How do I make an espresso?
An espresso is a coffee preparation made by forcing hot water through finely ground espresso coffee.
What do you need to make an espresso?
- Espresso machine
- Espresso coffee beans
- Coffee grinder
- Tamper (and possibly a distributor)
You start by making an espresso with your espresso machine. Turn it on in advance because it takes about 10 minutes to warm up the boiler in the machine. Once the machine is at temperature, you can let some water run through to warm up the brew group and the portafilter faster. It is important that the portafilter is dried afterwards; otherwise, this will affect the extraction and the taste.
Grinding the coffee beans
When making coffee, it is important that the grind is fresh. This means using fresh beans and grinding just before you are going to use it. Because the grind is freshly ground, more flavor and aroma will come into your espresso. Setting the grinder to a nice espresso grind is a matter of trial and you can read more about it here. The grind size can vary per bean and offers the barista a lot of experimentation with flavor.
Tamping or tamping
After you have placed the grind from the coffee grinder, the grounds (if all goes well) are in your portafilter. To distribute the grind evenly, I always tap the piston against the holder of the coffee grinder. Then it is important that the coffee is evenly distributed in your portafilter. This can be done very easily by using a distributor or leveler. If you don't have this, it can also be done by hand, which is of course a bit less precise. You have distributed the coffee and it is time to tamp the grind. Place your portafilter against your tamper mat and press the grounds with your tamper.
Extraction
Turn your portafilter in the espresso machine and then let the water run through immediately. This is important because otherwise the coffee will burn, which gives an unpleasant taste to the espresso. How long you want to let the espresso run is up to the barista and depends on taste. We do recommend keeping it around 25-30 seconds and stopping at 30ml.
How do I get a crema layer?
A good indication of a tasty espresso is a nice crema layer. A good overview of a well and poorly brewed espresso can be found below. A lighter shade is a sign that the water is not hot enough. This can be because the machine was not yet fully heated or because the PID is set too low. A too dark layer indicates that the grind is too fine or that the coffee grounds are pressed too hard. It becomes dark because the water has difficulty passing through, and then the coffee grounds burn. If you currently have no crema at all, the grind setting of your grinder is probably too coarse, and the water flows through too easily. This results in watery coffee.
How long should an espresso be?
With an espresso machine, faster is not an advantage. We advise to aim for a really good espresso of 7 grams of coffee between 23-30 seconds. Giving a direct recommendation for the brewing time is very difficult; this is because an espresso of 23 seconds tastes different than an espresso of 30 seconds. It may well be that you like the 23-second espresso and someone else prefers the 30. It ultimately comes down to taste, and this is a fun quest for the barista.
How many bar for a good espresso?
As indicated on the manometer of many of our machines, an ideal pump pressure when the water reaches the coffee is 9 bar. If you buy a new machine, it is properly adjusted right away, and there is no need to adjust the pressure anymore. If you have been using your machine for a while and see that the pressure is no longer at 9 bar? Then there is a good chance that there is limescale buildup in the machine, causing the water to no longer flow or to flow difficultly. Maintenance is therefore very important. To get good coffee from your machine, occasional maintenance is needed. Fortunately, we have locations throughout the country that will lovingly make your machine as good as new.
How many ml is an espresso?
An espresso is on average 30ml. The espresso is prepared with 7 grams and with an extraction time of about 25-30 seconds. Still, it's nice to vary this sometimes; this way you get different flavors in your espresso. And maybe you'll get exactly the taste you like if you use 8 grams and the extraction is 32 seconds. In short, the numbers above are a good guideline, but experimenting here is never a bad thing!
