In the past two days, a customer and friend were discussing the topic with Front Street when buying beans. With the same beans, the Americano coffee he made with an espresso machine always tasted richer and more prominent than the Pour over(V60) coffee, so he asked whether it would be better to use an espresso machine to brew the coffee. After all, the aroma would be stronger.
Indeed, the coffee produced by an espresso machine will have a stronger aroma and taste than Pour over(V60) coffee. But the difference in aroma is not as big as everyone thinks, or it should be said that the difference caused by the extraction method is not that big, because the difference in extraction method is only in filtration.
Since the filtration precision of the espresso coffee machine's powder bowl is not as high as that of Pour over(V60) coffee filter paper, some very fine particles and coffee oils can be added to the coffee through the powder bowl. As is often shared on the front street, the addition of these substances will enhance the aroma of the coffee. Yes, but not much.
The reason why this friend saw a very big difference in his drink was not actually due to the different extraction methods, but was mainly caused by these two problems. The first one is the amount of coffee powder!
When we brew Pour over(V60) coffee, if it is a single serving, the amount of powder used is usually around 15g, while for espresso coffee it is usually 18g or more. Because the powder bowl of Italian coffee has a limit on the amount of powder used, the powder bowls we use nowadays are generally double powder bowls that require a minimum powder amount of 18g, so the minimum powder amount for Italian coffee is 18g.
Take Front Street as an example. The amount of powder used by Front Street when making Pour over(V60) coffee is 15g, while that of espresso coffee is 20g. When the extraction rate is the same, a 5g difference in powder volume will change the total amount of coffee substances extracted, thereby affecting the taste and concentration of the coffee.
To put it simply, 20g of powder will extract much more than 15g of powder, so naturally, the taste of espresso will be richer than Pour over(V60) coffee.
But if the amount of powder used is the same, 20g, and the extraction rate is the same, will the taste of the two be the same? Most likely not, because the second reason for the difference is concentration.
Since the Americano in Italian coffee is the main object of comparison with Pour over(V60) coffee, Front Street here uses Americano coffee to compare with Pour over(V60) coffee. The coffee machine is a pressurized extraction, while hand brewing is a normal pressure drip extraction. If you want to take advantage of both methods, it is best to buy medium roasted coffee beans. It is recommended to choose single-origin coffee beans with outstanding flavors such as Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Oiran, Front Street Grana Geisha, Front Street Blackberry, and Front Street Queen's Manor. This is using Front Street Sundried Coffee to make a cup of Pour over(V60) coffee and Americano coffee respectively. The amount of beans is 20g, and then measure their concentration and taste respectively.
In terms of concentration, the value of Americano coffee is 1.95%, while that of Pour over(V60) coffee is 1.54%. It can be seen that the gap between the two is very large. The same goes for the taste. Although both cups of coffee have the flavor characteristics of berries, citrus, flowers, and oolong tea, because the concentration of Americano coffee is higher, it tastes stronger than Pour over(V60) coffee. So the question arises, why is the concentration of Americano coffee higher than Pour over(V60) coffee even though the powder volume and extraction rate are the same?
Very simple! Because the amount of water used in production is different. When Front Street brews Pour over(V60) coffee, the ratio of powder to water used is 1:15, that is, 300ml of hot water will be used to brew 20g of powder, and the final coffee liquid will be about 270ml;
When making Americano coffee, Front Street will first extract 40ml of coffee liquid according to the ratio of powder to liquid of 1:2, and then add 160ml of hot water according to the ratio of 1:4 (the ratio of espresso liquid and water) to make Americano coffee. The total liquid volume adds up to about 200ml.
It can be seen that if you compare the final coffee liquid volume alone, the liquid volume of Pour over(V60) coffee is already 70ml more than that of Americano coffee. The entire 70ml liquid volume is the main reason for the concentration and taste of the two. Because Americano has less liquid and is more concentrated, it has a richer flavor.
If we increase the liquid volume of Americano coffee to 270ml, with the same extraction rate, its taste will actually be the same as Pour over(V60) coffee, because the concentration is also relatively close. Although there will be a difference, as mentioned before, the difference only lies in the filtration. It will be a little more fragrant than hand brewing because it contains more oil and fine powder, just a little bit more. If we replace the Pour over(V60) coffee filter paper with flannel or non-woven fabric that does not have such a high filtering accuracy, the aroma will become similar.
So everyone can know why espresso coffee usually tastes richer than Pour over(V60) coffee. It is mainly due to the difference in powder volume and concentration~
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
