Make espresso like a barista - Part 2

The key to brewing the perfect cup of espresso is to evenly apply about 9bar (keep in the range of 8.5 to 9.5) of pressure through the ground coffee. And to achieve this, you have to;

1. Have the right grind of coffee

2. Have the right amount of coffee, and

3. Have the right tamping

If you are new to espresso making, you will find that getting the right grind of coffee can be really complicated. Having a coffee grinded too fine will make it hard for the hot water to go through as well as clogging the holes in the portafilter; this will create a pressure higher than the desirable level burning your coffee. If you have it too coarse on the other hand will allow the hot water to flow through the coffee with a lower pressure, giving you an unpleasant sour taste.

Reaching the right pressure is really important, as it is when the coffee ground get in contact with the pressurized water that it releases all the great aromas and flavors as well as a nice caramel colored crema.

How to adjust the grinder

A good domestic grinder would have about 25 adjustable grinding level, say 1 is the finest and 25 coarsest.

A espresso machine requires a quite fine coffee ground, but do not start adjusting to 1 as the bean being too fine, it might create too much pressure and damage your coffee machine. Start from somewhere around 7 to 10.

Add enough beans for “2 cups of coffee”. Many people make the mistake of just adding enough beans one cup of coffee, when you have just enough coffee in the grinder for one cup, the first half of the coffee grinds fine, but as it start grinding the beans start popping, making something like a popcorn effect, and you end up with an uneven grind. If you just drink a cup of coffee, it might seem to be a waste of beans to adding a bit extra just for the sake of preventing the beans from popping. But trust me, you will se a greater consistency in your grind by just adding that bit extra.

Once you grind it, pull a shot and observe the way it get extracted.

The extraction time, although varies depending on the bean you are using, should be around 20 to 25 seconds. (If about 1-2 days from roasting, I would go for 18 sec), the amount should be about 30ml and should have a nice body and a reddish caramel color crema.

If the shot came out too quick = make adjust 1 dial finer

If the shot came out too slow = 1 dial coarser

Do only small adjustment, and keep your tamping and coffee amount consistent, as you should only change one variable to be able to make correct judgments.

Getting the right amount of coffee in your group can be quite difficult. It requires a lot of trial and errors. All coffee beans are different in their density and moisture content so there is no one universal amount that you can use for your machine.

The important thing to remember is, you are trying to achieve 9 bar of pressure through your coffee. And you don’t want some loose ground in your portafilter (coffee basket) when extracting. So here you go, this is, from my experience, the easiest way to get the right amount of coffee.

1. Fill ¾ of the basket with coffee

2. Knock it twice on the table to fill any air pocket in your basket

3. Fill it all the way up

4. Get rid of excess coffee

And then you can move into the tamping.

Even if you have the dosage and grind right, a bad tamping can destroy your coffee experience. As I said many times above, “9bar of pressure”, is our goal. And hence it is a high pressure; the water will try to find any loose passage in your packed coffee to relief the pressure. So, if you don’t tamp it in a appropriate manner, you will end up with a pale, tasteless coffee. And you will be surprised how many professional baristas actually neglect the tamping! Its sad, but its true. But anyway, let me teach you how to do it in a proper way.

1. Fill the basket in using the method above,.

2. Hold the tamper straight and apply pressure to the coffee with the group held on top of a counter. Make sure you are applying pressure straight and level in the basket.

3. Knock the side of the group with the “back” of your tamper to bring any lose coffee ground from the side of the basket.

4. Press it again, now lightly and spin the tamper twice on the top of the coffee to smoothen the surface.

5. Check if your coffee ground is smooth and level with no visible holes, and you are ready to extract.

Once you finish all of the above you are ready to extract.

Flash some water before you put the coffee group as your group head might be too hot, you can use it to warm your cup.

When you insert the coffee group, if the above steps are done correctly, you will notice you can feel the coffee just touching the surface of the shower screen of the group head. Meaning that when the water hit the coffee and it starts to expand, there will be no other way from the water to exit, resulting in a beautiful cup of espresso. If it wasn’t the best cup of coffee you ever had, then check the followings:

1. Did you have 18 to 25 seconds of extraction?

IF it is less than 15 seconds, pressure too low and water is just flowing through.

IF it is more than 25 seconds, the coffee pack is building up too much pressure and water is not passing through.

Adjust your grinder accordingly.

2. about a 30ml extraction

3. Take out the group and check the coffee pack straight after extraction, it should be smooth on too and firm, and the screw mark from the group head should be visible, indicating a perfect contact.

If it is not smooth and wet, you may need to add a bit more coffee into your portafilter.

4. Make sure your beans are freshly ground, even the greatest barista, can only make an average coffee with old beans.

Hope this guide helped.

If you have any questions, write an comment, and I will try to answer it as soon as possible.

Thank you for you time reading,

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