Espresso is a strong coffee that’s usually drunk in small doses, called shots, or incorporated into other beverages, such as cortados, cappuccinos and lattes. The defining characteristic of espresso is not its strength, roast level or how it’s served, though. What makes espresso espresso is how it’s brewed – by forcing hot water at high pressure through finely ground coffee.
Though it can have a lot of bells and whistles, espresso is just another way to make coffee. This means that you can take any coffee, put it in an espresso machine, and make an espresso – but whether that coffee will be enjoyable to you depends on what kinds of flavors you usually prefer. Read on for our recipes and tips, as well as a step by step guide to making the best possible espresso.
TOOLS
Some baristas say their most important tool when making an espresso is their grinder. An espresso-specific grinder delivers ground coffee finer and more precisely than standard grinders. While you could set a standard grinder to “espresso,” non-espresso grinders don’t let you make the minute adjustments that you need to be able to make to pull an excellent shot.
QUICK TIP:
Want to level-up your espresso? Using a scale for making espresso makes the wholeprocess easier and repeatable. You can weigh both your dry coffee grounds as well as your liquid espresso in grams.
GRIND SIZE
Espresso is the one way to make coffee where you have to expect to make small adjustments to the grind size often. Start with a fine grind, one that feels like powder, then make adjustments in response to how long the espresso takes to finish.
RECIPES by FLAVOR PROFILE
Classic, Bold & Extra Bold Traditionally, the coffee used to make espresso was darker roasted with more tamped down acidity (acidity = fruity, juicy, tart flavors), so that’s what a lot of espresso drinkers are used to.
If you want your espresso to have a fuller body, and rounder chocolatey notes that pair well with milk, the Bold, Classic or Extra Bold work great. If you’re firmly on this side of the fence, a lighter roasted espresso would most likely taste sour.
For these profiles we recommend:
17 – 20 grams of coffee (about 3 TBSP)
Finished espresso: weigh ~30 grams or measure ~1.5oz
Should finish brewing in ~20 to 30 seconds
Fruity & Balanced If you’re looking for an espresso that’s dynamic, brighter and generally lighter, the Fruity or Balanced profiles are perfect. For those who strictly prefer this flavor range for espresso, a darker roasted coffee would likely taste too bitter or bland. For these profiles, we recommend:
17 – 20 grams of coffee (about 3 TBSP)
Finished espresso: weigh 35 – 40 grams or measure ~2oz
Should finish brewing in ~20 to 30 seconds
GRIND ADJUSTMENT
Espresso is the one way of making coffee where we expect to make small adjustments to the grind size often. To start, use a fine grind, one that feels like powder. Then, make adjustments in response to how long the espresso takes to brew:
- More than 35 seconds to brew 1 – 2oz → make the grind coarser (how much coarser depends on how slow it’s flowing)
- Less than 20 seconds to brew 1 – 2oz → make the grind finer (how much finer depends on how fast it’s flowing)
As long as everything else remains constant (how much ground coffee you’re using, the temperature of the water inside the espresso machine, etc.), you can rely on making these small changes to the grind to get your espresso tasting great!
Note: Most espresso grinders will hold about a shots worth of ground coffee in the chute between the burrs and where the grounds empty out – so the next shot you make after making a grind adjustment will always have about half of the old grind size in there. A good rule of thumb is to grind out about 15 – 20 grams of espresso after each grind adjustment and toss it out.
STEP BY STEP FOR A GREAT ESPRESSO
- Preheat your cup with hot water, or take directly from top of machine
- Take portafilter (the basket with handle that holds your coffee grounds) out of the grouphead (the grouphead is where the portafilter lives and where hot water comes out) and purge a few seconds of water
- Clean and dry portafilter completely – any water left inside will make for a bad shot!
- Weigh your coffee before or after grinding (see recipes above for suggested weights)
- Settle or distribute coffee grounds evenly inside basket
- Tamp (check out our How to Tamp instructions below!)
- Wipe off any loose grounds on ears and top of basket
– Why? These are places that seal with a black rubber gasket inside the grouphead
– You can tear the gasket if you are pulling portaftiler in and out with grounds scraping, and cause leaks - Insert portafilter into grouphead and start the shot immediately
- Place your cup underneath the portafilter – you shouldn’t see a drip for about 4 to 8 seconds
- Stop the shot when you see the color turn light blonde
– Check that this happened within 25 to 35 seconds
– Check that you got a yield between 1.5 & 2 oz (30 to 40 grams) - Remove portafilter and knock out coffee grounds (aka “”puck””) into knockbox
- Purge a few seconds of water & rinse portafilter basket clean
- Return portafilter to machine
It may take a few tries to get a perfect shot of espresso. If your first shot isn’t quite right, adjust the grind and try again.
Getting a great shot takes some time and effort, but once you taste a well-pulled shot of espresso that was made with fresh coffee, you’ll know why this is such a favored way of making coffee.
TIPS FOR THE BEST TASTING ESPRESSO!
Temperature: A consistent temperature is important for a good shot of espresso! When your machine is on and heating, keep your portafilter inside the machine at all times when you’re not using it.
Tamping: How to hold your tamper:
– Pretend you’re holding a flashlight or a doorknob
– Wrap your hand around the tamper so that your wrist is straight
How to tamp: – Place the portafilter on the edge of your counter or rubber tamp pad
– Hang the spouts of the portafilter off the side of the counter – don’t tamp/put pressure on those spouts
– When pressing into the coffee, make a 90 degree angle with arm
– Then, lean toward the counter, bending at the waist (feel free to sing, “I’m a Little Teapot”) & apply a quick pressure – just until you can’t go any further
GENERAL TIPS FOR BETTER TASTING COFFEE
TIP 01 / FILTERED WATER Did you know that espresso is 90% water? The quality of the water you use to brew your espresso directly affects the taste in your cup! Just running your tap water through a filter like Brita or Pur will affect the taste of your electric drip for the better. TIP 02 / TRY A BURR GRINDER Coffee tastes best when ground right before you brew, and burr grinders give you a much more even grind size. When the grind sizes are very different, the water gets less from the big pieces (giving you sour flavors), and too much from the smaller pieces (bitter flavors).
Watch this to learn more! TIP 03 / USE A SCALE Depending on varietal and where in the world they’re grown, beans weigh different amounts, and they’re also different sizes. Scooping to measure your coffee recipe becomes less and less reliable. The answer? Weigh your coffee on a gram scale to make sure you have the right recipe.