The production of Italian coffee the production of espresso

Recently, I have communicated with many friends who like coffee. I found that many friends have problems with making Italian coffee. Even if many friends buy relatively professional machines and equipment, they still can't make a cup of relatively satisfactory Italian coffee. Maybe there are not many people who really like to drink Italian coffee alone, but a cup of bitter balance, sweetness and caramel flavor. Thick and thick Italian coffee is the best way to make cappuccino. The basis of fancy coffee such as latte, many people think that milk flavor can cover the shortcomings of Italian coffee, in fact, on the contrary, any shortcomings of Italian coffee will be exposed in fancy coffee, only a cup of caramel flavor and sweetness of Italian coffee can be perfectly blended with the sweetness of milk to form a delicious coffee latte or cappuccino. Therefore, making a satisfying cup of Italian coffee is crucial.

To make a satisfying cup of Italian coffee, pay attention to the following points:

1. Fresh Italian blended coffee beans

I will tell all my coffee drinkers that the beans themselves will be the most important key point in determining the taste of your cup of coffee. Equipment and technology can make up for it, but the beans themselves cannot be compensated and remedied by you. If you use poor quality, failed roasting, and long-aged beans, no matter how good your equipment or how high your technology is, you cannot change the stale and bitter taste of this cup of coffee.

The beans used to make Italian coffee are generally made up of several kinds of beans in proportion, but no matter what kind of beans are mixed, they are all to achieve two goals, one is to reduce the cost, the other is to balance the taste and highlight the characteristics. No matter how good the merchants tell you, there is only one ultimate goal in mixing, that is, to reduce the cost. Several kinds of beans are mixed together to achieve the quality beyond any kind of bean single product. Thus, the effect of 1+1>2 is achieved.

Italian Coffee Blend (100% Arabica Coffee Blend)

Most Italian beans are medium to deep roasted, but no matter how deep, when you open the bag and see the beans, the aroma should be coffee, not a strong smoky taste. From the visual point of view, the beans should not be pure black, or deep brown. Although it is medium to deep roasted, the beans should not be shiny. If your beans are shiny, there must be only two reasons. They may have been aged for a long time, at least three weeks, or they may have been baked too deeply. Either of these two causes will cause your cup of coffee to taste harsh or bitter.

According to the roasting degree of beans, the best drinking time of Italian beans is between 1 week and 1.5 months. The coffee at this stage has obvious sweetness, lasting sweetness, balanced overall taste, amber or dark brown red color and sticky taste.

2. Production equipment

With the right beans, the production of Italian coffee is also strict for the equipment, because the extraction of Italian coffee and the use of siphon, hand flushing and other production methods are different, there are quantitative standard requirements for the equipment, the water temperature should be between 90-92 degrees, the pressure is around 8 Pa, and the pressure is relatively stable, 14-18 grams of evenly ground coffee powder, extraction time is around 25 seconds, extraction volume is 20-25 ml, only under such conditions, It is possible to get a good coffee.

To meet the above conditions, it is more common in China, and there are not many household equipment purchased:

Coffee machine options:

Oscar Ocscar Nuova Simonelli about $5,000

Silver Rancilio, commonly known as Miss S, costs about 4000 yuan

Expobar Office leva double boiler version about 11000 yuan

Expobar Office Leva single boiler version about 8000 yuan

GLY Shuttle about 6000-8000 yuan

Rocket Giotto $18,000

Choice of coffee mills:

Huijia ZD-15 about 700 yuan

Rancilio Rocky $3,000

Taiwan 900N ~ 2500 RMB

Mazzer Mini $4,000

Mazzer super jolly about $4,700

The above machines are all regular manufacturers, the quality is guaranteed, most of them have also accepted the baptism of time, durable, and there is also a certain reputation between players and small merchants. In addition to the above equipment, there are a lot of counterfeit miscellaneous equipment on the market, if your funds are not limited, I think it is better not to try to buy those equipment, may be able to temporarily use normal, but no one can guarantee how long they can last. If your money is really limited, I personally think, it is better not to play, it is better to use limited funds on the taste of beans, only buy some simple and easy to use coffee making equipment, such as hand washing equipment, siphon, etc.

3. Production technology

With beans, with the right equipment, and finally we can control the human factors, because the extraction conditions of Italian coffee are very extreme, so in the production process, slight changes, and finally in the coffee cup will be a few cups, dozens of times or even hundreds of times of amplification, reflected in the mouth after the feeling is very strong and unbearable. So, we pay attention to every small detail in the production process. Next, I will explain the production process of Italian coffee in order. I am not an expert or master. The following contents are only personal experiences and experiences. I will share them with you here:

(1)coffee bean grinding

Grinding coffee beans can be said to be very important for a cup of coffee, only grinding evenly, the right thickness of coffee powder, in order to extract delicious coffee, discard the coffee powder you do not want to taste. So it is important to find the right gear for your mill. You may have to adjust it several times to find the right position.

Coffee ground by hand or siphon is coarse and coffee particles can be clearly seen

Ground espresso is very fine and often clumps due to static electricity or coffee oils

It is very important to adjust the grinding fineness of the coffee mill. The mazzer mini grinder in the figure below is infinitely adjustable. The grinding scale marked on the coffee mill can only be used as a reference value. It should be adjusted according to your own needs and the state of extraction.

