What is the difference between hand-brewed coffee and Italian coffee? For many coffee lovers, the definition of the two is a little unclear.

Here is an introduction to the difference between the two.

1. Coffee beans

1. Hand-brewed coffee:

Single origin coffee beans are usually used as brewing ingredients, and the degree of roasting ranges from light roasting, medium roasting to dark roasting. Usually the degree of roasting is between about 9 and 13 in the figure below.

2. Italian coffee:

The Italian recipe of a coffee shop is called House Blend, which is usually used in Italian coffee machines, such as Espresso, Cappuccino, Americano and Latte, etc. Most of them are roasted darker to match milk and hot water. This kind of coffee can only be ground with a professional grinder, which is also an important foundation and key to making good quality Italian coffee.

Italian beans are roasted to a degree between 13 and 16 as shown above.

2. Preparation method

1. Hand-brewed coffee:

Basically, most hand-brewed coffee uses a filter cup, which means that the water is extracted by gravity. Even if you use brewing equipment such as a moka pot or Aeropress, the pressure during extraction will only reach about 3 atmospheres at most.

2. Italian coffee:

When using an Italian coffee machine for extraction, the pressure of the machine will make the extraction state reach nine atmospheres. The powder cake in the handle will be under a pressure of about 133 kilograms, causing it to release a large amount of coffee substances. The taste is thicker and suitable for making latte with milk, or adding water to make American coffee.

3. Difference in Capacity

1. Hand-brewed coffee:

The amount generally provided is between 150 and 300 ml. (It may vary depending on the water-to-powder ratio)

2. Italian coffee:

The serving size generally provided is approximately between 30 and 60 ml (specifically referring to espresso).

4. Differences in Caffeine

If the amount of powder and grinding coarseness are the same, because caffeine is a water-soluble substance, the longer the brewing time, the more caffeine is released.

The brewing time of single-origin coffee is usually 1 to 3 minutes, and the brewing time of espresso is usually 20 to 30 seconds, so under the conditions of the same amount of powder and grinding coarseness, the caffeine content of single-origin coffee will be higher.

From this we can see that coffee that is extracted for a long time, such as ice drip coffee and cold brew coffee, has a much higher caffeine content than other coffees.

You can see that there is a huge difference in concentration between hand-brewed coffee and coffee brewed with espresso. When milk is added to single-origin coffee, the aroma and flavor of the coffee itself will be covered by the milk, making it less suitable for blending.

5. Conclusion of the Differences

Can single origin coffee be brewed by machine? Yes, but all brewing parameters must be adjusted. If you find the right brewing parameters and match them with single origin coffee beans, you can brew good quality single origin espresso, which is the popular SOE now.

Can Italian beans be brewed by hand? Yes, you can. But for darker roasted Italian beans, you also need to adjust the water temperature and grinding coarseness.

Italian coffee beans are used for hand brewing, which prefers the Japanese hand brewing method, as the Japanese method is better at processing deeply roasted coffee beans.

Finally, please remember that all brewing methods and utensils are for providing better coffee, and coffee exists for people!

Therefore, the goal is to give full play to your creativity and make the coffee you like!