COFFEE BREWING: ESPRESSO TUTORIAL

Specialty Coffee (or 3rd Wave Coffee) is a way of thought that asks the question, how delicious can we make coffee taste? There are many different avenues that we can heighten the taste of coffee, from the Growing process, to the Sourcing process, to the Roasting process, to the Brewing process, and to the Tasting process. Today we are going to focus on one method in the Brewing Process: Espresso.

When brewing espresso, there are several important factors to keep in mind. First, you need to make sure that you use delicious specialty grade coffee that was roasted by a Specialty Coffee Roaster, you can usually identify these companies if they roast coffee on the medium to lighter side (if you need some suggestions check out our COFFEE section). Second, you want to make sure you have the right equipment (see list below paragraph), and Lastly, but equally as important, you want to make sure you keep you machines clean, inside and out.

EQUIPMENT LIST:

• Espresso Machine

• Espresso Burr Grinder

• Freshly Roasted Specialty Coffee

• Gram Scale

• Tamper

• 2-3 Towels

• Shot Glass

PROCEDURE:

1. Remove the Portafilter (the metal filter that holds the ground coffee) from the espresso machine.

2. Wipe it clean and dry with a clean and dry towel.

3. Place the Portafilter onto the gram scale and make sure the scale reads “0” or “0.0”

4. Freshly grind the coffee into the portafilter, then place the Portafilter back onto the scale.

   1. The scale should read 18.5-19 grams

      1. If it weighs more, then remove some coffee.

      2. If it weighs less, then grind a little more coffee.

5. Once you reach 18 grams, use your finger to evenly disperse the coffee over the face of the Portafilter.

6. Place the Portafilter firmly on the counter and keep your hand pushing down on the handle while you tamp (or pack the coffee).

   1. Tamp by placing the tamper onto the coffee grounds that are in the portafilter.

   2. When tamping, tamp as flat as you can while leaning into the tamp rather than using your strength to push the tamp down.

7. Insert the Portafilter into the Espresso Machine. Start a timer and start the espresso extraction immediately.

   1. Be sure there is a shot glass under the spouts of the Portafilter.

8. Stop the espresso extraction once the crema reaches 1.5 ounces or the liquid espresso weighs 32-35 grams and stop the timer at the same time.

9. The ideal espresso extraction should take in between 25 and 30 seconds.

   1. If it was too fast, then make the grind finer.

   2. If it was too slow, then make the grind more coarse.

If you want a video tutorial on how to brew espresso and make grind adjustments, check out our Rumble or YouTube page by clicking the link at the top right corner of the page. I hope this helps!

HAPPY BREWING!!