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Just like the passionate Italians, Italian coffee is world-famous for its rich aroma. Espresso is the most representative Italian coffee. Americans call it "Espresso" to fully express the meaning of rapid extraction. At first, it was only popular in southern European countries such as Italy, France, and Spain. Later, it swept across the Americas and became one of the most popular drinks. Even in the UK, known as the "Land of Black Tea", you can smell the aroma of espresso permeating the air everywhere.
For more knowledge about specialty coffee, please follow the WeChat public account: FrontStreet Coffee
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 beginning of the 17th century that Archbishop Clement VIII fell in love with this dark cup of coffee and baptized coffee, officially declaring it a Christian drink and giving it the name "God's drink". Then in 1645, Europe's first coffee house was opened in Rome, 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 for a steam-powered machine for making coffee in Turin, Italy. 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)
At the beginning of the 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 extract a cup of coffee in a short time.
(Luigi Bezzera's Espresso Machine)
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. However, 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 lever 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. The small cup of espresso has begun to evolve into the basic core of today's modern coffee system.
About the heavy taste of Italians
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 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 cafe, they will directly tell the barista that they want a single serving of espresso. Most of them are mainly dark roasted and bitter. Robusta is usually added to make the oil richer. Some people will add some brown sugar to stir before tasting and drink it in one gulp. 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.
You know, in the eyes of most Italians, only espresso is "real" coffee, because compared to those specialty coffees with lighter roasting degrees and emphasis on a single origin, they are more accustomed to rich, body-like, thick and even bitter tastes. It is said that in the Italian belief, coffee is a "digestion aid" and has nothing to do with refreshing. Therefore, if they do not have a cup of espresso after each meal, they will feel as if something is missing.
It’s not hard to see that what makes Italians so passionate about espresso is that they stay true to their cultural roots. As mentioned above on Front Street, Italy invented the espresso machine, which did more than just make coffee drinks faster, but changed the global coffee industry forever. Therefore, for the Italian people, espresso is an important part of the national identity and makes Italy unique in the world.
Below, Front Street will share with you how to choose the Italian coffee beans that suit you:
The Front Street bakers have also made repeated blending tests to come up with the Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun blend currently launched in the Front Street store, the Front Street boutique blend 100% Arabica, the commercial blend and the basic blend. The difference between these blends is to create balanced and high-quality blended flavors for different price points. Below Front Street will introduce these four coffee blends in detail.
1. Front Street Basic Italian Blend Coffee Beans (1 pound/454g)
Flavor: It has soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty, dark chocolate flavor, smooth and viscous, but the taste is light. It is suitable for shop owners and home users who prioritize cost and have average flavor requirements.
Formula: Yunnan: Brazil=3:7
2. Front Street Commercial Italian blended coffee beans (one pound/454g)
Flavor: The sweetness of caramel, the flavor of nuts, cocoa, and dark chocolate, with a balance of sour and sweet, a little bit of sweetness and bitterness, and a long-lasting aftertaste, which can meet the daily production needs of coffee shops.
Formula: Colombia: Brazil: Robusta = 3:6:1
3. Front Street Premium Italian Blend Coffee Beans (1 pound/454g)
Flavor: Soft and slightly sour, sweet, with a nutty aftertaste. The overall feeling is not too irritating and mild. The oil is medium, suitable for daily needs of opening a store.
Recipe: Colombia:Brazil=3:7
4. Front Street Sunflower Warm Italian Style Blend Coffee Beans (half pound/227g)
Flavor: Obvious fruit acidity, light berry aroma, wine aroma, rich chocolate flavor, obvious sweet aftertaste.
Recipe: Front Street Honduran Sherry: Front Street Yerga Red Cherry = 7:3
This Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun blend bean is currently used in FrontStreet Coffee to produce Italian coffee. The flavor expression has a good fermented wine aroma and berry flavor. It is very suitable for producing Italian coffee. The flavor is very mellow and unique.
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
