My opinion about espresso might be completely different than your thinking about espresso. Some people may think of espresso as simply a strong cup of coffee. Other folks could see it as something different, something more complex, something almost reverent, a divine gift. I’m definitely somewhere in the center.
No matter where your feeling about espresso are, one thing is for certain: creating a great shot of espresso is achieved only by a careful balance of both science and art. Making espresso requires a finely-tuned sense of taste and attention to detail.
Making a great shot of espresso requires several things:
1. Roasted coffee beans
2. A bean grinder
3. An espresso machine
Sounds easy enough up to now, right? In reality it’s far from simple, but there are lots of high quality machines available today that do, actually, make it really quite simple to produce a nice tasting shot of espresso.
Let’s briefly focus on beans. The highest quality of bean would be the Arabica bean. The lesser quality of bean would be the Robusta bean. The Arabica bean delivers more taste, the Robusta bean delivers more caffeine. Whatever is your preference your beans ought to be freshly roasted.
Next is the grinder, since the perfect grind of coffee bean is going to produce a delicious cup of espresso. Too fine and your espresso will taste bitter, too coarse and you will end up with a weak cup of espresso. It’s going to probably take a few trials to determine the grind that is the best for you and your machine.
There are numerous different types of espresso machines. You can find manual machines, semi-automatic machines, automatic machines, and super automatic espresso machines. Visit this site to get a complete description of the different types of espresso machines.
Now is when focus on detail is necessary. You have ground your beans to the proper find grind. You now must place exactly 7 grams of ground coffee into your filter basket of the portafilter on your espresso machine. Tamp the grounds into the filter basket with medium pressure. Attach the portafilter to the machine and lock in place. Turn on the machine and start heating the water to exactly 93 degree C. Once the water has reached the proper temperature begin the pull, or turn on the pump. The pump should start forcing water through the grounds under at least 9 bars of pressure. The espresso should start flowing into the cup in a few seconds, and the proper extraction time ought to be somewhere within 25-30 seconds.
If all of this is beginning to sound complicated and difficult then there may be good news. A super automatic espresso machine such as the Gaggia Platinum Vision makes creating a perfect cup of espresso almost child’s play. Press a few buttons, wait a couple of minutes, and the machine does the remainder.
Now the real easy part–sitting back and enjoying the perfect shot of espresso.
Source by Mike D. Andrews
Making an Espresso: Art or Science?
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