Whether it's espresso beans or espresso blend beans, as the name suggests, they are raw materials used for extraction with espresso machines, which is the origin of espresso. So what are the characteristics of this coffee? Besides making espresso, can it also be made into pour-over coffee?In this article, Front Street Coffee will discuss with coffee enthusiasts.

What is espresso blend coffee?

As mentioned above by Front Street Coffee, blend coffee beans are mainly used to make espresso, and blend coffee beans are made by mixing coffee beans from different origins and varieties, usually two or three types of coffee beans. The purpose of blending is obvious: to gather the flavors of different coffee beans together, presenting a new flavor to achieve a more balanced effect, while also serving as the signature of the shop.

For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another aromatic bean can be added to enhance strengths and avoid weaknesses, complementing each other to improve defects. Another purpose of espresso blend coffee beans is to reduce costs. Traditionally, espresso blend beans are mixed with Robusta variety coffee beans because Robusta coffee beans have a rich and mellow flavor. Although their cup score may not be as high as single-origin coffee, when paired with single-origin coffee, they can provide espresso with richer and thicker crema, and as a base for milk coffee, they can offer a viscous and smooth mouthfeel.　

Moreover, according to Front Street Coffee, the initial appearance of Italian blend coffee was due to the popularity of strong, bittersweet espresso at the time, while single-origin coffee has flavor biases, meaning advantages and disadvantages coexist. Additionally, high-quality single-origin coffee beans are expensive, while blend coffee is more cost-effective, lower in price than single-origin coffee, but still offers unique flavors. Therefore, many Italians at the time chose blend coffee over single-origin coffee, and blend coffee thus developed and has remained popular to this day.

What is pour-over single-origin coffee?

Single-origin coffee beans refer to single coffee beans from a single origin, brewed and consumed without adding milk or sugar, as pure coffee. Single-origin coffee has strong characteristics, with a special mouthfeel, either fresh and soft, or fragrant and smooth, and higher costs, thus relatively more expensive.

For example, some well-known single-origin coffees at Front Street Coffee include Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, Front Street Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee, Front Street Indonesian Mandheling Coffee, etc., all named after the coffee bean origins. These coffee beans also represent the flavors of their regions; secondly, single-origin coffee can be traced back to the estate and story of the origin, such as the estate's growing conditions, processing levels, etc., which can ensure the flavor quality of the coffee beans. Therefore, Front Street Coffee also includes some related brief information on each package of coffee beans.

The difference between blend coffee and single-origin coffee

From the above description by Front Street Coffee, it can be seen that blend coffee refers to mixing several single-origin coffees from different regions to form a blend, while single-origin coffee refers to coffee beans from a single origin. The reason for distinguishing them is that espresso machines have a characteristic of amplifying the bitter flavor of coffee beans. Therefore, Front Street Coffee does not use single-variety coffee beans to make espresso, otherwise the resulting coffee flavor would be very unbalanced and affect the mouthfeel. This is why espresso is made with blend coffee beans.

However, single-origin coffee beans can actually be made with espresso machines. This mode of coffee beans is called "SOE coffee," but its parameters need constant adjustment, and the flavor is very unstable. The original intention of Front Street Coffee's shop was to let coffee enthusiasts enjoy stable flavors from coffee origins, so for now, they do not dare to take the risk of launching SOE coffee.

Can espresso blend coffee beans be used for pour-over coffee?

Since single-origin coffee beans can be made with espresso machines, similarly, espresso blend coffee beans can also be brewed in the form of pour-over coffee. However, the flavor brewed will always differ slightly from that brewed by espresso machines. Similarly, the grinding and pour-over parameters also need adjustment, and the flavor might be quite "special," mainly depending on personal preference. If interested coffee enthusiasts want to try, Front Street Coffee can also give it a go. Below, Front Street Coffee will provide pour-over data references for coffee enthusiasts.

Front Street pour-over coffee parameters: V60 dripper, 15g coffee powder, water temperature 90℃, powder-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size (80% pass rate on No. 20 standard sieve, coarser than the grind size for espresso)

Front Street Coffee brewing method: staged extraction, use 30g water for blooming for 30 seconds, pour water in a small stream in circles until 125g, then pause; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring water until 225g and stop; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper, (timing starts from blooming) extraction time is 2'00".

Front Street espresso blend coffee bean recommendations

Furthermore, Front Street Coffee believes that blending coffee beans is an art, because roasters must understand the different flavor characteristics of coffee from major origins to mix an enticing aroma and extract delicious coffee. This not only requires extensive coffee experience and inspiration but also precise ratio calculations. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the process of blending coffee beans is an art. Next, Front Street will share a few blend coffee beans launched by Front Street Coffee, and you can choose according to your needs:

"Front Street Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans" 79 yuan/227g: Ethiopian sun-dried Red Cherry coffee beans + Honduras coffee beans, with rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweetness and acidity, and roasted nut flavor.

"Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans" 75 yuan/454g: Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, with nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.

"Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans" 60 yuan/454g: Robusta washed coffee beans + Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee, with nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors.

"Front Street Basic Blend Coffee Beans" 50 yuan/454g: Yunnan washed small-grain coffee beans + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans, with soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

"Front Street Classic Blend Coffee Beans" 33 yuan/100g: Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans + Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans + Vietnamese coffee beans, with rich crema and mellow mouthfeel;

"Front Street Strawberry Candy Espresso" 43 yuan/100g: Costa Rican coffee beans + Panamanian coffee beans + Ethiopian coffee beans, with aromas of roses, strawberry candy, and glucose, prominent fruity sweetness and acidity, and a pleasant taste.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee)

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