Basic principles for improving the quality of Espresso in Cafe

If you can handle all this, then the Espresso made according to this program will be an unspeakable super drink, but if you do badly, the best you can do is a cup of black muddy water full of bitterness. Unfortunately, in most cafes in the United States, it is also very difficult to drink a really good Espresso, usually some cooking with small details, if not really done, the cooking effect will be very different. Therefore, I would like to put forward these small details that should be paid attention to before brewing for your reference, and hope that all cafes will aim to make the "holy grail" rather than just "uncooked".

Note 1: the translator explains that the term "gifted appreciation ability" is not absolutely dependent on "talent", but also depends on acquired taste training to enhance appreciation ability. For details, see the translation of "Taste Development methods" in the "tasting" area.

1. Use the best quality coffee beans on the market in the recipe: to cook a good Espresso, the first premise is that the beans can't be bad, otherwise your cooking technology has reached the point where it won't get any better. It's not hard to do this. all you have to do is buy the best quality coffee beans and bake them properly. If you can't bake, you can find a bean seller and roaster with a good reputation, and don't be stingy with the money you spend on high-quality coffee beans, because these coffee beans can give you a unique recipe. Although there are many other factors to consider to make a good Espresso, the root cause is ultimately based on the quality of raw beans and the freshness of cooked beans. (note 2)

Note 2: the translator's summary states that "raw bean quality", "cooked bean freshness" and "baking technology" determine whether this cup of coffee will lead you to heaven or hell. two。 Always pay attention to cleaning the bean grinder bean trough: no matter how good the coffee beans are put into the dirty bean trough full of smelly oil, they will be spoiled by the smelly oil smell. Cleaning the bean trough is not to be lazy. It should be cleaned completely at least once a week. Use a mild detergent that does not contain flavor ingredients and wipe it off with a dry paper towel. In addition, I have seen many bar staff use the lid on the bean trough to shave powder, this is not a good practice, it is recommended to use the smaller lid on the other side of the quantifier. If you use a bean trough cover, it is easy to stick coffee powder, after a long time, fresh beans will be more or less stained with some of this old powder, not only affect the flavor, but also shorten the life of the grinding plate. (note 3)

Note 3: the translator thinks that it is better to find another plastic ruler to do this action, so that it will not affect the misgivings of the bean grinder and coffee powder, which is now known to be used by ice. 3. Buckle the filter on the cooking head at any time: customer first rule one, when someone orders a cup of Espresso, in addition to bring him a bottle of bottled water, the bar staff should not rush to look for the filter, so in the case of no use, the filter must also be buckled on the cooking head, which can also be preheated to reduce the impact of the temperature difference. (note 4)

Note 4: the concept of filter preheating is open to question, Taiwan players have more detailed research in this area, as most of the aromatic components in coffee powder are volatile, if the filter is preheated in advance, a large amount of aromatic substances will be lost during filling, which is very harmful to Espresso. You can have a try for yourself in the argument of this point. 4. Use a medium-sized cup: imagine putting a 1-ounce Espresso in a 12-ounce paper cup. It is recommended to use a 4-ounce paper cup or a 2-3-ounce small cup to hold the Espresso. 5. Preheat cup: you can use hot water from the hot sprinkler to preheat your cup, but remember to pour the water clean before using it. If you are afraid that the Espresso will overflow the cup, you can measure the amount of coffee in an ounce cup first. When brewing, Espresso soup should flow directly into the cup gently and smoothly. If there is a spatter, there is something wrong with your cooking procedure. (note 5)

Note 5: there are many reasons for avoiding spatter during cooking, such as improper grinding scale, uneven filling pressure, freshness of cooked beans, baking days of cooked beans, etc., for in-depth discussion, please search the relevant topics in the discussion area, or discuss them separately. 6. Pay attention to the grinding scale: grinding this part is probably the most difficult step in the cooking Espresso process, finer or thicker, will seriously affect the extraction of coffee powder, so the bar staff must be very clear about the timing and significance of adjusting the grinding scale. The most basic time to cook a Single Espresso should be between 20 and 30 seconds (the author's own attempt is to think that rushing out an ounce in 25 seconds is the best performance). When cooking a Single Espresso, the amount of powder should be moderate (about 7-9 grams) and apply a pressure of about 30-50 pounds. (note 6)

Note 6: with regard to the number of seconds and the amount of powder and the dosage of Espresso, what the author described is the appropriate cooking conditions for using local or home-baked formulations. In fact, when cooking Espresso, the best seconds and Espresso dosage vary with the formula and baking degree. It is also a big subject that must be done by heart and hands-on experiment. 7. Use enough powder to cook: do not put too little powder, this will not only make the texture of Espresso thinner, a small amount of powder will also cause insufficient resistance, easy to be broken by pump water pressure. And excessive coffee powder will cause excessive expansion, but also form a kind of waste. 8. Stabilize your filling pressure: unstable packing pressure can lead to insufficient or excessive extraction.

(note 7), practice filling pressure frequently so that it can be controlled at about 30-50 pounds. if you are not sure how heavy that force is, it is recommended that you buy a scale and fill it on the scale. After determining the strength, you must practice filling from time to time. No matter what the factor, do not use the filling and pressing equipment included in the bean grinder, because in any case, this kind of equipment can not produce about 30 pounds of force to fill.

Note 7: for the experiment of "overextraction", please search for relevant topics. Yuing has done such an experiment before, which is a controversial topic, but it is worth studying and exploring this phenomenon.

9. Choose a good quality filler: many bar staff are used to tapping the filter with a filler, but if the material of the filler is not good, it is easy to produce gaps or dents for a long time, which has a great impact on the compactness and smoothness of the packing. A good filler should be of strong and durable material, comfortable to grasp, and the size must meet the specifications of the filter.

10. Clean the residual powder on the filter: usually after drinking a glass of Espresso, the last impression of the Espresso is the bottom of the cup. If there is residual powder at the bottom of the cup, the guest will always have a bad impression. So remember to clean the area and bottom of the filter after each cup of Espresso, and if these steps are done, but there is still powder, it is time to replace the new filter. Because the filter is pushed by the pressure of brewing every day, the size of the filter will be enlarged more or less over time, and even if your grinding scale is very accurate, the coffee powder will go through these holes and into the guest's cup. Provide a simple way to check: pick up a brand new filter and the old filter together, and check the difference in hole size through the lamp light.

11. Rinse the filter: are you worried that old coffee residues will affect the taste of Espresso? Then one more step to clean the filter, it is recommended to use a hot water sprinkler to flush your filter, you can flush away most of the residue. This is also a very intimate service for the guests. I am proud to say: with the volume of 1800-2000 passengers a day, we really do it every time!

twelve。 The beauty of concentration: when it comes to Espresso, many people may mistakenly think that the more the better, in fact, it is not. I've seen a lot of bar staff pick up Espresso with large 4-ounce cups (sometimes larger cups) and don't stop extracting until the cup is full. The correct amount of extraction should be between 1 and 1.25 ounces. In addition, if you do not want to do Double or Ristretto, please use an ounce cup to measure the correct amount of extraction. Remember one thing: for espresso, the less you extract, the more you will taste.

13. Be sure to taste your Espresso first: before you start business, you must taste your own Espresso every day, so that the adjustment of cooking variables can be more accurate. You have to know whether this Espresso has the proper taste, smell, appearance, Crema thickness and Crema color. If these conditions are met, then you can live up to the name Espresso and serve it to the guests.