The making of espresso is both a science and an art.
Over the years, precision is required to make a great espresso.
There are four factors that affect the making of a great shot.
They are also called the four M’s.
In order to prepare the ultimate espresso, the coffee must be freshly roasted and the blend must be assembled with great attention on selecting the origin of the beans and the roast profile.
It is a mistake to believe espresso coffee must be roasted very dark. Some of the best blends in the northern Italian tradition contain some medium roast beans along with a few lightly roasted ones.
Good beans means better tasting coffee. Perfectly logical, right ?
The coffee must then be ground at the optimal particle size.
This requires a high quality grinding apparatus, some experimentation to dial in the grind and knowledge of how the size of particles affects the brewing process.
Great baristas in fact will only grind beans for an espresso right before using them.
30 seconds after they have been ground, the beans are already too stale for a good espresso. The proper grind is between fine and powdery. The grind has to be uniform in order to insure the best taste.
Thanks to many inventors, you now may have to use tools to help you make your espresso. But it will not magically make perfect espresso if you don’t know how to use it properly.
Good espresso machine should be designed to heat water at an exact temperature requested by the operator and to deliver it through the group head holding the coffee at stable temperature and pressure.
This will yield the best possible extraction to achieve the perfect espresso.
The last factor is Mano or the skill of the barista – that means you.
More than half the battle is knowing how to use your equipment properly.
You need to know how to properly fill your filter basket. Some espresso lovers will tell you to tamp the ground coffee, others will tell you not to.
Like all skills, making the perfect espresso takes practice so that your every espresso shot has that beautiful crema that is the mark of true espresso.
An Affair With An Espresso
