Tips for extracting espresso Pay attention to these details to help you make espresso

When extracting espresso, many people focus on less important details, but it is also because these details are part of the whole coffee extraction process. However, it is important that we need to distinguish between what is important and what is not.

Those relatively unimportant details

First of all, let's take a look at the relatively less important factors in the extraction process. A common question that many novice baristas ask: why is Coffee pressed powder so muddy? For some reason, this is usually interpreted as a phenomenon with problematic extraction parameters, which must be corrected. In daily operations, this detail may not be so important.

A good espresso, its extracted pressed powder may be muddy; on the contrary, an extracted pressed powder may be perfect, and the taste is indeed very different. The reason for this phenomenon may be that too much water is used for extraction, or too much powder is used, and the degree of grinding of coffee powder is too fine, even related to the roasting degree of coffee. The most important thing is the taste of the coffee in the extracted cup.

Next: pressing powder. As a barista, you will get all kinds of contradictory advice, about the rules of stress and the way you press powder. However, the research results may not match the results in our impression. As long as the pressing powder is not biased, like a seal that lacks ink, it can be done with a little force. If your espresso does not meet the extraction parameters, check the grinding scale, powder content and freshness of the coffee before pressing the powder.

The last unimportant detail is the "mark" on the inside of the coffee handle. Many coffee handles have a "tick mark" visible on the inside. We generally think that this groove is a kind of powder maximum filling line, and pressed powder cannot exceed this groove after compaction. In fact, this groove only helps to have a better grip between the powder bowl and the handle, so that the powder bowl is more firmly installed in the handle.

When we get precision powder bowls like VST, we want to study the difference between grooved and grooved versions, and whether they have any effect on extraction. A powder bowl without grooves is just without that grooves. Some people prefer the grooved version of the powder bowl because it is easier to insert or remove from the powder bowl. For other ideas that it may produce a more uniform extraction, the current research has not yet confirmed the obvious difference between the two effects on extraction.

Those relatively important details

Now, let's take a look at the important steps for making a perfect cup of concentration: the process of cloth powder pressing powder. Make sure that the coffee in the powder bowl is evenly distributed inside the powder bowl, and that the surface of the coffee powder before pressing is horizontal. At the same time, the horizontal state of the uniform grinding powder will have a great influence on the uniform extraction. The powder distributor and the powder press can greatly improve the replicability of this standard product.

Next, make sure you use the right powder bowl to match the right amount of powder. When you choose a coffee handle, you will see "single basket, double basket, or triple basket". The handles with three different names all have specified powder quantity standards.

Generally speaking, the more commonly used powder bowl specifications: single basket refers to the 7G for extraction single concentration handle, powder quantity is generally around 10g-15g; double basket refers to about 18G for extraction double concentration handle, powder quantity is generally around 18g-20g; triple basket refers to 20g can be extracted more than two parts concentrated, can extract three parts concentrated handle, powder quantity can be increased to 24g up to 24g. It is important to match the right powder bowl with the right amount of powder. More than the amount of powder that can hold the gram weight will result in inconsistent extraction or collapse of the handle.

Another thing to pay attention to is the channel effect. Any sign of channel effect will bring about the effect of uneven extraction. If there is a spatter at the bottom of the handle when using a bottomless handle, it is the most easy to identify the state that produces the channel effect; when the bottomless handle is extracted, when it appears within 10 seconds of extraction: sudden increase in flow rate, golden coffee liquid outflow, extraction pause, etc., are possible channel effect warning signs.

For the channel effect, we should pay attention to the amount of powder, the use of appropriate powder hammer, uniform distribution of powder pressing powder, in addition, on the handle should also pay attention to the action must be gentle, the action is too large pressed powder will also produce channel effect.

The other Tip is pre-immersion. Before using full pressurized water extraction, you can soak the coffee powder with a small amount of water. It is equivalent to the steaming step of making coffee by hand. Coffee powder in contact with a small amount of water, will give the coffee a buffer time to produce resistance against high pressure, not only enhance the extraction of Espresso, but also avoid the channel effect.

Finally, the most important thing is to pay attention to the taste of the coffee in the cup, which is more important than anything else. Not only does the whole process come down to enjoy a good cup of espresso, but it also helps train taste buds to become an ultra-sensitive tool to detect small taste differences.