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As an indispensable part of Italian people's lives, every espresso coffee tells a story about the region, culture and the history of promoting the rapid development of society. The original espresso coffee was invented in the late 19th century, and the espresso coffee we are exposed to now is the production method after the supercharged coffee machine was improved in the early 20th century.
Espresso coffee is widely recognized by people around the world because Starbucks introduced and applied espresso machines to stores around the world, setting off a wave of espresso coffee. Is the espresso delicious? How to make espresso? This article will take you through the birth story of the espresso machine.
Early Italian Coffee Culture
Italy has a very long history of coffee drinking. Since 1580, coffee beans originating from Africa and the Middle East have entered Italy through the port of Venice. At first, it was only a drink that could be enjoyed by the upper class. Because it is a "Muslim drink" originating from the Middle East and Turkey, many Christian Italians call it the "devil's drink."
It was not until the early 17th century that Archbishop Clement VIII fell in love with this dark cup of coffee and baptized coffee, officially making it a Christian drink and naming it "the drink of God." Then in 1645, Rome opened Europe's first coffee house, which was also the first store in Italy to sell coffee. Since then, coffee has spread rapidly throughout Italy.
The Italians’ contribution to coffee is not only in terms of taste, but also in the research and development of equipment.
In the early days, people would use old-fashioned Turkish pots to brew coffee and then filter it. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, everything seems to be pursuing a fast pace, and Italians are no exception. In 1884, Angelo Moriondo successfully registered a patent in Turin, Italy, for a steam-powered machine for making coffee. However, because this device relied entirely on steam, the temperature was difficult to control and often made the coffee burnt and unpalatable, so it was later modified many times by different people.
(Angelo Moriondo's Espresso Machine)
In the early 19th century, Milanese manufacturer Luigi Bezzara improved this patent and launched the prototype of the world's first steam pressure coffee machine. It not only had a detachable handle and a detachable assembly head, but could also use high pressure to brew a cup of coffee in a short time.
With the advent and application of new machines, more and more Italians fell in love with the coffee that was quickly extracted by this machine. The word "espresso" was first included in the Italian dictionary around 1920, and was explained as: espresso made with a pressurized machine or filter.
For those who tasted this "quick coffee" for the first time at that time, the taste was not good, but after learning that it was derived from the method of quickly obtaining steam pressure, the Italians were like a chicken blood, constantly thinking about how to upgrade and transform this steam-powered coffee machine to make the coffee taste better.
For example, Achille Gaggia, an engineer in Milan, managed to add a pull rod to the coffee machine in 1938, which could forcibly increase the water pressure from 1.5 bar to 9 bar. This not only gave the coffee a layer of dark brown "grease" (Crema), but also quantified the volume of the solution, making the coffee quality more stable.
In this way, thanks to people's improvement and popularization of these machines, the method of making coffee has undergone earth-shaking changes. High speed and convenience have become new indicators of service in every cafe. That small cup of espresso has begun to evolve into the basic core of today's modern coffee system.
As espresso reaches its final form, coffee culture has caught up. Compared with many other countries, Italian cafes focus on a high-efficiency, fast-paced atmosphere, which is perfectly matched with small cups of espresso, which can be quickly enjoyed by people coming and going, and then leave with a few chats with acquaintances. Taking advantage of a short leisure time to order a cup of espresso in a cafe can be said to be one of the most ingrained habits of Italians.
When they walk into a coffee shop, they will directly tell the barista that they want a single serving of espresso. Most of them are dominated by dark roasted bitterness. Robusta is usually added to make the oil richer. Some people will add some brown sugar to stir before tasting, and drink it all in one sip. It is very enjoyable. The price of a cup of concentrate is usually only 1 euro in Italy, which is equivalent to 7 yuan in RMB. It can be said to be a very popular drink.
How to make espresso?
Each extraction of espresso will have different limits on the amount of powder used depending on the size of the powder bowl. When FrontStreet Coffee makes a single shot of espresso, it uses 10-11g of coffee powder to extract 20-25g of coffee liquid, and the extraction time is about 22 seconds; when making a double shot of espresso, it uses 19-20g of coffee powder to make 35-40g of coffee liquid, and the extraction time is about 29 seconds.
