The secret of making perfect Italian concentration

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Espresso, literally easy to understand, is to extract very strong coffee in a very short time. But in fact, the production of espresso is not as simple as imagined. How can we find the balance and make the perfect espresso?

The amount of espresso is small, but the concentration is high. Usually double espresso is only 2.5 oz, and coffee is usually served in a dedicated small coffee cup. Espresso can be divided into two parts: oil and coffee; coffee is made with a special espresso mechanism, and the coffee machine can use high pressure to force hot water to filter the coffee powder compacted with a powder hammer. The extraction time is usually between 20 and 30 seconds, and pressed powder is usually placed in a filter bowl on the handle. The quality of espresso needs to be comprehensively considered from five aspects: taste, aroma, taste, aftertaste and appearance.

Sounds complicated? How on earth can you make the perfect espresso?

1. The right coffee machine.

In order to make the perfect espresso, you first need a good coffee maker. The coffee machine must be able to provide sufficient pressure to ensure the correct water temperature. In your mind, the old lever coffee machine displayed in the coffee shop was very popular in the past, but now people use electronic boiler coffee machines more often.

The machine should be preheated before starting the extraction. All parts that may come into contact with coffee powder must be preheated in advance, including handles, head sets, cups, etc. After the machine is preheated, put about 2 oz of hot water first. The cup is preferably insulated and thick ceramic and can be preheated in hot water, but be sure to wipe it clean before use.

two。 High quality baking

If you want to make the perfect espresso, the premise is high-quality, evenly and finely ground coffee powder. It is generally believed that the coffee powder for making espresso should be ground as fine as possible, but it is not conducive to the uniform extraction of coffee. Through practice, we found that if we can grind the coffee powder a little thicker, the extraction of coffee will become more uniform, of course, the whole should be within the fine range.

Ideally, the coffee powder should be finely ground and slightly thicker, with a pressing pressure of about 40 lbs, rather than an extremely fine grinding with a random press. The degree of grinding and the pressure of pressing powder complement each other, and specific mastery requires you to practice over and over again. In addition, the degree of roasting is also important, and it also affects the degree of grinding, because lightly roasted coffee is less permeable and deep-roasted coffee is more permeable. The strength of powder pressing is also very important. You can put the handle on the scale to measure the strength of powder pressing when pressing powder. The strength of pressing powder should be accurate, the application of force should be uniform, the strength of pressing powder should be stable every time, and the strength should be kept at a level.

Next we need to consider the amount of powder. The ideal amount of powder should be between 20 and 26 g (if a single cup is 14 g). You can adjust the amount of coffee powder according to your taste preferences.

Finally, be sure to go to a high-level coffee shop or roaster to buy freshly roasted coffee directly. Only high-quality coffee beans can guarantee the high quality of espresso.

3. An excellent barista

A good barista must know how to grind, powder and press the powder to ensure a uniform extraction of coffee. Whenever you get a batch of coffee beans, the barista must be able to adjust the extraction formula in time according to the characteristics of the coffee itself.

Since espresso is often paired with milk to make milk-based coffee such as cappuccino, macchiato and latte, baristas must also know how to dispose of milk in addition to being able to extract coffee. Accurate milk must be silky, sweet and free of bubbles visible to the naked eye.

And baristas must be able to play steadily in a high-pressure environment. When not too busy, the barista must also be responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the coffee machine. Most importantly, baristas must be able to exert their personal charm and convey the business philosophy of the coffee shop to customers, so as to attract more people's attention.

4. High quality raw beans

A series of raw bean treatment processes such as picking, drying, shelling and grading will affect the color and quality of raw beans, and the quality of raw beans will directly affect the acidity, taste and taste of coffee. High-quality raw beans should be flawless, because defects will affect the performance of coffee in the roasting process, leading to uneven roasting conditions such as inadequate roasting and overroasting. Ideally, the weight loss of high-quality raw beans after baking should be between 18-20%.

5. High quality grease

Oil is the hallmark of espresso, which affects the appearance, taste, taste, flavor and aftertaste of espresso. From a technical point of view, oil is actually a layer of air bubbles evenly distributed on the surface of the coffee liquid. The grease must last for at least 2 minutes on the surface of the coffee.

If the grease is light or yellow, the coffee may not be extracted enough, or the water temperature may be too low. You can increase the extraction time, or grind the coffee powder finer, or press the powder harder, and check the water temperature of the coffee machine.

If the overall color of the oil is dark, Zhongjian has very light white spots, which means that the coffee is extracted too much, and you can grind the coffee powder thicker or reduce the crushing power, or it may be because there is too much powder.