As we all know! The state of coffee beans and weather are constantly changing every day, which will directly affect the extraction of espresso, making the taste of coffee every day different due to these changes. If we want the coffee to maintain the same delicious taste, we have to correct the taste of the coffee by adjusting the parameters. And this is a compulsory lesson for baristas who work the morning shift every day - adjusting the flavor of concentrate.However, making espresso is not a pleasant task for most baristas, especially those who have just started in the industry, because if you are not careful, you may waste most of the bag of coffee beans. There are even times when the taste of the coffee is not adjusted well and I end up poisoned by the coffee.(want to vomit), complaining again and again.So, is there any method or technique that can help us quickly adjust the espresso without wasting half a bag of coffee beans or time on adjusting the espresso?Of course! Most of the time, we actually have the skills to quickly find the parameters corresponding to espresso and create a satisfactory taste in just a few clicks. The method is also very simple. We only need to "drink" to identify the problem of espresso, and then prescribe the right medicine. We can adjust the espresso in a short time and achieve the so-called three-hand grinding, or even less~What's the problem with espresso?As mentioned before, the reason why we need to adjust the concentration is because its taste will change due to its own condition and weather, and it will not taste as good as the previous day, so we have to adjust it. Then the problem we need to discover is what makes it taste bad compared to the day before. Once we know why it tastes bad, we can know how to adjust it!As long as the proportion remains unchanged, there are only two reasons why the coffee tastes bad:Underextractionand over-extraction. Their corresponding manifestations in coffee are: sour, thin/bitter taste, and heavy complexity.Under-extraction means that we do not extract enough substances from the coffee powder, and there are not enough sweet and bitter substances to balance the sourness, so the taste of coffee is mainly sour and sharp. Then because there is not enough substance, the concentration of the coffee is reduced and the taste becomes a little thin;Over-extractionIt refers to the fact that too many substances are dissolved from the coffee powder, such as a large amount of bitter and impurity substances, which results in the coffee being overly bitter and having a heavy mixed feeling.Then when we taste any negative things from the espresso, we can easily correct the taste of the coffee by just taking the right medicine! For example, if the problem with coffee is insufficient extraction, then we can improve the extraction rate of coffee by increasing the efficiency of extraction; and if it is over-extraction, we can prevent excessive dissolution of bitter and impurity substances by reducing the efficiency of extraction~Of course, that's what I say, but it's still difficult to adjust in practice. Like many friends, when debugging, there is often either no change, or an extreme and large change, from under-extraction directly to over-extraction. So next Front Street will share how we can quickly prepare a cup of espresso.How to prepare a cup of espresso?Before debugging espresso, we need to first set a rough extraction formula, and then adjust the coffee parameters based on this formula. The purpose is very simple, which is to establish a reasonable benchmark range in advance, so as to effectively avoid the waste of resources caused by blind adjustments.Take Front Street as an example. When adjusting espresso, Front Street uses a “powder-to-liquid ratio of 1:2” and a “30-secondExtraction time". That is, if 20g of powder is used, the liquid weight needs to be around 40ml, and the extraction time needs to be around 30 seconds.(These parameters are not fixed and may fluctuate slightly)This time of about 30 seconds can ensure the extraction rate of the concentrate to a certain extent, so that the espresso produced will not be too far away from being delicious. At the same time, this ratio allows the espresso to have a certain concentration, which can be used as a base to make various fancy coffees that are fragrant and delicious. Front Street adjusts the espresso by first adjusting the parameters to the range set by the formula, and then making subtle adjustments according to the taste of the coffee. This is the secret to the three-hand grinding method!Powder volume, grinding, and liquid weight are the three variables we need to control during extraction and concentration. But because both the front and back will be limited, for example, the powder bowl you use will limit the amount of powder you use, and the concentration will limit your ratio, so the main object of our adjustment is grinding. Of course, Front Street is not saying that the powder volume and liquid weight cannot be adjusted, but they can be adjusted in a relatively small range, which is more suitable for changes when fine adjustments are needed.AndcoffeeGrinding degreeThe thickness is related to the extraction rate and time. When other parameters remain unchanged, the finer the coffee powder is ground, the longer the extraction time will be and the higher the extraction rate will be; the coarser the coffee powder is ground, the shorter the extraction time will be and the lower the extraction rate will be.Combining the above two points, Front Street believes that everyone should know how to quickly prepare a cup of espresso! Here we take Front Street as an example. The coffee beans used in Front Street Italian Style are the ones listed in the bean list.Front Street classic blend, the perfect concentration extracted with it should have just the right high concentration, balanced taste, and prominent butter cookie, chocolate, and caramel flavors.When adjusting it, Front Street will first extract a cup of concentrate according to the golden ratio of 1:2 and initially measure whether the grinding degree is appropriate. Because the grinding degree is related to the extraction time, the measurement criterion is not only the taste, but also the time.It’s easy to understand, just to see if the extraction time can reach the range of 30 seconds we set (±3 seconds) when the powder volume and liquid weight are fixed. If it can, it means that there is probably no problem with the grinding degree. Then you only need to make slight adjustments to the powder amount or liquid weight according to whether the taste is suitable! But if it is far beyond this range, then we need to judge whether to adjust the grind based on the taste.The amount of powder used here at Front Street is 20g, the extracted liquid weight is 40ml, and the extraction time is 23 seconds, which greatly deviates from the set goal. The taste performance is also like the under-extracted coffee described on the front street, with a sour taste and a thin mouthfeel. Therefore, after tasting this cup of espresso, Front Street adjusted the grinding scale of the grinder two steps.(You need to taste it first, just in case the coffee extracted with this parameter is delicious~)Because the extraction of espresso coffee is quite extreme, the extraction time will increase by 3 to 4 seconds each time the grinding is finer and other parameters remain unchanged. After adjusting the grinding, Front Street used the same amount of powder to extract the same liquid weight. At this time, the extraction time came to 31 seconds, which was within the set formula time range. The taste of the coffee is not much different from what Front Street believes is the ideal concentration performance. The taste is balanced and the flavor is outstanding, but there is a little bitterness at the end.In this case, the coffee is slightly over-extracted. We don’t need to go all out to adjust the grinding. We only need to appropriately reduce the liquid weight by 1~2ml, or reduce the powder by 0.2~0.3g, which can reduce the coffee extraction rate and get a relatively perfect cup of espresso!The above is the idea of the three-hand grinding method. You can refer to it, and then in the actual extraction, you can more easily and quickly select a cup of delicious espresso~Finally: The coffee bean flash sale event in Qian Street is about to begin. Please pay attention to the time~
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
