Espresso… We have a lot to thank our Italian friends! Besides a little sip of heaven, it’s also the building block of your favorite dairy drinks. Getting the perfect extraction and flavor can be hard work. Let’s know how to make an Espresso. If you grind the beans too finely, the coffee will be extracted too much, taking too long to pass through the machine, and it will turn into a more bitter beverage. Too thick and the coffee will fly through the machine, being under-extracted and producing a more sour or acidic taste.
So, it is natural that it may take a few tries to make it just right for your taste – we know, we go through this ritual of checking our grind every morning at our Espresso Bar in Newyork! Mr. Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Maker help us to make perfect coffee.
Let us guide you through the basics, and help you make the perfect espresso
To read next-best semi automatic espresso machine
What you will need:
Portable filter coffee machine, also known as a piston.
Mill of your choice, we recommend an electric one such as the Baratza Encore
Tamper
Your favorite Jones brothers coffee!
Timer
Weighing scale
Hitting box – or somewhere to dump the coffee after every drink
Total preparation time: 1-2 minutes
How do you do it?
- Remove the portable filter, clean it and dry the basket. Zero the scale and grind about 18g of coffee to a fine consistency (similar to powdered sugar) directly in the portafilter. Tap once or twice to settle and spread the coffee evenly with your finger.
- Tamp the portafilter until it feels like the coffee is pushing back. Make sure your coffee bed is level.
- Purge (or $ 0027 rinse $ 0027) the water through the espresso machine group head to make sure everything is hot, and then lock the filter holder in place.
- Turn on the group head and start the timer. Place a cup under the portafilter and watch the espresso to see if there is a steady flow that should resemble little mouse tails (smooth and uninterrupted).
- Full extraction should take 25-27 seconds to brew 38g-40g of espresso. If it takes much longer or pulls very slowly, try a coarser grind. Though it brews too quickly, you will try a finer grind. If you need more help, we have dedicated an entire post to explaining the complexities of this process! Read it here.