ESPRESSO

ESPRESSO is a brewing method and a beverage.

A BREWING METHOD
First and foremost, espresso is a rapid method of brewing that uses pressure, not gravity to brew.

A BEVERAGE
Espresso or more properly caffé espresso refers to the concentrated flavorful ‘essence” brewed from the beans.


A SHOT OF ESPRESSO CONTAINS
7g of coffee + water = 1 1/8 oz espresso (including crema)

3 PARTS OF ESPRESSO:
Bottom (solution) - The water soluble elements of coffee - it's like brewed coffee but much more concentrated

Middle (suspension) - The tiny particles of coffee and gas bubbles suspended in a cup of espresso.

Top (emulsion) - Also called crema. The crema helps hold in the flavors and aroma of coffee.


Crema ranges in color from reddish brown to tiger red. Crema is 2-3 mm thick.

Watch how espresso is prepared by Kaladi Coffee Training

BREWING A PERFECT CUP OF ESPRESSO:

WATER
Click here to see post on brewing basics for type of water to be used

GRIND
The ideal grind will result in a slow, steady flow of espresso into the cup. If it's too coarse, the espresso will gush out, thin and underextracted. Too fine and it will be bitter.


For lower pressure units, an extra fine grind with some granularity will work well. An inexpensive blade grinder can provide the appropriate texture.

High pressure, commercial-quality units require a finer, more powdery grind. This is most easily obtained from a specialized burr-type grinder.

Small variations in grind make a big difference in performance and finely ground coffee quickly becomes stale. For the best results, grind beans at home, just before brewing. If you buy ground coffee, buy only what you will use in a few days' time.

Starbucks provides a grind sample for customers to take home as a guide to the appropriate grind for machine.

DETERMINE THE CORRECT DOSE
The amount of coffee used is roughly 2/3 the amount used for a single serving of drip coffee, but with far less water (45 mL vs 180 mL for a cup of drip coffee).

The right dose nearly fills your filter insert, allowing just a small gap for the grounds to expand as they become saturated. Too small a dose can cause the espresso to gush out rather than brew slowly and evenly.

You need 7-8 g of fine ground coffee per shot of espresso.

For consistent dose, overdose and scrape.

TAMPING
Tamping refers to the amount of pressure with which ground coffee is packed into the filter. If the ground coffee is packed firmly, water flows through the grounds more slowly assuring full extraction of flavor.
Proper Tamping is done using the hand tamper. Tamps should be level and hard, applying between 30-70 pounds of pressure on a porta filter filled with ground coffee. Tamps should be a good twist to the coffee to polish the surface.

Any loose coffee can be knocked down by hitting the edges of the portafilter and again packing the coffee

RATE OF POUR
Ideally, a single shot of espresso should result in 30mL of liquid in approx. 20-25 seconds; a double shot should result in 60 mL of liquid in the same time, using twice as much ground espresso.

By experimenting with the grind, dose and tamping pressure, you can achieve the best rate and the best flavor.

LESS IS MORE
A common mistake made in brewing espresso is brewing too much espresso from the grounds. As you leave the machine on, brewing 60 or 90 mL from a single dose, the brew gets thin and bitter, resulting in a beverage that resembles strong drip coffee, not authentic caffé espresso.

THINGS THAT AFFECT PROPER EXTRACTION TIME:
1. dosing or the dosage of coffee - see description above
2. tamping - see description above

Ideally, a single shot of espresso should result in 30mL of liquid in about 25 seconds. If extraction time of your shots is 2-3 seconds too fast or too slow, correct this with your tamp.

A harder tamp will slow your extraction time while a lighter tamp will speed your extraction time up.

If extraction time is over or under by more than a few seconds, you have to adjust the grind.

If extraction time is too slow or over 30 seconds, turn the grind towards coarser. If extraction time is too fast, make the grind finer

If the water seems to filter through too quickly, even with firm tamping, you need to use a finer grind to slow the rate of water flowing through the grounds.

Conversely, if your machine is not providing a good flow (even with little to no tamping), try using a coarser grind.

STEAMING AND FOAMING MILK
For espresso, use skim or whole milk.

When you want to foam milk, you want to expand the volume of milk by about 5x


RULES TO FOAMING MILK:
1. enough milk ( too little milk and the milk will heat up and stop foaming)
2. full pressure on machine (for most machines, about one turn on the setting knob)
3. foam fast before milk heats up - after about 140 degrees, milk won't foam anymore

Always use cold milk and a clean steel pitcher so you can feel the milk's temperature. Fill it up to 2/3 full for steaming, 1/3 full for foaming.

For steaming milk, make sure espresso machine is in the "steaming" mode and ready to go. Open the steam valve for a second. This will blow out any excess moisture in steamer before you use it to keep any excess water out of your milk.

Steaming milk is used in both lattes and mochas

STEP 1
Raise pitcher to submerge steam jet, then open steam valve fully.

STEP 2
Lower pitcher slowly, keeping the tip of the jet barely under the surface.

NOTE:
To heat milk without foaming, bury the nozzle near the pitcher's bottom, and be careful not to scald the milk.

STEP 3
Shut off steam valve once the ideal temperature has been reached, then remove pitcher.

NOTE:
The temperature should be approximately 66-76°C (150-170°F) for steamed milk (the pitcher will become too hot to touch for more than a second) and a few degrees cooler for foamed milk, due to the air it has incorporated.

After every use, open the valve for a second or two to clear any milk remaining in the jet. This will prevent milk from entering the boiler, causing serious maintenance problems. Be sure to wipe the steam jet with a damp cloth.

Temperature of milk has impact on drink - its flavor, body, and sweetness


Best drinks are served 140-170 degrees
150 best for in house
160 best for to go

Two ways to ruin milk:
heating milk twice
or heating milk above 180 degrees