Espresso

I

love espresso, but espresso is not all that easy to brew. The regular coffee machine/espresso makers do a terrible job of brewing espresso. The super expensive espresso makers require a specific grind in order to perfectly match the water pressure and temperature for the extraction of the coffee bean’s oils. Even my Bialetti Moka Pot (stovetop espresso maker) requires an exact grind and brew rate.

So... to help those who would like to brew good espresso at home, with thanks to Coffee Research, here is a guide to brewing espresso:

Espresso

The best espresso should be extraordinarily sweet, have a potent aroma, and flavor similar to freshly ground coffee. The crema should be dark reddish-brown and smooth, yet thick. A perfect espresso should be enjoyable straight with no additives, yet bold enough to not disappear in milk. A pleasant and aromatic aftertaste should linger on the palate for several minutes after consumption.

The following steps describe in detail how to make espresso. You will also learn about the various factors and problems with espresso that limit its perfection. If any of these factors are off, you will not achieve a high quality espresso.

Making Perfect Espresso

Blending Espresso

Without a good espresso coffee blend you cannot have a good espresso. The best espresso coffee beans are blended to achieve the sweetness, aromatics, and smoothness desired in espresso. The espresso blend must also be fresh. We recommend using espresso within four days of roasting. Please see the espresso blending section for help on creating your own blends or order some excellent espresso blends from roasted coffee suppliers, such as Caffe D'arte or Espresso Vivace.

Roasting Espresso

Too often you will find espresso roasted very dark. This results in a bitter, charcoal tasting brew. People that know how to make an espresso will roast light to preserve the aroma and sugars. For more information, read the section about espresso roasting.

Grinding Espresso

The grind must be continuously monitored throughout the day to achieve an extraction time of 25-30 seconds. Do not change the pressure you tamp with to compensate for a grind that has become too large or small. For more information, read the section about espresso grinding.

Espresso Grinder

A high quality burr grinder is essential for espresso. A conical burr grinder is preferred to flat burrs since the particle size is more even, they last longer, and the coffee is not heated during the grinding process. If the burrs become hot the coffee aroma will be diminished. A conical/parallel hybrid blade is considered the best design by many coffee professionals.

Dosing Espresso

Coffee must be freshly ground to achieve peak flavors. Grind and dose on demand. When someone orders an espresso grind only what is necessary for one shot, dose properly, tamp, and brew. Discard any espresso grounds that are not used within 30 seconds. For more information, read the section about espresso grinding and dosing.

Distribution in Portafilter

Distribute the coffee evenly after dosing in the porta-filter before tamping.

Tamping Espresso

Tamp the coffee once very evenly with 5 lbs of pressure, then once with 30 lbs of pressure, and polish 720° with 20 lbs of pressure. For more information, read the section about espresso tamping.

Water mineral content

The water used for espresso must be filtered. Some cities must even compensate for the mineral content of their water. Over time oxygen will be forced out of the water in the espresso machine leading to off tasting water. Try filling a small glass with water, letting it cool, and tasting it for off flavors. If the water tastes strange you may want to dump the tanks daily and begin with fresh water.

Water temperature

The water temperature should be stable and somewhere between 92-96°C. Choosing the best espresso machine is very important to both water temperature and temperature stability.

Temperature stabilizing

A stable temperature helps ensure that you prepare excellent espresso. For more information about stabilizing the temperature of your espresso machine, read about espresso temperature stabilizing.

Water pressure for Espresso

The pressure of the water forced through the espresso should be between 9 and 10 atm. This pressure is responsible for the development of the crema.

Boiler pressure

The boiler pressure determines the amount of water to be incorporated in the steam. If your milk is not foaming correctly as described in the section on latte art, you may want to experiment with different boiler pressures. Boiler pressure, however, should only be altered by professionals. You can check your boiler pressure by looking at the boiler pressure gauge on the front of most espresso machines.

Extraction time

Extraction time to fill two 1-oz cups should be between 25-30 seconds. Despite the time the pump should be turned off if the espresso becomes slightly lighter in color. The goal is to have a dark red espresso take approximately 25-30 seconds to brew with no change in color. Fore more information, read the section on extracting espresso.

Porta-filter and basket

The porta-filter should always remain the same temperature as the water used to brew the espresso. Therefore it should always remain in the group head. The basket should hold 16-18 grams of coffee and must be straight walled. Curvatures in the basket will lead to uneven extraction.

Timeliness

Act quickly, but carefully. You should spend no longer than 30 seconds for the time it takes to dose, distribute, tamp, pre-heat, and brew the espresso.

