What does espresso mean? How does Espresso taste good? What is the difference between short extract and long extract concentration?

As we all know, there are three versions of espresso! There are regular versions of Normale (normal espresso), short extract versions of Ristretto (Ristrido), and long extract versions of Lungo. Because the three have completely different extraction rates and concentrations, we will extract different versions of espresso according to different needs. For example, the regular version of espresso will be used when making lattes and cabs, the short extract version of Ristretto will be used when making Australian white, and Lungo will be chosen if you want to drink a concentration that is not so high. (from left to right: Ristretto, Normale, lungo)

A friend often reflects in the Qianjie store that he has tried the production of Ristretto and Lungo at home, but the former is acerbic and thin, while the latter is bitter, so it is better to deduct some liquid weight and mix some water after the espresso is extracted.

The reason for this situation is that Qianjie can also guess a guess, that is, this friend thinks that all three can be extracted with the same set of parameters. What do you mean? The amount of powder and the degree of grinding of the extracted espresso were used to extract Ristow and lungo. And this is also a minefield that many friends will step on, which is also mentioned in Qianjie in the article. Because many bloggers, including Qianjie, will mention when comparing the difference between the three, "Ristretto will have less liquid than espresso, and lungo will have more liquid than espresso." So it is easy to cause some friends to mistakenly think that both of them can adjust the liquid weight on the basis of espresso, a little more or less.

But in fact, this kind of extraction will only lead to underextraction and overextraction of coffee. Because the extraction parameters of espresso are based on the powder-to-liquid ratio of espresso, if we adjust the powder-to-liquid ratio but do not modify other parameters, then the coffee will become difficult to swallow because it is not extracted enough or overextracted. In other words, if we want to extract a cup of delicious Ristretto and Lungo, it is best to adjust the extraction parameters according to their respective liquid weight. It sounds a little difficult, but it's actually very simple. Just like extracting a good cup of espresso, we only need to fix a few key parameters at the beginning and we can quickly find a suitable extraction formula.

Before the conventional version of espresso extraction, take the conventional espresso as an example: because there are many factors that can affect espresso extraction (time, powder, grinding, liquid weight, pressure), Qianjie will choose to fix the liquid weight and time first (fixed at the beginning, and then can be adjusted according to the taste), and then adjust the grinding according to the extraction time. Finally, a slight adjustment is made through the taste, so that the appropriate extraction formula can be found quickly.

For example, if the recommended dosage of the powder bowl used in Qianjie is 20g, then use 20g of coffee powder and then extract 40ml's coffee liquid, and the extraction time is set in the range of 28035 seconds. If the extraction time of 40ml coffee liquid is not within the range of 28035 seconds, then we need to adjust the grinding degree of coffee powder according to the time. When the time is less than 28 seconds, fine grinding is used to prolong the extraction time, and if it is more than 35 seconds, coarse grinding is used to increase and reduce the resistance of the powder bed, so as to reduce the extraction time. Well, when the extraction time falls within the range of 28 to 35 seconds, we will judge whether the coffee has been properly extracted by the actual taste. If there is an over-extraction taste such as bitterness and astringency, we can reduce the extraction rate by reducing the liquid weight / increasing the amount of powder, while if there is a weak extraction flavor such as acidity and thinness in the taste, we can increase the extraction rate of coffee by increasing the liquid weight / reducing the amount of powder. In this way, a cup of delicious concentrate with high concentration and high extraction rate can be made soon!

The concentration requirement of SCA for one cup concentration is 8%-12%, and the extraction rate is 18%-22%.

The liquid weight of the short extraction version of Ristretto for Ristretto extraction will be about three to 1/4 less than that of concentration! For the same 20g powder, the extraction concentration is 40ml, and the extraction Ristretto is about 30ml. Because it needs to show the characteristics of high concentration, low extraction rate, strong but not bitter coffee. So people limit its liquid weight to reduce the exudation of bitter substances and increase the concentration of coffee, which is the origin of the name Ristretto, which means "limit".

If we use the parameters of espresso extraction to extract Ristretto directly, then this cup of Ristretto will lead to insufficient extraction because of low extraction efficiency. After all, the reduction of water and extraction time will reduce the extraction efficiency. Therefore, the correct approach is the same as espresso, we first fix the amount of powder, liquid weight, time, and then adjust the grinding through the extraction time, and finally fine-tune the taste. In terms of time, we can refer to the extraction time of espresso, that is, the range of 28 to 35 seconds. Then the powder-to-liquid ratio of Ristretto is set at 1 Ristretto 1.5 (which can be adjusted freely), that is, we need to use 20g coffee powder to extract 30ml coffee liquid, and the extraction time is in the range of 28035 seconds. The rest of the operation is the same as that of espresso, and there is not much detail on the front street here. As long as the taste of the Ristretto we drink is not sharp and the taste is not thin, it means that it is not far from becoming a qualified Ristretto.

The long extract version of Lungo extraction lungo means "long, expand" in Italian, so in coffee, we can understand that it means to extract more liquid weight and take longer to extract. Therefore, its liquid volume is the most of the three concentrates, but the concentration is relatively not that high. But because of this, it will be easier to enter.

Generally speaking, the powder-to-liquid ratio of lungo will be around 1:5. If we use the parameters of extraction espresso to extract lungo, the mother doubts that this cup of coffee must have a strong bitter taste and rich miscellaneous flavor, because the efficiency is too high! It took too long and too much liquid to extract all the good and bad substances from the coffee powder. So, if we want to extract a cup of delicious lungo, in the same way as the above two, first fix the amount of powder, the ratio of powder to liquid, and time, and then adjust the grinding and taste according to the extraction time. It is worth mentioning that because the liquid capacity of lungo is much more than that of espresso, the grinding degree of the bean grinder must be adjusted at least to 4'5 squares on the original basis, so that we can extract the liquid weight of 100ml in 30 seconds (here in front street is an example of 20g coffee powder and 30 seconds extract).

Of course, Qianjie is just an example, and you don't need to reproduce it all, because what matters is the way of thinking during the extraction. As long as you understand the underlying logic of extraction, no matter what kind of coffee it is, it is not difficult to taste good at all.

-END-