The ratio of the standard Italian style is 1:2, a single portion of 9g powder and 18g of liquid, a double portion of 18g of powder and 36g of liquid. During the actual production, fine-tuning is based on this powder-to-water ratio and taste. The fineness of the espresso coffee powder is also based on the dispensing time. If it is faster, adjust it to finer powder, and if it is slower, adjust it to coarser powder until the extraction time matches it.
The steps of making Italian espresso seem very simple, but to make the best tasting and fragrant espresso, you need to control the proportion and balance of various parameters, and mastering these proportions requires a long period of exploration and summary.
What is espresso?
Espresso refers to the use of a fully automatic/semi-automatic espresso machine. Under appropriate conditions (high temperature, high pressure), hot water passes through finely ground coffee powder under huge pressure to quickly extract a liquid with rich oil, rich aroma and thick taste.
Espresso has a concentrated and strong flavor that easily stimulates our taste buds, so it is produced in the least quantity in coffee shops. However, a cup of high-quality espresso is the basic standard of every coffee shop. Because the refreshing iced American style, the pleasing latte art hot latte, or the rich and smooth Australian white coffee that we often drink are all based on espresso and added with various accessories in proportion.
The correct way to drink espresso
Many stores will not put espresso directly on the menu, but as a hidden dish, there will still be customers with "heavy tastes" coming for it. For example, there are only four types of espresso on the menu at Front Street, which does not include espresso. However, customers come to taste this "mini coffee" every once in a while.
Espresso is usually served with a glass of ice water or room temperature water so that we can rinse our mouths to clean our mouths. When the espresso is served, you can smell the fragrance of the oil on the top and observe the dense and delicate foam. Then use a small spoon attached to the side to gently stir the coffee liquid to make the flavor more even. At this time, you can start tasting, take a small sip, let the coffee fully stay in your taste buds, and feel the rich taste brought by the oil and coffee liquid. You can take a sip of water in the middle to savor the lingering aroma and sweetness of the espresso.
Front Street uses its own roasted "Sunflower Warm Blend Coffee Beans", which is a blend of Yirgacheffe and Honduras. It has a strong aroma of fermented wine, with the sour aroma of berries. As the temperature drops slightly, the flavors of vanilla and cream begin to emerge, and the aftertaste of dark chocolate is even. The taste is rich and smooth.
Espresso extraction parameters
Different coffee beans require different brewing parameters, different time periods, and different humidity, which will lead to changes in a series of parameters such as grinding degree and powder-to-liquid ratio.
The extraction ratio includes the amount of powder and the weight of the extracted coffee liquid. The amount of powder roughly depends on the size of the powder bowl. The Front Street store coffee machine is equipped with a double powder bowl with a capacity of 20 grams. When producing, 20 grams of powder will be used, and then adjusted up or down according to the concentrated extraction state of the day.
The more water is added to the coffee, the lower the concentration of the coffee liquid will be, the taste will be bland, and the flavor will not be concentrated enough. Therefore, the appropriate ratio of powder to water is very important. The ratio of powder to liquid is generally between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. It is more common to use a ratio of 1:2, such as 20g of coffee powder to extract 40g of coffee liquid. If the flavor is monotonous and the aftertaste is insufficient, you can increase the powder-liquid ratio. If the coffee tastes burnt and astringent, it may be over-extracted. You can reduce the powder-liquid ratio and reduce the amount of liquid extraction.
The thickness of the grind is generally reflected in the speed of the extraction flow rate. If the flow rate is faster and the time is shorter, the coffee powder will be ground finer. If the flow rate is slow and the time is longer, the coffee powder will be ground coarser. The grinding degree needs to be adjusted to a suitable range. If the particles are too coarse, the coffee will be under-extracted and the coffee will be weak and sour. If the particles are too fine, the coffee will be over-extracted and taste bitter. In addition, since the fineness of Italian grinding is much higher than that of manual grinding, the adjustment cannot be too drastic, which can easily lead to excessive variables and more unstable extraction.
Front Street will use 20 grams of coffee powder, and extract 40 grams of coffee liquid under a pressure of 9 bar according to a powder-to-liquid ratio of 1:2, and the time will be controlled in 30 seconds. The direction of parameter adjustment is flexible. As long as we sum up our experience in extraction parameters, it is not difficult to quickly debug delicious espresso coffee.
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
