The Espresso, or short black, is the base of most of our cafe beverages we order with individuality and anticipation. Whether you drink a Latte, Flat White, Cappuccino or Macchiato, it all begins, and ends, with the success or failure of that little black elixir!

Extracting coffee by pushing pressurized hot water through a compacted bed of coffee, results in a higher concentration of coffee oils than other methods. The golden crema you see on espressos is due to CO2 that was trapped in the bean being released, suspending coffee oils. It is a sign of how fresh and how well the coffee was extracted.

The best part about espresso is how easily we can make it for ourselves at home. As ubiquitous as any kitchen appliance, there is a machine at a price point for everyone. If you need any help selecting one you can read our article here. 

 

What you'll need;

• Espresso Machine
• Coffee Grinder
• Scales
• 18g of coffee
  
• Tamper

 

Step 1

Make sure you turn on your machine with plenty of time to re heat. 15min should do it. We want the whole machine to have warmed so the espresso doesn’t cool as it extracts.

Step 2

Place 18g of coffee into your grinder. Not all machines are the same size, so don’t worry if you can’t fit 18g in, you may only be able to fit 16g. 

Step 3

Grind into your portafilter (the thing that goes into the machine). Make sure the coffee is even throughout and tamp down with just enough force to feel resistance. You just want to create an even, tight bed of coffee that means water needs to work a bit to get through, taking all those flavours with it.

Step 4

Place the portafilter in the machine and place your cup on a set of scales ready to brew.

Step 5

Start to brew your espresso, at the same time, start the timer. We’re aiming for 36g of liquid in 28sec.

Extra tips

If you want a stronger coffee, you can experiment with how much coffee you use and the yield out. Using more coffee will make it stronger, as will extracting less liquid.

Always clean your portafilter with a dry cloth between making shots.

Clean the shower screen where the water comes through, by running 2-3sec of water out of the machine. Do this between each shot to remove the extracted grounds left behind and keep things tasting clean.