Which roast level suits espresso coffee beans?

Espresso is far more sensitive to roast level than pour-over, because high pressure amplifies the bean's own flavors. Lightly roasted beans tend to taste sour and thin, with little crema that disappears once milk is added, so most cafés pull espresso from medium-dark roasted blend beans instead of a single lightly roasted origin.

Blending is not a sign of poor quality. Older blends earned a bad name when bean quality was unstable or inferior beans were roasted dark to hide defects; today most beans on the market meet the SCA specialty coffee standard. A common reference recipe is a 20-gram dose yielding 40 grams of liquid in 25 to 30 seconds, with crema color used to judge the extraction.

To make a delicious espresso at home with a steam espresso machine, choosing the beans is the first step. Espresso is especially sensitive to roast level; lightly roasted beans tend to taste sour and thin under high pressure, so most cafés use medium-dark roasted blend beans. Why are blend beans more suitable for espresso? How do single-origin beans and blend beans each perform in espresso? Front Street Coffee, catering to popular tastes, has launched four medium-dark roasted espresso blend beans: Warm Sun, Specialty, Commercial, and Black Cocoa, covering different styles such as vinous, nutty, full-bodied, and slightly acidic. This article will also share reference parameters of 20g dose extracting 40g liquid in 25-30 seconds, as well as tips for judging extraction status by the color of the crema, helping you find an espresso recipe suitable for your own machine.

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In principle, any coffee beans can be put into an espresso steam machine, but espresso is far more sensitive to roast level than pour-over. Pour-over can flexibly showcase the flavor characteristics of a single-origin bean from a certain region by adjusting water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, etc., while a steam espresso machine uses high pressure to force out the essence of the coffee, and the bean's own flavors are amplified exponentially. Different beans have varying acidity and bitterness; if you use a single variety of coffee bean to make espresso, it is easy to end up with a result that is either sharply sour or harshly bitter.

For this reason, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) does not recommend using lightly roasted beans for espresso. Lightly roasted beans extract more acidity and less crema; once milk is added to make a latte or cappuccino, the main note of the whole cup is almost only sourness, and the mouthfeel seems thin.

At present, most coffee shops use dark roasted blend beans when making espresso. Blending does not equal poor quality; in earlier years people had a poor impression of blend beans, mostly because coffee bean quality was unstable at the time, or some merchants mixed inferior beans and roasted them dark to mask defects.

Today, coffee beans on the market generally meet the SCA specialty coffee standard. As long as the beans are of solid quality, the production process has professional knowledge, and customer service is in place, then whether you use a blend or single-origin beans to make espresso, it can be classified as specialty coffee.

Blended coffee came into being because single-origin coffee (that is, single-origin coffee) is affected by terroir and climate every year, making long-term stable quality difficult. Professional roasters and baristas study the characteristics of beans from each region in depth, mix them in different proportions before roasting, or roast them separately and then blend, so that the extracted espresso achieves a certain coordinated balance of taste while ensuring that the flavor performance of every cup of espresso is sufficiently stable.

In response to the taste preferences of general consumers, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also launched four blend beans specifically for making medium-dark roasted espresso, so everyone can choose different flavors according to their own preferences. For all coffee beans ordered online, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will ship within five days after roasting is completed, so everyone can experience the best aroma of freshly roasted coffee as much as possible.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans", a coffee bean with a vinous aroma as the main note. The recipe is Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduran Sherry Barrel coffee beans (70%), presenting rich vinous aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweetness and acidity, and roasted nut flavors.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Specialty Blend Coffee Beans": an espresso coffee bean with nutty aroma as the main note. The recipe is Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with flavor notes of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Commercial Blend Coffee Beans", an espresso coffee bean focused on body. The recipe is Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee (60%), with flavor notes of nuts, cocoa, and caramel, and high body.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Espresso Coffee Beans Recommended by Many Baristas - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans", an espresso coffee bean that is slightly acidic and full-bodied. The recipe is Yunnan washed small-bean coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), presenting soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

The performance of every coffee machine and grinder is different, and the pressure level and grinding setting will vary, so there is no universally applicable grind size parameter.

If you are just starting out, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) suggests first using a set of middle-of-the-road extraction parameters, then making fine adjustments based on the actual taste: 20g dose, extracted at a 1:2 ratio and 9bar pressure to get 40g of coffee liquid, in 25-30 seconds. After extraction is complete, decide which direction to adjust based on the flavor performance.

How do you judge whether the extracted espresso is successful? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) shares a little trick: you can tell a lot by observing the appearance and color of the espresso crema.

Crema refers to the layer of fine light reddish-brown foam on the surface of espresso. During roasting, coffee beans generate a large amount of carbon dioxide on their surface, most of which escapes during cooling, while a small amount is locked inside the bean body, and these gases are released during grinding. Therefore, if you want to drink espresso with full aroma and rich flavor, it is recommended to grind and extract fresh.

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