A small cup, a strong aroma and a unique taste. It’s an espresso! A delicious coffee drink that uplifts the body and mind and is loved by people all over the world.
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How to prepare a really tasty espresso?
Although there are more modern approaches to making espresso, according to the Specialty Coffee Association, the basis for good espresso coffee is 7-9 grams of finely ground coffee, 25-30 ml of hot water, a pressure of 7-9 bar and a heated espresso cup. The espresso should be extracted in about 20 to 30 seconds, but no longer. After 30 seconds, no more oils and substances are leached from the ground coffee.
In addition to the preparation of espresso coffee itself, we should also keep an eye on the quality of the ingredients. Even the best barista in the world cannot prepare a tasty espresso from poorly roasted or weathered coffee, or using too hard water full of chlorine. So what are the factors that go into the process of preparing a really tasty espresso?
Coffee quality and the right grind size
One of the main pillars of a truly delicious espresso is the quality of the coffee, the freshness of its roasting and grinding. Whether you prefer lighter or darker roasting, it is important to always buy freshly roasted coffee. Therefore, we recommend buying coffee from roasters providing the exact date of roasting.
In addition to storing coffee properly, it is also important that you always grind it immediately before making espresso. During grinding, essential oils and gases are released from the coffee beans, which give the espresso its unique aroma and taste. From pre-ground coffee, these oils and gases evaporate quickly and the coffee weathers.
TIP! You can keep the freshness of the coffee longer by proper storage in a special Coffeevac vacuum can.
Each coffee preparation has its own requirements for grinding thickness. Espresso coffee requires very fine grinding. If you have ground coffee to the right thickness, you should pour 25 to 30 millilitres of coffee into the cup for 30 seconds. Properly prepared espresso will retain not only the delicious aroma, but also the given spectrum of taste tones.
Water quality and its ideal temperature
As water forms a large part of espresso, its quality is extremely important for the final taste of coffee. Ordinary drinking water from the tap is usually quite hard and in some areas of Slovakia you can even smell chlorine in it. Therefore, ideal water is the one that has no specific taste or smell.
Mohlo by vás tiež zaujímať: Prepare a delicious French press coffee!
Although espresso coffee is prepared with higher temperature water, this may not be enough. Some undesirable taste properties of water cannot be removed even by boiling it. Therefore, we recommend using a filter kettle or flow filter that effectively removes limescale, chlorine and possibly other unwanted substances from the water.
The water temperature is equally important. Although baristas like to experiment with espresso, it is generally recommended that the water in the coffee machine be somewhere between 92 and 95 ° C. The recommended coffee to water ratio is 1:2 (8 g to 16 g) or 1:3 (8 g to 24 g).
Quality coffee maker and grinder
If we want to really control the preparation of espresso coffee, we need to invest a little. Semi-professional home lever coffee machines are also available on the market, with a price of around 500 to 600 euros. It is important that the selected coffee machine allows us to control the water temperature, pressure and, ideally, the extraction time.
TIP! At home or on the road, you can grind your coffee freshly using the Hario Smart G hand grinder.
In addition to the coffee machine, you must also choose a grinder that grinds the coffee to the required size. Even in this case, however, the market offers several solutions in different price ranges. The ideal solution is an electric grinder with grinding stones, which guarantees even grinding without unwanted overheating.
Prepare an espresso that you will enjoy
If you feel that making espresso coffee is too complicated for you, do not feel sad. You can’t make a really tasty espresso with the push of a button, but only with precise preparation. However, this process becomes automatic for you over time and gives you space to experiment. There is hidden magic in espresso. Manual preparation and especially the conscious combination of several factors will bring you new and unexpected taste discoveries. And that is the hidden beauty of espresso coffee!
