A brief discussion on the extraction principle of Italian Coffee blending and Baking Espresso

A perfect cup of Espresso is influenced by many factors, starting with blending and baking.

1. Combination:

A perfect cup of Espresso starts with the mix. The perfect Espresso requires sweetness in its flavor, and the overall taste will be balanced, paying attention to the perfect balance of bitterness, sourness, sweetness, and aftertaste. This is a single coffee bean can not complete the task, so want to get the perfect Espresso must first have a perfect coffee bean blending program, here the blending not only refers to the match between coffee beans of different origin, but also refers to the coordination between different roasting degrees of the same coffee beans, whether it is coffee beans of different origin or coffee beans of different roasting degrees of the same origin, only one principle of blending to achieve the final Espresso coffee taste balance.

2. Baking:

Espresso requires a deeper degree of baking than other extraction methods. Baking can be divided into light baking, medium baking and deep baking. In addition to this simple classification method, there are more complicated SCAA baking classification methods. There are four levels and eight stages, including light baking, medium baking, deep baking and heavy baking.

The extraction methods that emphasize the flavor of origin, represented by hand-brewed coffee, usually use medium to deep roasting for coffee beans, while for Espresso, non-heavy roasting is not enough to reflect the perfection of Espresso taste. Most Espresso beans are baked at the rebaking stage after the apex of the double explosion.

On the one hand, such roasting degree requirements stem from the extraction principle of Espresso. The extraction of Espresso is completed within 25~30 seconds. In order to completely extract the essence of coffee in such a short time, it is necessary to carry out the caramelization reaction more fully from the beginning of roasting, and the generation of coffee aroma oil is more thorough.

On the other hand, such roasting is also related to the birthplace of Espresso. Espresso is a coffee extraction method originating in Italy. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, that is, the age when Espresso extraction method was born, Italy was not a rich country in Europe. Due to its own economic strength, the popular coffee quality in Italy was not excellent. Most of the coffee drunk was inferior Robusta coffee. Robusta coffee contained unpleasant earthy smell and strong astringent taste. To mask this bad taste, coffee roasters choose heavy roasting, which masks the bad flavor of coffee at the cost of losing some coffee flavor. This tradition continues to this day, with many people insisting that authentic espresso should be served with Robusta coffee, and even big Italian coffee brands like Lavazza make no secret of their love for Robusta coffee, while ILLY has begun to avoid using Robusta beans in their own blends in recent years. Especially at the moment when the concept of boutique coffee rises, as a coffee specialty shop, it still insists on boutique coffee as a quality guarantee.