Espresso machine cleanliness

Coffee machine cleaning is probably the biggest problem with espresso today. If the machine, basket, and porta-filter are not cleaned regularly, the espresso will always taste rancid.

Espresso grinder maintenance

Everyday the burr blades should be swept clean. Between shots you may want to brush out the excess espresso that gets stuck between the burrs and the dosing chamber. The burrs must be replaced at least yearly so that they continue to produce coffee granules with a maximal surface area.

Environmental Factors

The humidity and temperature will change throughout the day. Since coffee is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture), the grind size must be changed throughout the day to achieve a brew time of 25-30 seconds. The temperature will not affect the espresso like the humidity, but it is important to avoid exposing the coffee to any high temperatures until brewing.

Espresso cup

The espresso cup should be pre-heated from a source other than the espresso machine. Filling a cup with water from the espresso machine prior to brewing the espresso will lower the temperature of the water in the boiler and the espresso extraction will be uneven. The espresso cup should have thick walls and a narrow mouth to retain heat and aroma, respectively.

Practice makes perfect

If you want to learn to make espresso, it is essential to practice and experiment. The key to making espresso is to realize that it always has further potential. By changing any one of these factors you can improve or diminish its potential. Espresso preparation is an art that demands the precision and dedication of science. I have never achieved, nor have ever seen anyone make a perfect espresso. A perfect espresso is more of a concept than an actuality. The beauty is that espresso is volatile and difficult. If it were easy, we would develop a machine that knows how to make a perfect espresso every time. There are so many factors involved in espresso preparation that only a human mind and a passionate heart can begin to understand and control its complexity.

The sobering beverage

Michelet

Coffee, the sobering beverage, a mighty nutriment of the brain, unlike spirituous liquors, increases purity and clarity; coffee, which at length substitutes stimulation of the mind for stimulation of the sexual faculties!...

The strong coffee of San Domingo, which Buffon, Diderot, and Rousseau drank, redoubled the ardor of the ardent souls—and the prophets who assembled day after day in the Cafe Procope saw, with penetrating glance, the depths of their black drink the illumination of the year of the revolution.

The proven benefits of coffee

For those with little wit
Coffee is a brightener.
The most barren of authors
Is made fertile by it.
It has in it a virtue
Strengthening the memory,
So that a pedant can talk,
Without rhyme or reason,
Spouting fable and history.
Coffee works a miracle,
Sharpening the brains of the stupid.
No author refreshed by it
Need languish in silence.
Coffee's strength and virtue
Double the memory.
Every drop empowers us
To gabble continuously,
And, discarding the crutches of rhyme,
To spout fable as history.

About how coffee can make anyone intelligent and can turn anyone into a poet (18th Century)

King Coffee

May the drink that I love,
Rule by divine right!
Wean the wine drinker
    from his grape;
You are far better than wine!

Song sung in Greek by a coffee vendor who went from house to house selling cups of black coffee (1690)

Over the Black Coffee

Arthur Gray (1902)

Coffee makes a sad man cheerful; a languorous man, active; a cold man, warm; a warm man, glowing; a debilitated man, strong. It intoxicates, without inviting the police; it excites a flow of spirits, and awakens mental powers thought to be dead....

When coffee is bad, it is the wickedest thing in town; when good, the most glorious. When it has lost its aromatic flavor and appeals no more to the eye, smell, or taste, it is fierie; but when left in a sick room, with the lid off, it fills the room with a fragrance only jacqueminots can rival. The very smell of coffee in a sick room terrorizes death.

Soot Coffee - not recommended, but interesting

I ran across this interesting coffee recipe the other day and just thought I should share it with you.

Dr. Chase's Recipes; or Information for Everybody
by A. W. Chase, M.D.   © 1876

Soot Coffee—Has cured many cases of Ague, after everything else has failed. It is made as follows: Soot scraped from a chimney, (that from stove-pipes does not do,) 1 tablespoon, steeped in water 1pt., and settled with 1 egg beaten up in a little water, as for other coffee, with sugar and cream, 3 times daily with the meals, in place of other coffee. It has come in very much to aid restoration in Typhoid Fever, bad cases of Jaundice, Dyspepsia, etc., etc.

Homemade latte

Since I began touting the wonders of my new moka pot, I have been receiving many questions about various coffee drinks and how to make great espresso drinks at home.

So I thought I'd post a few articles on making coffee drinks at home, and today's will be how to make a basic caffè latte.

Using the French Press to froth milk
Prior to frothing on the left; same milk after frothing on the right

Caffè Latte

Approximate Italian proportions

Pouring the espresso from the moka pot

One part espresso to four parts steamed milk, with no foam on top

1. What is called a caffè latte in America is essentially a monster-sized cappuccino in Italy.
2. Steam the milk first and set it aside. Pour the freshly brewed, hot espresso directly into the cup.
3. Pour the preferred proportion of steamed milk over the espresso.
4. Add sugar, Splenda^®, or even a biscotti, if desired.

