Espresso is a method of coffee extraction, made using an espresso machine, where hot water under high pressure is rapidly forced through coffee grounds to produce a concentrated shot. Espresso is also called Italian concentrated coffee, or simply Espresso.

Many people's first impression is that espresso is strong and bitter, but actually, Front Street Coffee tells you that a good espresso can reveal fruity, floral, spicy aromas, or chocolate and caramel notes. This all depends on the coffee beans used to make the espresso.

For pour-over coffee, any coffee beans can be used; but what about espresso? Can all coffee beans be used to make espresso? Front Street believes that coffee beans of any roast level can be used to make espresso—it all comes down to personal taste and preference.

A perfect Espresso requires sweetness in its flavor, an overall balanced mouthfeel, and a perfect equilibrium of bitterness, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste. This is a task that a single-origin coffee bean cannot accomplish alone. Therefore, to achieve a perfect Espresso, you must first have a perfect coffee bean blend. The blending here refers not only to combining coffee beans from different origins, but also to coordinating different roast levels of the same coffee bean. Whether blending beans from different origins or different roast levels of beans from the same origin, the principle of blending is only one: achieving a balanced flavor in the final Espresso.

Front Street Coffee has a total of six espresso blend beans. For single-origin beans, there are over fifty varieties from different regions. Whether for pour-over or espresso, you can try different flavor experiences, and each one has its own unique style. Here are four selected espresso blend beans we recommend:

1. Front Street Classic Espresso Blend Coffee Beans 49 yuan/227g

For those who enjoy rich and mellow coffee, we recommend buying Front Street Classic Espresso Blend Coffee. This is a recipe combining beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a dark roast, which maximizes the rich aroma of the coffee and allows you to easily extract abundant, creamy crema. It's perfect for making Americano with added water or latte with milk. You can purchase it at the Front Street Taobao store or Front Street Tmall flagship store.

2. Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend Coffee Beans 85 yuan/227g

If you want to make a fruity and floral espresso, you should focus on medium-roast coffee beans. We recommend Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso Coffee Beans, available for direct order at the Taobao or Tmall stores. This is a blend based on two major origins: Front Street Costa Rica Tarrazu, known for its honey processing, and Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. On this basis, Colombian coffee beans are added, so the resulting espresso is not harsh. Under the extraction of the espresso machine, it has good crema and a creamy texture, while also offering a sweet and tangy flavor like strawberry gummy candy.

3. Front Street Specialty Espresso Blend Coffee Beans 75 yuan/454g

As one of the world's leading coffee-producing countries, Brazilian coffee and Colombian coffee have long been renowned. Front Street combines coffee beans from these two regions. The nutty aroma and balanced taste of Brazilian coffee, plus the chocolate notes of Colombian coffee, perfectly achieve a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect. The extracted espresso has flavors of cream cookie, cocoa, and roasted nuts.

4. Front Street Commercial Espresso Blend Coffee Beans 60 yuan/454g

If you want to replicate the same Americano or latte from a coffee shop, you can buy Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans. It is a blend of three major origins: Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam. After medium-dark roasting, it has rich crema and roasted aromas. The Americano made from it has a smooth, sweet taste and is very easy to drink, while the latte is rich and silky, leaving a lingering fragrance after drinking. It is also affordable and can become your daily go-to beans for home brewing.

Besides the espresso blends mentioned above from Front Street,SOE single-origin espresso is also very popular in coffee shops now.SOEactually stands for Single Origin Espresso, which translates to: single-origin espresso. That is, espresso made from coffee beans of a single origin, emphasizing the characteristics of a single origin. This term contrasts with traditional espresso blends, highlighting the unique features of single-origin espresso and making it easier to identify the regional flavors of that origin, and more easily strengthening the connection between the origin and consumers. In other words, it is espresso made from coffee beans of a single origin or region, and here the roast level of the coffee beans doesn't need to be as dark. SOE single-origin espresso pursues the unique flavor of a single region.

SOE coffee beans have higher requirements; while highlighting the coffee flavor, you must also control the roast level so it's neither too dark nor too light.We recommend Front Street HuakuiSOE coffee beans, which come from Hambela in the Guji region of Ethiopia.They use traditional sun-dried processing. To highlight their strawberry, citrus, and black tea flavors, Front Street uses a medium roast. When made intoSOEan Americano, it has a refreshing berry, light floral, and orange aroma; as a latte, it has flavors of cranberry cookie, cocoa, and milk candy.

Front Street Brewing Suggestions

Whether it's pour-over coffee or espresso, to brew well, you must use good coffee beans and also rest them properly. Front Street has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans is a crucial part of brewing. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) ships coffee beans within 5 days of roasting, because Front Street deeply understands the significant impact of coffee bean freshness on flavor. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "Freshly roasted good coffee," so every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The resting period for coffee is about 4-7 days, so when the customer receives it, it is at its optimal flavor.

Of course, some customers need Front Street to grind the coffee for them, and that's fine too, but Front Street must remind you: if the coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need to rest them, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging also smooths out the coffee flavor, so you can brew a cup right after receiving the ground coffee. However, the ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because ground coffee oxidizes relatively quickly upon contact with air, meaning the coffee flavor dissipates faster and the taste won't be as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh for each brew, so you can better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

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