How do blended coffee beans differ from single-origin pour-over?

Pour-over and espresso take opposite routes. Pour-over usually uses single-origin beans and extracts gently at normal pressure, so the origin's flavor outline comes through clearly. Espresso relies on blended coffee beans and roughly 9 atmospheres of pressure to produce a concentrated liquid that serves as the base for lattes and Americanos.

The two also differ in grind size, brewing time and caffeine content. Espresso is often described as more forgiving to operate, with a lower threshold, while pour-over lets you watch extraction happen drop by drop. The article walks through the specific preparation steps for both methods, and the comparison helps drinkers pick a direction that matches their taste.

Coffee is becoming part of the daily beverage routine for more and more people in China, and pour-over and espresso are the two most representative brewing directions. The two differ significantly in bean selection, preparation method, and final flavor profile. Pour-over usually uses single-origin beans and relies on gentle extraction at normal pressure, which better showcases the true flavor outline of the origin; espresso, on the other hand, relies on blended beans and a high-pressure environment of 9 atmospheres to obtain a rich, full-bodied concentrated liquid, and is the base for milk coffee drinks such as lattes and Americanos. In addition, the two also differ in caffeine content, grind size, and brewing time. This article will compare these differences one by one, and include the specific preparation steps for Front Street Coffee's espresso and pour-over coffee for coffee lovers' reference.

Coffee's audience in China is growing day by day, with momentum even quietly approaching that of fast-moving tea drinks like milk tea, though different consumer groups have different preferences for coffee. When it comes to coffee, pour-over and espresso are two major categories that cannot be avoided, and pour-over is most often paired with single-origin coffee beans. Pour-over presents a kind of unadorned beauty—not rough, not concealed, not perfunctory; it is another, more delicate annotation of coffee. Overall, pour-over's temperament is ultimately on the gentler side—of course, this "gentleness" is relative to espresso.

On a certain afternoon alone, a cup of coffee, a book, and a soft chair—such a simple combination forms a plain comfort. The beauty of pour-over single-origin coffee lies in being able to witness the entire extraction process with your own eyes, watching the coffee drip down drop by drop, presenting its most authentic appearance. By comparison, espresso must complete extraction under 9 atmospheres of pressure, which is the second reason it leans gentle. In fact, espresso also possesses that kind of heart-stirring tension, only you may not have the chance to drink it. The third reason pour-over is so fascinating may be that it more easily makes people who originally do not like coffee develop a good impression of it and enjoy coffee's original appearance. Undeniably, espresso's operation leans more toward "idiot-proof," with a lower threshold of acceptance, but perhaps it is precisely pour-over's maverick temperament that has attracted so many followers.

Now let's look at what differences actually exist between pour-over coffee and espresso.

1. Different coffee beans

Pour-over coffee Pour-over generally uses single-origin coffee beans as the brewing ingredient, and there are not many restrictions in bean selection. Based on current public preferences, light roast and medium roast are the majority, such as Front Street Coffee Huakui, Front Street Coffee Kenya Little Tomato, Front Street Coffee Sidra, Front Street Coffee Yirgacheffe, and so on. Of course, some people prefer to use dark-roasted beans for pour-over, with representative examples including Front Street Coffee Golden Mandheling, Front Street Coffee Queen's Estate, and Front Street Coffee Huila Coffee Beans.

Espresso Espresso usually uses blended coffee beans, that is, combined coffee beans. Recommended are Front Street Classic Espresso Blend, Front Street Specialty Blend, and Front Street Strawberry Candy espresso beans. These beans are mainly used to make espresso drinks such as cappuccino, Americano, and latte, and the roast level is mostly on the darker side so as to pair with milk and hot water. Making this kind of coffee requires a professional espresso grinder, which is also the foundation and key to making a cup of espresso with solid quality.

2. Different preparation methods Pour-over coffee Pour-over coffee mostly uses a dripper, that is, extraction under normal atmospheric pressure; if you switch to tools such as a moka pot or AeroPress, the pressure during extraction can also reach 3 bar (three atmospheres).

Espresso When using an espresso machine for extraction, the machine's pressure brings the extraction state to 9 bar (9 atmospheres), and the puck in the portafilter bears about 133 kilograms of pressure, causing the coffee to release a large amount of substances, including certain flavor components that are difficult to dissolve under normal pressure. Therefore, espresso has a thicker mouthfeel and is suitable for pairing with milk to make a latte, or adding water to make an Americano.

3. Different caffeine content Under the same conditions of dose and grind size, because caffeine is a water-soluble substance, the longer the brewing time, the more caffeine is released. Pour-over brewing time is usually 1~3 minutes, while espresso brewing time is usually 20~30 seconds, so under the same dose and grind size, pour-over coffee will have a higher caffeine content. From this it can also be inferred that long-extraction coffees such as cold brew and iced drip coffee will have a caffeine content much higher than other coffees.