I typically heat the milk in our microwave and then froth it using a French press (churning it in the manner of the old fashioned butter churn while I wait for the espresso to brew). I add the heated milk to the espresso in the coffee mug, holding back the froth with a spoon.

Final result

Then I spoon some frothed milk on top of the coffee and milk mixture. I stir the result slightly to give some color texture to the frothed milk. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I sprinkle a small amount of nutmeg or cinnamon on top.

I typically use 2% milk, which froths quite easily and contributes some flavor to the latte. Skim milk froths more easily but doesn't impart as much flavor to the final drink.

Inexpensive home brewed espresso

Prepared beans ground in a burr grinder

I admit my deep adoration of coffee. I have been a die-hard coffee fan since my college days, when one of my best friends used to pick up an entire pot of coffee from the cafeteria line and bring it to the table for just the two of us. It was particularly useful for the two days a week that I had a 7:00 Phys Ed class. Yikes!

But in recent years my coffee admiration has risen to a higher level. I have learned to love good lattes and cappuccinos and espressos. I have become a bit of a coffee snob. I have favorite coffees (McDonald's, Panera), favorite cappuccinos(Starbucks), favorite lattes (Panera), and favorite beans (Seattle's Best, Caribou Coffee, Kroger's Whole Bean). I also have my least favorites in each category, but I won't mention those—I'll let you experiment for yourself.

The moka pot, with grounds in the filter

For the past few years I have been looking for a good espresso maker. But the good ones are very, very expensive. My most desired espresso maker was the Italian La Pavoni Stradavari Lever Press. It's amazing. It also costs almost $2,000, which is why I don't have one.

But today I picked up the most unique coffee maker I've ever seen from our Lynchburg Target. This is an Italian made stove-top espresso maker called a moka pot. It makes a double-shot of espresso in a small pot. And the flavor is outstanding.

Brewing (this takes about a minute)

I made a latte with my new moka pot when I got it home. The moka pot doesn't have a milk steamer attachment, so I used a unique technique for creating the frothy milk needed for the latte. My wife gave me a coffee book for Christmas and I found this wonderful technique in that book. To make the frothed milk, pour milk into a coffee press (French Press). Heat the milk in the microwave until it is too hot to put your finger into it but not to the boiling point. Then use the coffee press like a butter churn. Pump the filter up and down for about a minute. the milk will treble in volume and become very creamy and frothy, perfect for lattes or cappuccinos.

Oh, did I mention the price of this new moka pot? We paid $24 for it. And Target offers one online for less than $10. If you're a coffee fan, you gotta get one of these espresso makers.

Literary excellence

Susan Zimmer, I Love Coffee

Once an espresso is prepared, its floral aromas develop first,while others, including the heavier, more roasted aromas, take longer to emerge. It is at this point the the crema is essential. It forms a "lid" over the coffee and prevents the most volatile vapors and aromas from escaping. In its bouyant perfection and crowning glory, the crema floats on top of the espresso.

Maybe it's not outstanding literature, but the topic of the paragraph increases the quality of the imagery in a way that is existentially delightful.

Well ... at least it speaks to me—in a caffeinated sort of way.

What flavor?

This is interesting. I found this "What flavor latte are you?" survey and decided to find out. I don't know that I'd describe myself by this flavor (I'm a simple café latte), but I think the description may be somewhat accurate. Hmmm.

What would we do without coffee? We wouldn't even be able to figure ourselves out.

You Are a Vanilla Latte

Each day you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world... even before you've had coffee! You have amazing energy and stamina. You love to work hard and enjoy your rewards. You are friendly and popular. People love you more than they even realize. Your fresh, laid back, and happy attitude always makes things a little sweeter.

What Flavor Latte Are You?

Morning devotions

As morning breaks I look to you, O God, to be my strength this day Psalm 121:1-2 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—     From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord,     Who made heaven and earth.

It's the journey

They arrived late at night in a city they had never seen. It was hard to tell much from the windows of the taxi, but although everything about the lobby of the small hotel was unquestionably foreign, arriving there seemed oddly like coming home. They were too tired even to unpack, so they crawled into the high bed and fell asleep under a thick quilt. In the middle of the night he woke up to hear the sound of people singing as they walked by under the windows, and he got up and opened the shutters slightly. Groups of people were strolling by, laughing and talking, coming home very late from dinner. He woke a second time, much later, to hear the sound of rain falling lightly in the street.