The performance of each espresso machine and espresso grinder is different, and different coffee beans have different states. , it is not 100% possible to extract delicious espresso coffee under such data. The above are just the parameters for espresso extraction at FrontStreet Coffee stores, which use a Q18 grinder, a Lelit coffee machine, and FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sun blended coffee beans (a blend of 30% sun-dried Yerka coffee beans + 70% Sydney coffee beans).
Through extremely fine grinding, 94-degree water is quickly passed through the coffee particles in a vacuum environment of 9-10bar. The extracted espresso coffee drips out from the coffee handle as smoothly as honey, with the color ranging from reddish brown to golden yellow. After the extraction is completed, the surface of the espresso coffee will be covered with a layer of fine golden coffee crema (the oil foam produced by the carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combining with the coffee creme in a vacuum environment and emulsifying it).
decideImportant Factors in Espresso Taste
The most important things when making espresso are the amount of powder, ratio, time, grind size, water temperature and pressure. Each step contributes to changing the final flavor of the coffee. Most machines will have a preset program for water temperature and pressure, so there is no need to change it unless necessary. So the final parameters we need to determine are powder volume, ratio, time and grinding degree.
"Amount of powder"Depending on the size of the powder bowl, there are different powder usage restrictions. FrontStreet Coffee uses 10-11g of coffee powder to make a single shot of espresso and 19-20g of coffee powder to make a double shot of espresso.
"Powder to liquid ratio"The more common espresso ratio is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. Front Street recommends using a powder-to-liquid ratio of 1:2 for extraction at the beginning, that is, if you use 20g of coffee powder, 40g of coffee liquid will be extracted.
"Extraction time"It is easier to extract delicious espresso if the extraction time is controlled within 20-30 seconds. Espresso extracted in less than 20 seconds will most likely taste thin and watery. Espresso that is extracted for more than 30 seconds is prone to burnt and bitter taste. FrontStreet Coffee uses double concentration in its daily production, and the extraction time is about 28-30 seconds.
"Grinding degree"The scale of each grinder will be different, so you need to constantly extract and taste to feel the changes in the taste of the coffee until it is balanced. The coffee machine is very sensitive to the degree of coffee grinding. If the grinding is slightly coarser, the flow rate will be too fast, the extraction time will be shortened, and the coffee tastes thin; if the grinding is slightly finer, the flow rate will be too slow, the extraction time will be lengthened, and the coffee will taste burnt and bitter.
Espresso extraction steps
①Receive powder
Before receiving the powder, clean the coffee powder bowl and keep it dry. Turn on the grinder and start grinding the coffee beans. And use the coffee powder bowl to catch the coffee powder.
②Powder cloth & filling
Use your fingers or a powder dispenser to spread the coffee powder. The purpose is to ensure that the coffee powder is evenly distributed and avoid density inconsistencies when filling later. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a powder dispenser to distribute powder, which can ensure stability and speed for novices. Place the powder dispenser flat on the coffee powder bowl, rotate it a few times and then pick it up.
③Confirmation before extraction
Before attaching the brewing head, make sure that the filling pressure is smooth and there is no residual powder around the powder bowl. Then press the brew button to moisten the brewing head, and then gently buckle the coffee handle onto the brewing head, making sure to confirm whether it is fastened to avoid water leakage.
④Extraction
After fastening the brewing head, press the brewing button quickly to avoid the high temperature of the brewing head from scorching the surface of the coffee powder. About 4 seconds after pressing the extraction button. The espresso drips from the coffee handle as smoothly as honey, with the color ranging from reddish brown to golden yellow. After the extraction is completed, the surface of the espresso coffee will be covered with a layer of fine golden coffee crema (the carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combines with the coffee creme in a vacuum environment and emulsifies to produce the crema foam).
Recommended espresso beans
In order to give espresso a more stable taste, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that you use blended coffee beans specially customized for espresso. The advantage of blending coffee beans is to stabilize and balance the taste of coffee by using coffee beans from different production areas in different proportions. At the same time, dark roasting can enhance the richness of coffee.
The main taste of espresso is determined by the coffee beans. Many of the products currently on sale in Front Street are Italian blended coffee beans. If you want to replicate the same effect in a coffee shop at home, we recommend Front Street commercial blended coffee beans. This is a formula specially designed for shop owners. It can make espresso rich in coffee oil and mellow taste, and is suitable for common categories such as American style, latte, cappuccino, and Australian white.
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
