The Perfect Espresso

Caffe espresso, or espresso for short, is a concentrated, 1 fluid ounce of coffee that is extracted by forcing hot water through finely grounded coffee. To extract a perfect espresso shot, a well trained barista needs three things: 

1. Fresh, quality coffee beans
2. a great grinder
3. a well-built espresso machine

Having fresh, quality beans doesn’t require much explanation - as with anything food and beverage related, the fresher something is, the better it will taste. Besides water the coffee is the only ingredient, so obviously it would be the most crucial element. My cafe uses Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso blend. It’s simply great. 

When you see these two, you know you'll get great
espressos. 

Once you have your coffee, how you grind it is essential. A quality grinder is necessary if you want your coffee to be ground consistently and evenly. I use Mazzer grinders at my cafe. They’re built like tanks, the grinds are consistent and they’re easy to adjust. 

The third most important part is the espresso machine. When you walk into a coffeehouse, the easiest way to tell if they take their coffee seriously or not is with the espresso machine. Right now in the commercial market, the two best espresso machine makers are La Marzocco and Synesso. Since 1927, Italian-made La Marzocco’s were considered the best espresso machines until Synessos from Seattle were manufactured in 2004. I hear that the Synesso is basically an upgraded version of the La Marzocco.

I have a 2-group Synesso Cyncra at my cafe and it’s just great. The steam wand is powerful, and the espresso shot is always, always at 9 bars, and that consistency, along with the reliability, is what makes a great espresso machine. 

Just having great equipment doesn’t make the espresso shot great, however. Every morning and throughout the day, a dedicated barista will pull a shot for him/herself, and taste the espresso. Whether it be temperature of the room/machine, humidity, or the age of the coffee bean, many things will affect the taste of the espresso, and adjustments must be made. If the espresso is sour, the coffee is being underextracted, and thus the grind needs to be finer. If the espresso is bitter, the coffee is being overextracted, and the grind needs to be more coarse. If the espresso is salty, the temperature of the pressurized water needs to be increased. 

If you’ve already read my blog on lattes, now you know that the barista doesn’t just need to steam good milk, but pull a great shot of espresso also. Impressive!