As we all know, Italian coffee has a profound influence on the development of the global coffee market. Espresso is almost a must-have beverage in every coffee shop. For example, Front Street Coffee locations offer classic drinks such as Americano, latte, cappuccino, and flat white, while many shops add various ingredients to create more creative specialty drinks. Today, Front Street Coffee will guide everyone in discovering the charm of Italian coffee culture.
Espresso means "fast" in Italian. From preparation to reaching the customer, espresso takes only a few quick minutes, so Italians named it with the word "Express" (fast).
A cup of espresso mainly uses steam pressure to push hot water through coffee grounds, brewing a small, strong, and aromatic dark coffee liquid topped with golden crema. We may not often see it on café menus, but the Americanos, lattes, and cappuccinos in daily life all involve it. It can be said to be the soul of a coffee shop.
In the past, coffee was brewed by immersion, which required not only finely ground coffee beans but also slow extraction, with a wait of at least more than ten minutes. In 1884, Italian Angelo Moriondo designed the first espresso machine, with two separate brewing boilers, 1.5 bar pressure and steam. The extracted coffee liquid was relatively viscous, with a richer mouthfeel than drip coffee. As coffee machines were continuously improved, factors such as water temperature and pressure were better controlled.
In 1948, Achille Gaggia, a café owner in Milan, invented a lever-driven coffee machine that could produce what we now call crema through high pressure. Since then, crema has been regarded as one of the indicators of espresso quality, and espresso came to specifically mean a highly concentrated coffee with rich crema made through pressure.
Theoretically, the fresher the beans, the darker the roast, and the greater and more stable the equipment pressure, the better the expression of coffee crema. Because Italians prefer strong coffee with a mellow, rounded mouthfeel, they are used to roasting coffee beans very dark, and even adding robusta coffee beans, making the espresso crema richer, the coffee aroma more concentrated, and the mouthfeel more intense. Nowadays, consumers are beginning to pursue more diverse flavor changes, and many coffee beans with fresh flavors are also being used in espresso. For example, the espresso served at Front Street Coffee locations uses the "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans," presenting fermented wine aromas, berry-like sweet acidity, rich aroma, a soft mouthfeel, and is very easy to drink.
When a customer orders "Give me an Espresso," the barista at FrontStreet Coffee will begin preparing it. Two minutes later, they will serve the customer a glass of ice water, a small spoon, and a small cup of rich coffee liquid with a golden-brown crema layer. Before drinking espresso, take a sip of clear water to rinse the mouth and also help calibrate the palate. Use the prepared metal spoon to gently stir and blend the coffee liquid. The first sip brings dense crema and a full roasted aroma. Then comes the warm coffee liquid, where you can feel rich notes of nuts, chocolate, berries, and wine. Take another sip of clear water along the way and slowly enjoy the sweet aftertaste in the mouth.
In fact, espresso is not limited to the regular "Espresso." According to the extraction method and the specific coffee-to-liquid ratio, espresso can be divided into three different types: Ristretto, Normale, and Lungo, all of which are concentrated liquids quickly extracted by an espresso machine.
Ristretto usually refers to an extra-concentrated espresso, also called a refined extra-concentrated espresso. Compared with the common Espresso, Ristretto is more niche. The flat white coffee we often see is made with Ristretto as the base. Ristretto means "restricted." We can understand it as "restricting" the extraction amount of coffee and taking only the front and middle parts of the espresso, thereby increasing the concentration of the coffee.
For example, Front Street Coffee's Espresso extraction plan is to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid from 20 grams of coffee grounds, with a coffee-to-liquid ratio of 1:2 and a time of 30 seconds. Extracting Ristretto means extracting only 70% of the Espresso, that is, extracting 28 grams of coffee liquid from 20 grams of coffee grounds, and the time will naturally be shortened accordingly. In addition, you can also make the grind finer so that the flow rate becomes slower and the coffee liquid becomes more concentrated. Since each coffee shop will make different adjustments according to the coffee beans used and the specific flavor and mouthfeel the barista wants to present.
Normale is the most common and most popular espresso. It is actually Espresso in the usual sense. At present, most offerings on the market are mainly Normale, but it is not emphasized too much. According to golden cup standards, Normale's extraction yield is between 18% and 22%, and its concentration range is 8% to 12%.
Lungo is coffee made with twice as much water as the normal amount. "Lungo" means "long, extended" in Italian, and it is also called a "lengthened espresso," which means extending the extraction time, thereby reducing the concentration of the coffee and making it taste softer. After many adjustments and tastings, Front Street Coffee's final extraction plan is to control Lungo's coffee-to-liquid ratio at 1:5. That is, using 20 grams of coffee grounds, extending the extraction time to 42 seconds, and extracting 100 grams of coffee liquid.
Next, Front Street Coffee will use the "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend" regularly served in stores as the extraction target to explain in detail how to make a cup of rich and aromatic Italian espresso.
Front Street Coffee uses the capacity of a double basket, with a dose of about 18 to 20 grams. When serving, Front Street Coffee uses 20 grams of coffee grounds. Front Street Coffee's extraction ratio is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee grounds extract 40 grams of coffee liquid. The time is related to the flow rate of the coffee grounds. Generally, a single extraction time is controlled at 20 to 35 seconds, because within 20 seconds the coffee flavor tends to be thin, while over 35 seconds it is easy to over-extract and produce a burnt bitter taste. Most of Front Street Coffee's espresso falls within the range of 28 to 30 seconds.
Before extraction, first wipe the portafilter basket dry, turn on the grinder, grind the amount for a double shot of coffee grounds, and place it on an electronic scale to adjust until it reaches 20 grams. Then use a distribution tool to level the coffee grounds, and press the tamper straight down with force to tamp the coffee puck firmly, ensuring more stable coffee extraction.
Then turn on the extraction switch and let water run for 1 to 2 seconds to moisten the group head, while also removing any coffee grounds stuck on it. Place an electronic scale under the cup for Espresso and reset the weight to 0, then place it together under the group head during extraction.
Gently lock the portafilter onto the group head and start the extraction switch. Observe the changes in the extracted liquid. When the electronic scale shows that 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, at about 30 seconds, turn off the extraction switch. Brewing parameters will change subtly according to daily air humidity and the condition of the coffee beans, so it is necessary to adjust the coffee dose, grind setting, and extraction amount up or down.
The extracted Espresso can be drunk directly. Paired with a glass of clear water to rinse the mouth, you can taste the dense crema foam and the mellow mouthfeel of the coffee liquid underneath. If you cannot accept the intense bitterness, you can also add water or milk according to your preference to dilute it and soften the strong mouthfeel.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
