What is the difference between Italian style and hand-brewed coffee? What's the difference between a single piece and a blended coffee bean?

For now, there are two main uses for coffee beans: Italian and hand-brewed. Because they are the two most mainstream coffee extraction methods at present, coffee beans in the consumer market are mainly divided into two categories: Italian coffee beans and hand-brewed coffee beans.

When many friends first started, they were often confused because there were too many labels on coffee beans and didn't know how to buy the right coffee beans. But in fact, the difference between espresso beans and hand-brewed beans is not as big as everyone thinks. As long as we know the respective characteristics of espresso and hand-brewed coffee, we can know how to choose the right coffee beans.

What is the difference between Italian coffee beans and hand-brewed coffee beans? It can be said that the main and most basic difference between Italian coffee beans and hand-brewed coffee beans is actually the degree of roasting: Italian beans are relatively deep, and hand-brewed beans are relatively shallow. What makes this difference is the different characteristics of extraction forms.

Hand-brewed coffee belongs to drip extraction. It is often mentioned in the front street that the so-called drip extraction is that hot water flows through the coffee powder layer under normal pressure, bringing the flavor substances in the coffee through dissolution and washing. Come out. Because it is very simple and highly controllable, it is easy to brew a cup of delicious coffee by hand infusion; while espresso uses pressure to assist extraction, that is, pressurized extraction. Through the intervention of pressure, the coffee machine can use very little water to bring out the flavor substances in the coffee in a short period of time. When the total amount of matter remains unchanged, the amount of water determines the concentration of coffee. Therefore, with the help of pressure, the espresso machine can extract a cup of extremely strong coffee in a short period of time.

The extremely high concentration means that all performance of coffee is amplified, whether it is good or bad. As a result, some coffee beans may be relatively less suitable for making espresso, such as lightly roasted/highly acidic coffee beans. If the roasting degree of the same coffee bean is relatively light, when we brew it by hand, we may get a cup of delicious coffee with sweet, sour, delicious and outstanding flavor; but when we put it into an espresso machine to make espresso, the cup of coffee is likely to be more exciting to drink, because its concentration is very high and the acid will be very concentrated, making it prominent and sharp.

It would be fine if you dilute it with water to make American coffee, but if you add milk to make milk coffee, when the concentrated acidity of this cup is too high, the concentrated acid will form an abrupt contrast with milk. So, if we want to make concentrate easier to taste and make milk coffee taste without an abrupt taste, the best solution is to deepen the roasting degree of the coffee beans. By deepening the roasting degree, the acidity of the coffee beans will be reduced. At the same time, because the caramelization reaction gives more charred aroma, the coffee will not only be unobtrusive after being made into milk coffee, but the flavor will be more prominent. However, such a baking degree may not be able to show its flavor well for the bean, and its floral and fruity charm will be worn out due to the deepening of baking.

To sum up, everyone knows that the reason why Italian coffee beans and hand-brewed coffee beans should be distinguished is simply because the certain degree of roasting of some coffee beans is only suitable or more suitable for a certain extraction method. The example given on the front street is that if you want to feel the floral and fruity charm of this coffee bean, you need a lightly roasted coffee with less caramelization reaction to show it, but it may not be suitable for espresso extraction; If you want to use it for the production of espresso coffee, it is best to deepen the roasting slightly to make it more compatible, but this will make hand-brewed coffee or coffee made in other forms other than Italian not have such outstanding flavor performance. Therefore, this is why it is necessary to distinguish the two.

Although they are distinguished, it is only the degree of baking that makes the difference. As long as you want, espresso beans can also be used to make hand-brewed coffee, and hand-brewed coffee beans can also be used to make espresso. It's just that because of the different degrees of roasting, we need to make appropriate adjustments to the parameters, which can also make a good cup of coffee. As for blending and single-piece products, many people equate blending beans with Italian beans, and equate single-piece beans with hand-brewed beans. Although it is currently true that the beans used in espresso are mainly blended, and the beans used in hand-brewed are mainly single items, they cannot be equated directly.

Because single items or combinations are mainly selected based on the coffee effect you want. If the coffee you want to make is a "hexagonal warrior" with excellent taste and flavor, or pursue higher cost performance and stability, then blending beans will be a very good choice; then if you want to feel the pure single-producing flavor, choose a single item, and then decide whether to bake or SOE based on your extraction method. In other words, hand-brewed coffee can also be made using blended beans, while espresso can also be made using single beans, which is not inconsistent.

Finally, there is the difference in the price of coffee beans. Generally speaking, the price of hand-brewed coffee beans is generally higher than the price of espresso beans. There are many reasons for this difference, but the main core reason is the quality of coffee beans. For example, the basic blending price in Qianjie Bean List is 50 yuan per pound/454g (when you buy 5 packs, it will be as low as 45 yuan per pound), while the price of other single beans is the same weight. The price will be much higher than this. The reason is very simple. Commercial beans are used for blending beans, while high-quality beans are used for single-product beans. However, it must be noted that commercial beans and low prices are not the same as poor quality/bad, and expensive ones may not be suitable. Especially when making espresso, the performance of commercial beans can actually meet the demand for coffee of most people. The advantage of high-quality beans compared with commercial beans is more excellent in flavor. However, many people actually don't have a high demand for the flavor of espresso. It is more about the coffee flavor brought by deep-roasted coffee, or the refreshing effect brought by the coffee itself.

To sum up, everyone should know what the difference between hand-brewed coffee beans and espresso beans is, and how to choose it. If your extraction method is hand-brewed, or French press pot, siphon pot, smart cup, cold extraction and other extraction methods that can well show the flavor of coffee, then the best choice for coffee beans is single coffee beans (The depth is selected according to personal preference); and if your extraction method is based on an espresso machine, a mocha pot, etc. that can extract espresso and make milk coffee, then the best choice of coffee beans is to roast a deep blend of beans or single pieces ~

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