"Why do you have to adjust the extraction parameters of espresso every day? They are all the same batch of coffee beans, the same machine, and the same extraction plan. Are there other changes?" There really are! You may not notice it for a day or two, but by the time you find out, you don’t know how many customers have had bad coffee~
Don’t think that coffee machines & grinders have not changed!
In everyone's opinion, these machines are very fixed. As long as you pay attention to daily cleaning and maintenance, problems will rarely occur ~ This is of course the case when the machines are still very new! However, the brewing pipe, brewing head, steam boiler, pressure valve, pressure relief valve, etc. of the coffee machine are all in operation every day, and there will be varying degrees of wear and tear every day (so small that it is not noticeable), and then suddenly one day it cannot hold on and collapses! There are often signs before these parts collapse. For example, the water output during brewing is abnormal, the water temperature is not enough, and the extraction pressure is not enough. These will be obviously reflected in the taste of the extracted espresso, such as uneven extraction, insufficient extraction, etc.
Or it's an espresso coffee grinder. The grinder's cutterhead is grinding day after day, which is also a situation where it will continue to wear out. Then the coffee particles may become thicker and thicker at the same scale, or more fine powder will appear. These conditions can also be reflected in the taste of the extracted espresso, such as sour and boring, obvious burnt and bitter taste, etc.
Even if it is the same batch of coffee beans, as the storage days increase,
The condition of coffee beans also changes every day! !
All coffee beans sold on Front Street will be shipped within 5 days after roasting. During the roasting process, the coffee beans will produce a large amount of carbon dioxide, which will continue to be released in the days after the roasting is completed. What we call the appreciation period is actually the effective exhaust period of the coffee beans. This carbon dioxide can achieve the effect of preserving freshness/flavor, but as the storage days increase, the release of carbon dioxide will also take away some of the coffee flavor. When the carbon dioxide is completely released, the coffee beans will lose their freshness and flavor. In other words, the flavor of coffee beans changes from moment to moment, especially after a night, the change in flavor state is more obvious.
If we want to get richer fats, we should first choose the Front Street Italian blend series, including Front Street Premium Blend, Front Street Classic Blend, Front Street Commercial Blend, and Front Street Black Cocoa Basic Blend. Front Street's Italian blended coffee beans are all medium-dark roasted, so the carbon dioxide in the coffee beans will be more than that of medium-light/medium-roasted coffee beans, and these carbon dioxide will affect the performance of the entire espresso during extraction.
The fresher Italian coffee beans have more carbon dioxide, which will slow down the flow of water during extraction and prolong the extraction time. In the end, the espresso will show very rich oils that affect the overall taste. In serious cases, over-extraction will occur; when the carbon dioxide emissions of the coffee beans are almost the same and the flavor will be lost by more than half (it will start to become stale), the flow of water will naturally speed up, shortening the extraction time. In the end, the espresso will show thin coffee oils and the taste will become thin and boring.
How to adjust espresso extraction parameters every day?
The first espresso shot of each day uses the extraction parameters from the previous day. Since each blended coffee bean has different extraction parameters, this time Front Street will take the extraction parameters of Front Street’s classic blended coffee beans used daily as an example.
The classic blending of Front Street is suitable for novices, those learning latte art, and specialty coffee shops pursuing high-end positioning. For those who want to learn latte art at home, buy the Front Street Classic Blend, which is a medium-dark roasted Italian recipe composed of three production areas. Its design is inspired by the popular "Mamba" in ancient times, namely Mandheling and Brazil. In order to add aroma and oiliness, the Front Street Classic Blend also contains a small amount of Robusta to enhance the flavor intensity and allow novices to easily make Italian espresso with golden yellow oil at home.
(When adjusting parameters every day, do not change the grinding scale/extraction parameters of the coffee machine at will, unless it is no longer possible to adjust the coffee taste by increasing or reducing the amount of extracted coffee powder and extraction ratio.)
The espresso extraction parameters of Front Street yesterday were 20g of coffee powder and 40g of coffee liquid, and the extraction time was 28-29 seconds. Today, I replenished the coffee beans in the coffee bean warehouse and extracted them using the same parameters. The espresso that came out tasted more like dark cocoa, had thick oil, and lacked the nutty aroma and sweetness. Then use the same extraction plan to extract, confirm whether it is consistent, and eliminate human operation problems (such as uneven powder distribution, unbalanced pressing powder, etc.).
Make sure non-human operations occur and then make adjustments. The stronger appearance may be because the coffee bean bin is replenished with beans. During the grinding process, more gravity presses the cutter disc, and the coffee beans will be cut more evenly, and the particles will be more uniform and fine. In response to this situation, Front Street decided to reduce the powder by 0.3g today and extract 40g of coffee liquid with 19.7g of powder, with an extraction time of 26-27 seconds. After adjusting the parameters, this time the oil is very rich, and you can feel the overall smoothness of butter, and the aftertaste of nutty chocolate.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
