised).

Espresso is divided into three parts . Crema is one of the most iconic components of espresso. The layer of golden to reddish-brown foam on the surface of the espresso we refer to is crema. It is mainly composed of oils and carbon dioxide extracted from the ground coffee. When hot water contacts the ground coffee under the high-pressure environment of the coffee machine, the hot water emulsifies the soluble oils in the coffee, which are then supersaturated by carbon dioxide, producing a large number of tiny bubbles and forming a foam layer. .

Body has the richest and most delicious flavors and aromas 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 as roundness, smoothness, viscosity, and fluidity. 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 place greater pursuit on 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, select freshly roasted coffee beans, and calibrate the extraction parameters of espresso every day, espresso can likewise present different flavors and mouthfeels in the front, middle, and rear sections.

For example, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a house blend, "Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Coffee Beans," for its daily espresso production. It is sold both online and in physical stores. This coffee bean blend is composed of Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry Barrel coffee beans (70%). After extraction, it has rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry-like sweet acidity, and roasted nut flavors. How do you drink espresso? Before tasting, we first take a sip of ice water to clean the palate and slightly contract the muscles of the tongue surface. 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 is to taste the flavors within it, the second sip to feel its body, and the third sip to sense the coffee's sweet aftertaste and lingering finish.

When tasting the espresso extracted from "Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Coffee Beans," the first sip reveals berry-like sweet acidity 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 the Specialty Coffee Association SCA standards, a single espresso uses 7–9 grams, and a double espresso uses 14–18 grams of coffee grounds to extract 25–35 g of coffee liquid in 20–30 seconds, with an extraction pressure of 9–10 bar and a water temperature of 90–96°C.

However, different coffee machines, grinders, and the use of different roast levels or coffee beans from different origins will also produce deviations in the extracted flavor. So at this point we need to fine-tune the parameters and correct the mouthfeel of the espresso. Generally speaking, adjust the water-to-coffee ratio first, then adjust the grind size. Therefore, each coffee shop will make upward or downward adjustments according to the coffee beans and equipment it uses. For Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) store production, making a single espresso (1 shot) uses 10–11 g of coffee grounds to extract 20–25 g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 22 seconds; making a double espresso uses 19–20 g of coffee grounds to produce 35–40 g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 29 seconds.

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