Those who have made espresso at home should know that espresso is almost the foundation of all fancy coffees. For example, the most familiar ones to us—latte, cappuccino, and flat white—are made with espresso plus fresh milk, while Americano is a combination of espresso and water (iced water). Because nothing else is added, the taste of an Americano is the taste of the espresso itself, and it better reflects the flavor of the beans.

Espresso originated in Italy, derived from the Italian word "Express," meaning "pressed out." Through the pressure of steam in the boiler of an espresso machine, water is forced through a very finely ground and manually tamped layer of coffee powder, extracting a highly concentrated coffee liquid.

Because this method can sustain the crema for a long time, with a rich and full-bodied taste and a balance between acidity and bitterness, it is called a work of art among coffees. In addition, espresso is often used as the base for other types of coffee, such as latte, cappuccino, macchiato, and mocha, all of which are made with espresso as the base.

Espresso's flavor and taste characteristics

Front Street Coffee believes that a good cup of espresso can be judged from the appearance and color of the golden crema on the surface. First, good crema has a mirror-like glossy sheen (there is another saying about tiger stripes, but if the amount of coffee powder is too little and over-extraction occurs, white spots will appear), and its thickness should be around 3mm. In terms of taste, it usually presents a strong and full-bodied, smooth mouthfeel with no graininess, and finally a perfect sweet aftertaste, with obvious sweetness in the throat and on the tongue.

A single shot of espresso is usually not much in volume, generally around 25–35ml, allowing everyone to finish it in two or three sips. In Italy's industrial era, the pressurized espresso machine and espresso were invented for speed—workers could quickly get a cup of coffee and drink it quickly, then boost their energy for work.

This habit has been preserved to this day. Italians usually go into a coffee shop before work in the morning and have an espresso, drinking it in one go on the spot, without even needing time to sit down. Of course, this is just the Italian habit of drinking espresso. In daily life, when we drink espresso, we can feel the charm of espresso (of course, it is still recommended to finish it in two or three sips, since the taste and flavor will deteriorate if left for too long).

Italian espressois divided into three parts

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Crema is one of the most iconic components of espresso. The golden to reddish-brown foam layer on the surface of what we call espresso is crema. It is mainly composed of oils and carbon dioxide extracted from the ground coffee powder. When hot water comes into contact with the coffee grounds under the high pressure of the coffee machine, the hot water emulsifies the soluble oils in the coffee, which are then supersaturated with carbon dioxide, creating many tiny bubbles that form a foam layer.

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Body has the richest, most delicious flavor and aroma in espresso. You will taste the soft part of the coffee. The softness of a cup of espresso is the sum of the tactile characteristics we perceive: roundness, smoothness, viscosity, and fluidity.

Heart is the layer below the body of the espresso, and its color is close to black. The heart of espresso is bitterness, which balances the sweetness and aroma of the two layers above.

With the promotion of specialty coffee culture, the quality of coffee beans used to make espresso has improved. Most specialty coffee beans now pursue more in terms of espresso flavor expression, so we do not need to face it with the mindset that espresso must be very bitter.

As long as the barista can understand the coffee beans from a professional perspective, use freshly roasted coffee beans, and adjust and calibrate the espresso extraction parameters every day, espresso can also present different flavor and mouthfeel expressions across the front, middle, and back palate.

For example, Front Street Coffee's daily espresso uses a house blend called "Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Beans," which is sold both online and in physical stores. After extraction, this coffee bean has a rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, the sweet and sour of berries, and roasted nut flavors.

For friends who like mellow coffee, Front Street's Classic Espresso Blend is recommended. This is a recipe combining beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a deep roast, which maximizes the mellow aroma of the coffee and also allows everyone to easily extract rich and dense crema. It is very suitable whether for making an Americano diluted with water or a latte paired with milk.

How do you drink espresso?

Before tasting, we first take a sip of iced water to clean the mouth and cause the muscles of the tongue surface to contract slightly. After the barista serves the espresso, you can stir the coffee with a spoon to make it more uniform overall. Then taste it in three sips. The first sip is to taste the flavor, the second sip to feel the body, and the third sip to sense the sweet aftertaste and lingering finish.

Tasting the espresso extracted from "Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Beans," the first sip reveals berry-like sweet and sour notes and fermented wine aroma, the second sip reveals vanilla cream-like aroma and a smooth mouthfeel, and the third sip reveals caramel-like sweet aftertaste and a hazelnut-like finish.

How is espresso extracted?

According to the Specialty Coffee Association SCA standards, a single espresso uses 7–9 grams, and a double espresso uses 14–18 grams of coffee powder to extract 25–35g of coffee liquid in 20–30 seconds. The extraction pressure is 9–10 bar, and the water temperature is 90–96°C.

However, different coffee machines, grinders, and different roast levels or coffee beans from different origins will produce deviations in the extracted taste, so at this time we need to fine-tune the parameters and correct the taste of the espresso. Generally speaking, adjust the water-to-coffee ratio first, then adjust the grind size. Therefore, each coffee shop will make upward or downward adjustments according to the coffee beans and equipment used.

For Front Street Coffee's store output, making a single espresso (1 shot) uses 10–11g of coffee powder to extract 20–25g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 22 seconds; making a double espresso uses 19–20g of coffee powder to produce 35–40g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 29 seconds.

However, because espresso has a strong and stimulating taste, we generally recommend adding milk to make a latte, or adding drinking water to turn it into the familiar Americano. If it is a latte, Front Street recommends using a 1:6 ratio, that is, 40g of coffee liquid added to 240g of fresh milk to make a hot latte; for an Americano, use a 1:4 ratio, pouring 40g of coffee liquid into 160g of warm hot water.

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