Are you one of those coffee lovers who find it hard to start the day without a steaming cup of coffee? Well, you’re not the only one. Most coffee enthusiasts swear by their favourite brew first thing in the morning for that instant energy to kick start their day. There is a myriad of methods for preparing coffee, but espresso and filter brewing are the two main categories.
While both espresso and filter coffee come from the same coffee beans, the resulting brew is very different. How do these two coffee brews compare, which one would suit your taste, and where you can buy the best quality coffee beans online? Read on to find out.
What is Filter Coffee?
Filter coffee is one of the traditional ways of preparing coffee. To make filter coffee, hot water is dripped down the coffee grounds slowly. A delicate brew with an almost clean taste is created that highlights more complex flavours of the coffee, making it a popular brewing choice for single-origin varieties.
What is Espresso?
Espresso coffee is brewed by forcing water at a high temperature under pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso coffee is prepared in a machine and can be combined with milk to make other espresso-based drinks, like a latte, cappuccino, macchiato, marocchino, cortado, americano, and more. One of the espresso's significant characteristics apart from its concentrated flavour is its top layer of foam which is a by-product of its extraction process at high pressure.
Difference between Filter Coffee and Espresso Coffee
- Taste
Filter coffee is a great way to taste the nuances of gourmet coffee, specifically those that may not be prominent in espresso coffee. With a thicker consistency and a more concentrated flavour, espresso brings out more subtle flavours of the coffee beans, making it bolder in taste.
- Roast Profiles
Espresso coffee beans need to be roasted medium and sometimes even light to medium. The best coffee roasters in India recommend grinding the beans just before brewing for the best results. For filter coffee, the roasts are generally on the lighter side. In simple terms, the roast profile of filter or espresso coffee beans is a recipe, and it is the temperature versus time curve that determines the transformation of the coffee beans from their raw to roasted form.
- Acidity
Filter coffee has a clean body with a simple and consistent flavour profile. It is allowed to absorb coffee oils in its own consistent time and pressure, making it more acidic in comparison to espresso coffee. However, filter coffee is usually prepared from light or medium roast coffee beans which are more acidic. On the other hand, espresso is made from coffee beans that are roasted at high temperatures for a longer time, thus, eliminating most of the acids.
- Brewing Process
When brewing filter coffee, the best way is to opt for the manual process. This will enable you to control the brewing process and give you the most flavour out of your decaf coffee grounds. V60 or Chemex are modern manual brewing methods which are affordable, easy to use, and can produce an excellent cup of coffee with a little bit of practice and precision. When talking about espresso brewing, the only way to prepare espresso is to use an espresso machine that has the desired pressure. You may prepare espresso style coffee from stove top, French Press, or the Aeropress methods which are some of the affordable options to give you the same great taste.
- Caffeine Content
Due to the intense flavor of the espresso coffee, it is often assumed to have higher caffeine content but the opposite is true. Filter or pour over coffee contains much more caffeine than espresso as the water stays in contact with the ground coffee for a longer period of time while dripping down, and extracts flavor, nutrients, and caffeine about as much as possible.
At the end of the day, your choice is personal that depends on your lifestyle and taste preferences so, it is better to experiment and see what you like the most.
Whether you’re opting for filter coffee or espresso coffee, it is important to pay attention to the coffee bean types and the roast profiles, since this can have a major impact on the quality and taste. At Naivo, you can buy freshly roasted coffee beans online categorized as Espresso, Filter or Omni roasts having a specifically tailored roast profile. These mindfully sourced and artisanally roasted coffee beans from Naivo will indeed open up a new world of flavours for you that you never thought was possible in coffee before.
