Pulling the perfect shot of espresso
A guide to making café-quality espresso shots at home
The world runs on coffee and if you really want to pep up your day, there’s espresso– an innovation of the late 1800s and early 1900s. A dark, rich, and creamy beverage, espresso gets its name from esprimere, an Italian word which means ‘fast, express’ and is in fact the first example of fast food as we know it, since its very name literally translates to speed.
As coffee gained popularity across Europe in the 19th century, the time-consuming boiled-water process of brewing made it less appealing to workers looking for a quick fix on their coffee break. In order to hasten the labourious process of brewing, Angelo Moriondo, an Italian inventor, invented the first espresso machine. Unfortunately, Angelo’s invention produced espressos only in bulk — a glitch fixed by Luigi Bezzera, another Italian inventor who created the first single-serving espresso machine. Bezzera reduced brewing time from a couple of minutes to 30 seconds. That’s the average amount of time the majority of espresso machines today take to pull a cup of good espresso.
Luigi Bezzera designed a coffee machine that forced, by pressure, hot water and steam through finely ground coffee into an individual cup, and that’s the bare minimum you’ll need to get started. Not Bezzera’s espresso machine per se, but an espresso machine that comes with a portafilter and tamper.
Espresso machine
Espresso is another way of making coffee with the same ingredient, but a different machine. When you are pulling a shot of espresso, you are forcing, by high-pressure, water to reduce brewing time and dissolve more solids in emulsified oils. This results in a thick, rich layer of crème at the top of the shot. In a nutshell, pulling a cup of espresso is a concentrated way of making coffee that requires a different range of equipment.
An espresso machine correlates to your brewing method and is where the magic happens. An espresso machine (like the Budan Espresso Machine) has a portafilter that has the same functionality as a paper, metal, or cloth filter. The portafilter is made out of stainless steel and is a small cylindrical basket that comes attached with a handle. The tamper, also metal, is used to compress the ground coffee into the portafilter.
Once you have your espresso machine, you need a few other pieces of equipment to complete your homebrew setup — a weighing scale, a timer, a grinder, and of course, roasted coffee beans.
Find your bean
Start with good coffee beans (like Korebi Coffee Espresso) and ensure you are using coffee at its prime. Fresher the coffee, more the foam. Traditional espresso is made with a darker roast. You can either pick out coffee beans marketed as ‘espresso’ or experiment with different beans since that’s the biggest advantage of home-brewing yourself a rich cup of crema.
Grind up your coffee
As with any brewing method, there are certain brewing variables that bring about the best results, like choosing an espresso grinder (one that has burrs instead of blades). An espresso grinder (like the Budan Express Electric Grinder or the Hario Ceramic Mini Mill Grinder) with burrs makes a fine grind, possibly a little finer than table salt.
Measure up your coffee
It’s best to use a weighing scale (like the Varia Digital LED Scale) to ensure you are measuring out the coffee grounds correctly. For a double shot of espresso, a standard dose is between 13–21 grams of ground coffee. Since every espresso machine is different, it’s best to begin with narrowing down your ideal dose by leaving a little head space once you’ve tamped down the shot. This will give you a good clearance for brewing once the portafilter is locked into the machine.
Did you know it takes about 42 espresso coffee beans to produce a single shot of espresso?
Other equipment
- Shot glass to get your shot into.
- Timer (like the Automatic Shot Timer by Luminaire) to keep track of the whole process, unless your espresso machine already has one.
Brewing the perfect shot of espresso
Once you have your equipment, you can finally pull your first shot of espresso. Here’s how:
Step 1: Prep your coffee machine
- Fill the machine with water (some machines you may be able to plumb directly).
- Heat the machine up (could take from 10–45 minutes).
- Ensure that all components are warm and ready to go.
Step 2: Preparing your shot
- Run water through the portafilter and the group head (nozzle where the portafilter is inserted).
- Wipe the group head and portafilter dry before actually starting.
Step 3: Grinding & measuring coffee beans
- Finely grind your coffee beans.
- Fill the portafilter with freshly ground coffee (18–21 grams).
- Slide your fingers across the top of the portafilter to pack coffee in a straight line.
- Make sure your tamper is clean and dry.
- Go ahead and tamp evenly (firmly press down and twist slightly). The twist or polish will put loose grounds in place and make sure everything is packed perfectly for the water to begin doing its job.
- Stick the portafilter inside the group head.
Step 4: Final steps
- Place your shot glass on a scale and tare the weight.
- Start your timer and activate the switch.
- Wait for the distinct layer of crema.
- Measure your yield.
- Enjoy your freshly brewed cup of espresso!
Tip: Grind your coffee beans finer if your coffee comes out too sour or add more pressure when you tamp to pack the grinds compactly and improve extraction. Follow the same process if your coffee is bitter.
Visit our website www.somethingsbrewing.in to explore our collection of espresso machines.
