Posted by Ofra Ronen on 19th Feb 2017
You took the time to backflush your high end coffee machine yesterday, and this morning you spent few precious moments adjusting your grinder, cleaning the chute from old residue and being extra careful with your routine. You wanted the same body and complexity you are used to with your espresso, when your machine is clean and you're right into it.
You made an espresso and it tastes flat, dull, thin and quite watery, so you think: 'what did I do wrong NOW'?
Sounds familiar? Frustrating? It sure is.
You forgot that you've overstocked on beans last order and that your current bag is already a month old.
You got everything right EXCEPT the beans, one out of the 4 pillars of good espresso.
Don't get me wrong, it happens to us too, and we are occasionally reminded through a nasty, unpleasant cup, so it's good to re-visit the fundamentals of espresso once in a while, even if you are a seasoned Home Barista, so that troubleshooting is easy and you can bounce back with a quick fix onto the right flavour path.
Ideally, espresso should pour nice and slow, present a thick, golden honey crema, have a potent aroma, taste balanced (not too bitter, sweet, salty or sour). It should be velvety and smooth. A perfect espresso is enjoyable straight with no additives, yet bold enough to not disappear in milk. A pleasant and aromatic aftertaste would linger on the palate for several minutes after consumption.
So how do we get all that in cup? Results will depend on:
The 4 M’S of Espresso make sure all those ingredients are covered:
The ‘Macina’ (The Machine)
The right machine is the one that delivers the right temperature and pressure for the espresso. We look at:
More on how to choose the right coffee machine for you here...
The Macina-Dosatore (The Grinder)
A high quality burr grinder is essential for espresso. Burrs, as opposed to domestic grinders with blades, will crush the grind more evenly. In our experience, newbies commonly underestimate the importance of the grinder. Generally speaking, to achieve the best result in the cup, machine and grinder should be evenly matched. More on how to choose the right grinder here...
The Miscela (The Beans)
There are five main factors that impact the espresso flavour:
Click here for more on how to choose the right coffee beans
The Mano (The Operator)
Espresso making is an art that demands the precision and dedication of science. I have never achieved, nor have ever seen a perfect espresso, although few got quite close. A perfect espresso is more of a concept than an actuality. There is beauty in the notion of espresso being volatile and difficult. If it were easy we would develop a machine that can brew a perfect espresso every time. There are so many factors involved in espresso preparation that only a human mind and a passionate heart can begin to understand and control its complexity.
Di Bartoli is really good in demystifying the belief in coffee professionals to be the only ones to understand and control this complexity. As home baristas, once we cover the basics above, we can start exploring with different gadgets like dosing or distribution tools to improve our dose / leveling consistency, we can experiment with naked portafilter extraction to bring more flavours or make the shot 'cleaner', we can book ourselves for training for guidance with our routine, we can also start exploring with lighter roast beans and possibly consider upgrade our gear to provide that extra stability and clarity into temperature and pressure environment.
And once in a while, when things go pear shape, go back to the basics!
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