The Italian word espresso means "express," which is usually defined as "fast" and thought to owe its origin to the speed with which espresso is made, a description of the sudden emergence of inky espresso spurting out of an espresso machine. But of course express also refers to an object or substance that has been "pressed out," as espresso is pressed by force out of the mixture of coffee grounds and hot water, and expressly means "particularly," as in a cup of espresso made expressly for one person.

The next morning they opened their eyes to find that the room already was filled with barred light coming in through the shutters. A bowl of white flowers was on a table next to the bed, and they could smell the closed, secret smell of the blossoms. She called for room service, speaking very slowly and clearly in her newly acquired language, then came back to bed. Both of them had drifted back to sleep by the time the knock came on the door. A young boy who seemed to have stepped out of a Renaissance painting came in carrying a tray of pastries and preserves ... fresh juice and a pot of strong, hot coffee. They ate breakfast sitting up in bed, listening to the sounds of scooters and small cars and people calling out to one another on the other side of the shutters.

They had nothing to do for days—nothing except to be with each other, to read and write, to explore the city, to sit outside little trattorias in the sun. They both got out of bed and walked over to the high windows and out onto the small balcony. In the narrow, winding stone-paged street, the morning light made an intricate pattern of sun and shade on the cornices and lintels and pilasters of ancient, honey-colored limestone buildings. The air had a fragrance that they couldn't quite identify, but after standing there a minute or two in the sunlight, they decided that it was a mixture of lemons, jasmine, and expresso.

Espresso: Culture and Cuisine, Karl Petzke and Sara Slavin

Italian coffee

The Italians know that everything in their country is ... imbued with their spirit. They know that there is no need, really, to distinguish or to choose between the smile on the face of a cameriere and Donatello's San Giorgio.... They are all works of art, the "great art of being happy" and of making other people happy, and art which embraces adn inspires all others in Italy, the only art worth learning, but which can never be really mastered, the art of inhabiting the earth.

Luigi Barzini, The Italians

Panera Bread?

One of my favorite coffee shops is Panera Bread. In fact, I really think it should be called Panera Coffee, but they didn't ask me when they named it.

I mentioned yesterday that one of the things I enjoy is simply sitting in a café, sipping coffee and watching the other patrons. Actually, watching is not all I do sometimes. As the regular readers of this blog know, I am never without my camera. And I love to take photos of coffee shop patrons.

One of my regular haunts for a while was a Panera Bread in Northern Virginia. Many evenings when I had to work late, I would work from this Panera Bread shop using their free wifi to access the internet.

Claudette, La Maison de Claudine

...The fire was already blazing, fed with dry wood. The milk was boiling on the blue-tiled charcoal stove. Nearby, a bar of chocolate was melting in a little water for my breakfast, and, seated squarely in her cane armchair, my mother was grinding the fragrant coffee, which she roasted herself.

I took the photo shown here one late afternoon when the sun was low enough to create a strong side-lighting. I was working on some documents, sipping some coffee, and watching the people around me. This young girl was enjoying the company of her sister and brother and they were all having a great time. I snapped this black & white photo.

The heavenly beverage

Coffee. It's one of a few of my simple but ardent pleasures. And I truly love (good) coffee.

I love the aroma of the coffee as it brews or is pressed; I love the tingle of the coffee on my tongue; I love the flavor that envelopes my taste sensors; I love the warmth of the liquid as I swallow. I love coffee.

But I think the thing I love the most about coffee is sharing it with other coffee lovers. There is nothing like sitting down on the back patio with a friend, sharing cappuccino or espresso. And one of my favorite things to do when I drink my first cup of coffee in the morning is to sit down in a quiet spot, read the letter that my best Friend gave to me, and reflect on His love and care for me and my family.

Ernest Hemingay, A Moveable Feast

It was a a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a caffé au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.

Some of my friends don't like espresso. They think it's too strong, too dark. They think espresso is too rich (how could anything be too "Rich"?) and too bitter, and they don't want to drink coffee out of little cups. But my friends who don't like espresso do like espresso drinks—caffé latte, caffé, mocha—when the intensity of the espresso has been soothed by hot steamed milk, sweetened with sugar and topped with chocolate or spice.

I love it all: a latte or cappuccino in the morning to wake me up and keep me awake until noon; a demitasse of espresso or a cup of double espresso after lunch (depending on the day's workload); an espresso or an espressso drink mid-afternoon as a break in my day; a stop in a café at the end of the afternoon to read or write or just sit and watch the other patrons; an espresso after dinner as the finishing touch to a good meal; a macchiato or a mocha with friends at the coffeehouse in the evening, perhaps after a movie.

As the saying goes—"It's all good."