How to make the perfect espresso

Whether you have a manual coffee machine or a bean to cup, this article will teach you how to craft the perfect espresso.

Making the perfect coffee only uses two procedures:

1. making an espresso
2. In most cases, heating some milk

Let’s look at the first of these procedures – making an espresso.

It’s essential to appreciate what we are going to do here and understand the product we are dealing with; coffee. Firstly, only 26% of coffee is water-soluble, and we are trying to extract between 17-22%. That’s why there’s always a puck (the insoluble fibers) of coffee left after extraction. To give a target for extraction, we will be looking for 30ml of espresso to be extracted in around 28 seconds for a single shot. For a double shot, we will be looking for 60ml of espresso to be extracted around 28 seconds.

Coffee is incredibly volatile, and a whole range of factors can and will alter the extraction, from the origin of the beans, the roast level, how fresh the coffee is, how warm the room is and is it raining. Coffee will rapidly alter if you store it somewhere cold and bring it out into a warm room (never store coffee in the fridge). Store coffee somewhere dark and in cool, dry conditions. Try and buy your coffee in smaller pack quantities of 250g and try not to bulk buy – little and often.

The joy of working with coffee is the volatility of the product. Coffee alters the longer it’s out of the bag, it releases the delicate gases and oils that the roaster has worked hard to develop, it warms up or cools down, absorbs moisture from the atmosphere or dries out. These tiny changes will often play havoc with the espresso, so don’t worry if today your coffee appears different from yesterday. We just need to make some adjustments and try again. The result of the perfect espresso is worth the wait.

How to make espresso on a pump machine

Pre-heat the machine and ensure the filter holder is hot before making the drink
Pre-heat the cup
Dispense a 7-9g portion of coffee into the single filter holder (or 14-18g in the double filter holder)
Tamp with good pressure ensuring the top is level to the fill line (this can speed up and slow down the extraction time depending on how hard you press, so a little trial and error here)
Dust off any excess coffee from the filter holder
Flush group head to remove any old coffee by running the pump for 2 seconds
Lock the filter holder into the group head and place cup under the spouts
Press the brew button and time the extraction
The target extraction time is 25-30 seconds to produce a 30ml single shot (or 60ml for a double shot)
Note the appearance of the espresso as it flows into the cup (spaghetti / mouse’s tail)
Note the color, density and amount of crema (on the perfect extraction, we can identify the heart at the bottom, the body rising to create the crema)
The ideal density of the crema should be 4-5mm, enough to hold a measure of sugar on its surface for several seconds
If the coffee is under-extracted (too quick, faster than 25 seconds), adjust the grinder to make the grinds finer (therefore slowing down the extraction time)
If the coffee is over-extracted (too slow, slower than 30 seconds), adjust the grinder to make the grinds coarser (therefore speeding up the extraction time)

The link below shows how to make espresso on a De’Longhi pump machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSiQYlxQ5CU

How to make espresso on a bean to cup machine

Pre-heat the machine and ensure the cup is warm
Place the cup under the spouts to make a coffee
Press the coffee button of choice: to make two coffees, either press the coffee choice button or quickly press the coffee choice button twice (check the instructions for the machine)
The machine will grind the beans, and the coffee starts running off into the cup
Once the desired quantity has been reached, the machine automatically stops delivering the coffee and ejects the grounds (puck) into the particular container
After a few seconds, the ready message is displayed again, and the machine can make another coffee
The target extraction time is 25-30 seconds to produce a 30ml single shot (or 60ml for a double shot)
Note the appearance of the espresso as it flows into the cup (spaghetti / mouse’s tail)
Note the color, density and amount of crema (on the perfect extraction, we can identify the heart at the bottom, the body rising to create the crema)
The ideal density of the crema should be 4-5mm, enough to hold a measure of sugar on its surface for several seconds
If your coffee is under-extracted (too quick, faster than 25 seconds), you must adjust the grinder to make the grinds finer (therefore slowing down the extraction time)
If the coffee is over-extracted (too slow, slower than 30 seconds), adjust the grinder to make the grinds coarser (therefore speeding up the extraction time)

The link below shows how to make espresso on a De’Longhi bean to cup machine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW1l7NDC9Ek

It’s important to remember that when we drink an espresso, we don’t get the full effect until usually the fourth sip. A top tip on tasting the espresso is only to sip the espresso. Take at least five sips and notice that the first sip is usually harsh, but don’t give up. With the second sip, swill it around the mouth a little (like mouth wash) and notice a sensation on the sides of the tongue.

The magic will start to appear after the third sip, as now, unwittingly, the nose has identified all of the delicate gases and the mouth has identified the flavours, and we can now enjoy all of the flavours from an espresso. When we are new to tasting espresso, add white sugar to help.

Keep a note of the extraction times, and we will soon start to notice exactly where to identify the sweet spot. We don’t generally spot mediocre coffee, but we can spot an excellent one.