Continuing with the theme of last week’s post, today I wanted to talk about the difference between two big words in specialty coffee; espresso, and filter. These two ways of brewing coffee have become power houses of the industry, especially so, the espresso.
Let’s start with the simplest idea, what actually IS an espresso? An espresso is simply a short and highly concentrated coffee, historically following a set of criteria such as an exact extraction time and volume, whereas now, as the art has grown, the rules are stretched and bent to best suit each individual coffee. It’s made up of a deep brown body, with a beautiful (when done correctly) foam on top, called the crema. This crema that comes from the pressure based extraction should have a healthy mixture of hazelnut browns, and lighter creamy tones. Ideally with an almost speckled effect to it. It is easily the most iconic part of an espresso, and very easy to mess up.
A “filtered coffee” is a very broad term, it can refer to a v60, an aeropress, French press, batch filter: the list goes on and on. All of these different methods of filter brewing can create vastly different tastes, v60s offering a delicate drink that can bring out the more subtle flavours found in the coffee, while a french press for example can come out harsher due to the amount of time the coffee is left immersed in the water. What these methods have in common however, is that they are complete drinks, best enjoyed as they come, black, no sugar. Whilst they aren’t as popular an option as an americano, I honestly can’t see why. A good batch of filter coffee in my opinion offers a far better tasting experience than the espresso based counterpart, and because of sheer volume, will give you a bigger caffeine hit as well! It is always worth asking if a shop does a bottomless filter deal, it’s perfect for the third space remote workers and public business meetings!
So with two fairly distinct methods of coffee brewing established, the question is always asked; which is “better”. This is a lot harder than the arabica vs robusta debate, as frankly they serve two very different roles. An espresso is so much more than just an intense shot of coffee, it is the foundation for the milk based concoctions that have become so popular. Your lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, and flat whites all come from that little brown shot. You cannot make them with a filtered coffee, it simply doesn’t work like that. So the humble espresso is as flexible a coffee you can get, offering an intense flavour alone, or a sweeter option when paired with milks or sugars. Filters however, are far from inferior.
Now, lines get blurred in the commercial vs specialty coffee scene. Established recipes get twisted and bastardised by some of the biggest coffee chains, which then trickles down to the rest of the commercial coffee ecosystem. For example, a certain giant in the commercial coffee scene has recently added the wonderful “cortado” to their menu. Only, it’s nothing like a cortado … at all. They arbitrarily use a triple “blonde” espresso shot, in a much larger cup, with (in some cases) more foam than I’ve seen on all of the cortados I’ve ever drank combined! When in reality, a cortado is a simple drink, a 1:1 ratio of espresso to steamed milk, ideally with an almost paint-like layer of thin foam. This isn’t the first drink to be changed dramatically for mass consumption. The cappuccino is meant to be a smaller drink, stronger than a latte due to having more coffee than milk, with a dense foam on top. A hard drink to “master”, but an iconic one, that definitely should not be a giant mug covered in chocolate. Don’t even get me started on the outrageous size of some of the flat whites I’ve seen served around the world.
This is where the simplicity of a batch filter can come in handy. While the exact ratios can change from shop to shop, in essence a well trained barista should be able to make a plenty delicious filtered brew.
So with all of this information, what drinks SHOULD you try when at a specialty coffee shop? In my opinion the main two would be a v60 pour-over for those looking to get the most flavour out of their coffee, especially if you are looking for that more delicate drink, try this if you find the espresso based drinks you’ve had before have been too harsh for you. I recently had one made with some gorgeous Campell and Syme beans, for a friend that wants to like coffee more, and usually has syrups and sugar in her drinks. She drank this one as it came and even went in for a refill (it was a proud moment).
If however you like a more intense coffee experience then try their espresso. An espresso from a good shop shouldn’t be overly bitter or burnt tasting, instead having a balance between sweet and acidic, offering an intense but wonderful tasting experience. If you need the milk then cortados, flat whites, and cappuccinos are your best friends. These should in a perfect world reduce the harshness while allowing the espresso to still punch through.
On a final note, I strongly believe filter is king for home brewing, as I’ve alluded to in previous posts. So buy that v60 kit, that aeropress, that clever dripper, and get brewing! I plan to put together a little database or list of roasters that I have had good experiences with for those that don’t know what to look out for.
acaseforcoffee 