You can see that the coffee liquid brewed by pour-over and Espresso differs greatly in concentration. After single-origin coffee is added to milk, the milk will cover the coffee's own aroma and flavor, so ordinary coffee shops do not recommend adding milk to pour-over coffee.

How to make espresso

Many coffee lovers unknowingly equip themselves with lots of coffee gear at home, and friends obsessed with espresso even stock up on espresso machines, ready to extract it themselves. Here, Front Street uses store-produced espresso as a reference to briefly explain how to make an Espresso.

The coffee machine at Front Street's store is a commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," which can adjust extraction by changing pressure, with a maximum pressure of 11 bar. A home coffee machine only needs to reach 9 bar of pressure to satisfy the functions of extraction and steaming milk foam, paired with an espresso grinder.

Front Street uses the capacity of a double portafilter, with a dose of about 18~20 grams, and Front Street uses 20 grams of coffee powder when producing. Usually the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid is 1:1.5~1:2.5. Front Street's extraction ratio is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee powder extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid. Time is related to the flow rate of the coffee powder; generally a single extraction time is controlled at 20~35 seconds, because within 20 seconds the coffee usually tastes thin, while exceeding 35 seconds makes it easy to over-extract and produce a burnt, bitter taste. Front Street's espresso is mostly in the range of 28~30 seconds.

Front Street first wipes the portafilter basket dry, turns on the grinder, grinds the amount for a double shot of coffee powder, and places it on an electronic scale to increase or decrease until it reaches 20 grams. Then use a tool to distribute the powder evenly, and tamp the coffee puck firmly to ensure more stable extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, moistening the brew head while also washing away the coffee grounds stuck on it. Gently lock the portafilter onto the brew head and start the extraction. When the electronic scale shows that 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, at about 30 seconds, the extraction switch can be turned off. Pour the coffee liquid into an Espresso cup and it is ready to enjoy.

The taste and mouthfeel of Espresso are related to the coffee beans used. The espresso produced at Front Street's store uses Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend. It is blended from Honduras Sherry coffee and Ethiopia natural Red Cherry in a 7:3 ratio. Made into Espresso, it has rich crema, with a very obvious whiskey aroma. On the palate there are vanilla biscuits and the acidity of berries, with a solid flavor, and after drinking it the whole mouth is filled with various aromas.

Espresso can also be diluted with water, which is the common Americano on menus, full of a light fragrance. Add milk and it becomes a latte, presenting the sweet deliciousness of chocolate and cream.

How to make pour-over coffee

To make pour-over coffee at home, we need to equip the following utensils: gooseneck kettle, dripper, server, grinder, filter paper, electronic scale, thermometer. Here Yirgacheffe is a medium-light roasted high-altitude coffee bean. Front Street hopes to extract more abundant aromatic substances, so it chooses a grind size with an 80% passing rate on a No. 20 standard sieve, corresponding to a setting of 10 on the store's EK43s grinder; in addition, light-roasted coffee needs a higher water temperature to bring out the aroma, so 91~93°C is used, along with a resin V60 01 dripper for extraction.

On online media, we can see various pour-over pouring techniques, such as one-pour, three-stage, 4:6 method, and so on. Various techniques can make the flavor expression of the coffee in the cup different. Based on past brewing experience, Front Street suggests that beginners who have just started use the three-stage pouring method. Three-stage extraction helps more fully dissolve flavor substances during extraction, increases the layering of the mouthfeel, and at the same time avoids over-extraction caused by soaking for too long.

If using 15 grams of coffee powder, at a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, with a total water amount of 225 ml, the three stages of water are divided into: 30 ml, 95 ml, 100 ml, and the weight shown on the electronic scale is: 30 g, 125 g, 225 g.

Fold the filter paper and fit it closely with the dripper, wet the filter paper with a small amount of water while making them fit better, and pour out the water in the server. Then pour in the coffee powder and tap lightly so the coffee bed is evenly distributed. In the first stage, gently pour in 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. In the second stage, pour in about 125 grams of water, evenly and steadily circling outward. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it has dropped by half, pour in the final stage of water up to 225 grams. After all the coffee has dripped through, the total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes.

The reason everyone likes pour-over coffee so much is that when we actively explore the flavor expression of coffee extraction, adjust the brewing method according to different coffee bean varieties and roast levels, carefully select brewing vessels to feel the different appearances coffee takes on under different extraction methods, and regulate factors such as grind size, temperature, flow rate, and pouring technique to adjust coffee extraction, every step can bring a different taste and aroma experience. This is the charm of pour-over coffee.

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