For more knowledge about specialty coffee, please pay attention to: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee）
Thick surface, golden oil (crema), strong and mellow sweetness. As the carbon dioxide in the oil is released, attractive volatile aroma compounds follow. Espresso has an irresistible charm. Standing in front of the bar and ordering a cup of espresso is a reflection of professionalism and quality, and it also brings you into the aromatic world of coffee. So, how should we drink espresso?
espressoThe composition of
The composition of a cup of espresso coffee is divided into three parts: oil, body and core.
The crema of espresso is freshly roasted coffee ground to extremely fine sizes and extracted at a pressure of up to 9bar. When hot water passes through the coffee powder cake, the carbon dioxide in the coffee powder is under too much pressure, and the water becomes supersaturated with carbon dioxide. There is no way for the carbon dioxide to be released and directly integrated into the coffee liquid. The high pressure also forces the oil contained in the coffee to break away from the coffee powder, and is brought out by the hot water.
To put it simply, crema is the coffee's own crema, which is fused with carbon dioxide in a closed and pressurized environment and then squeezed out by water to form a grease foam with a delicate and smooth taste.
The body of espresso has the richest and most delicious taste and aroma of espresso. You will taste the soft part of the coffee. The softness of a cup of espresso is the sum of the tactile characteristics of roundness, smoothness, viscosity, and fluidity that we perceive.
The heart of the espresso beans is the layer underneath the main body of the espresso coffee, and its color is close to black. The core of espresso is the bitterness, which balances the sweetness and aroma of the two layers above.
How to make great espresso?
FrontStreet Coffee believes that a good cup of espresso has a strong flavor but will not taste burnt or bitter. The oil is delicate and smooth, the overall taste is mellow and clean, and there is a clear aftertaste at the end.
As mentioned above, the oil of espresso requires the composition of carbon dioxide. Only freshly roasted medium-dark roasted coffee beans will have abundant carbon dioxide. As coffee beans are roasted for longer, the structure of the coffee beans continues to change, so more carbon dioxide will be stored in the coffee beans.
But it doesn’t mean that the more carbon dioxide, the better the espresso will taste. Too much carbon dioxide will cause the oil in the espresso to taste rough, and will also affect the release of soluble substances during the extraction process. All coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within 5 days of roasting and are 100% freshly roasted.
But if you buy medium-dark roasted espresso beans, you need to further cultivate the beans. FrontStreet Coffee recommends that after purchasing espresso beans, they need to be left unopened in the original packaging until the 7th day after the roasting completion date before use. During this time, the coffee beans will emit carbon dioxide on their own and be released through the one-way exhaust valve on the package. Emitting the right amount of carbon dioxide contributes to a more stable extraction.
How to extract espresso?
According to the SCA standards of the Specialty Coffee Association, 7-9 grams (double: 14-18 grams) of coffee powder is used to extract 25-35g of coffee liquid in 20-30 seconds, the extraction pressure is 9-10bar, and the water temperature is 90-96°C. Each coffee shop will adjust up or down according to the coffee beans and equipment used.
The products produced by FrontStreet Coffee stores use "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans". 19.8g of ultra-fine ground coffee powder is pressurized to extract 38g of coffee liquid. The extraction time is about 28-32 seconds. The espresso is as smooth as vanilla cream, slightly sour and sweet with berries, fermented wine and sweet with hazelnut caramel.
For those who like mellow coffee, we recommend Front Street Classic Italian Blend Coffee. This is a formula made from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses deep roasting, which can highlight the mellow aroma of coffee to the greatest extent, and also allows everyone to easily extract rich and dense coffee oil. It is very suitable for making American style diluted with water or latte with milk. It can be purchased at Front Street Taobao store or Front Street Tmall flagship store.
How to drink espresso?
Espresso coffee cannot distinguish different flavors at different stages of high, medium and low temperatures like Pour over(V60) coffee. After all, a serving of espresso coffee is only about ten or twenty grams, and it will be finished before it reaches low temperature. Secondly, because the extracted espresso coffee is a high-concentration coffee that is quickly extracted using extremely finely ground coffee powder at high temperature and 9 bar pressure, it has a strong taste and stimulates the taste buds in the mouth.
As coffee gradually becomes more premium, the quality of coffee beans and coffee have also greatly improved in recent years. Nowadays, in addition to ingesting caffeine, people who drink espresso also have more requirements for the taste of coffee. Those strong and bitter espresso coffees are "outdated." People who drink espresso pay more attention to the aroma, taste and aftertaste of this cup of coffee.
As long as the coffee beans are of good quality, freshly roasted, and properly extracted, drinking espresso will always be something everyone can enjoy. Before tasting, we take a sip of ice water to cleanse our mouth and allow our tongue muscles to contract. After the barista serves the espresso, you can stir the coffee with a spoon to make the whole thing more even. Then taste it in three bites. Taste the flavor in the first sip, feel the richness in the second sip, and feel the sweetness and aftertaste of the coffee in the third sip.
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