Fine direction is fine, coarse direction is coarse

(2)packed coffee powder

Grind good coffee powder into the powder bowl, the amount should be just right, neither too much nor too little, my general habit is around 17 grams. After the coffee powder is loaded into the powder bowl, it is necessary to use tools or hands to wrap the powder, and distribute the coffee powder evenly throughout the powder bowl, so as to make the extraction uniform and avoid the channel effect (the so-called channel effect is caused by the filling pressure and other reasons. Some places are loose and some places are tight, so that when extracting, a large amount of hot water flows through the loose place, causing excessive extraction). I used to leave a small bulge in the center of the powder bowl after coating, and then fill it with pressure. Under pressure, this small bulge will spread out flat.

At the beginning of the practice stage is not skilled and not sure can be assisted by electronic scales to practice

a well-filled coffee powder bowl.

a bulge formed after coating.

The filling of coffee powder is also a delicate work, seemingly simple, but it needs repeated practice, first of all to balance, followed by appropriate intensity. My favorite is to fill the pressure twice, the first time do not use too much force, just rely on the weight of the powder hammer to flatten the powder, a little force, the coffee powder leveling; on the premise of the basic flatness of the coffee powder, and then fill the second time, the coffee compaction.

Even pressure.

After filling, coffee powder generally does not exceed the groove line in the powder bowl, that is, the position depicted in red in the figure below.

a coffee cake pressed flat.

(3)Cooling the coffee machine to get the right extraction temperature

As we said earlier, the water used to extract coffee is not boiling water, but hot water of about 90 degrees. Most coffee machine brewing heads will be too hot after idling for a period of time. If this part of water is used directly for extraction, it will definitely cause excessive extraction or coffee powder burns, forming a burnt taste. Therefore, we have to drain this part of water, but how long does it take to get the right water temperature? It depends on your knowledge and mastery of your own coffee machine.

Usually, if your machine is idle for a period of time after starting up, as soon as the water button is turned on, hot water and spout-like steam will flow out from the brewing head of the coffee machine at the same time, and you can also hear the sound of steam, then the water temperature must be too high. Most of the household machines, the boiler volume is between 1.5-3 liters, so after you drain a part of the water, the pump will replenish water, the boiler will start heating again, the heating lamp will also light up, then you can stop the water, wait for the boiler heating lamp to go out, then the water temperature is basically around 90 degrees.

As the water is drained, steam can be seen spewing out of the brewing head at the same time

(4)extracted coffee

After draining, you can put the coffee handle on the brewing head and start extracting coffee. Here you need to remind you that you should press the extraction button the moment you put the handle on the brewing head, and do not let the handle be installed on the brewing head and reach for the cup. Because most of the coffee machine brewing head is copper, in the role of hot water, are very hot, if you put the handle on the brewing head, soon the various parts of the handle will also be hot under the heat transfer effect, scalding coffee powder, so as to get a cup of Italian coffee with burnt taste.

You may ask me, I put on the extraction immediately, do not have time to take a cup ah? Very simple, you may not have noticed that after you start extracting, coffee does not flow out immediately. The normal extraction state is 7-9 seconds after you press the extraction button. 7 seconds is enough time for you to put the coffee cup under the handle. If you press the button, the coffee will flow out. This cup of coffee is either too weak or too sour. It is definitely not a satisfactory cup of coffee. If you have not set the cup yet, do not set it. Save yourself the trouble of washing the cup.

As we said earlier, the extraction time of Italian coffee should be about 20 seconds, which is not from the moment of coffee flow, but from the moment you press the extraction button, in which more than 20 seconds, the amount of coffee flowing out should be around 20 ml.

The coffee flowing out should be a thin strand, like a mouse tail.

The coffee that flows out should be a tangerines that appear sticky and delicate, like hot honey

A good cup of espresso with a balanced taste and a thick texture

Italian coffee extracted in a mug, as a base for fancy coffee

latte based on espresso

(5)knock out coffee cake

In fact, this step is not to make coffee directly, but to see if your extraction is successful through the powder cake. After successful extraction, the coffee cake should be able to form, be able to be knocked out in one piece, have no obvious perforation marks on the coffee cake, and be dry and evenly distributed after breaking the coffee cake.

The coffee powder that comes out of it, the front.

Back of the cake

The interior of the powder cake

Finally, I would like to emphasize the following points:

First of all, although espresso has its own quantitative definition, under the premise of satisfying the basic conditions, I think it is still necessary to decide when to stop extracting according to the taste of coffee in the cup, rather than rigidly copying a few values.

Secondly, in addition to some of the equipment I mentioned above, there are also some entry-level or coffee toy-like equipment on the market. These equipment are also produced by regular manufacturers. The quality of the products can be guaranteed, but it is still difficult to get satisfactory Italian coffee. For example, Cankun's 1817 coffee machine and Delong EC-155. Some of these coffee machines are stainless steel small boilers, some are heating block technology, but most of them use pressurized double-layer filters. The extracted coffee can only be said to be similar to espresso in appearance, but in the case of limited funds, it is still acceptable to get some fun. My first decent coffee machine was also 1817, and it was eliminated after less than half a year of service. If you want to make a decent cup of espresso at home, I suggest you don't have such a "transition" product.

In addition, although the direct production of coffee is your Italian coffee machine, but the importance of coffee mill, to some extent far more important than coffee machine, so must not ignore coffee mill, when you consider the budget, must consider coffee mill, no matter how good the coffee machine, there is no suitable mill to cooperate, it is impossible to make good coffee.

These are some of my experiences or experiences in making Italian coffee. Hope that the majority of coffee lovers after reading this article, can provide some reference for further practice, less detours, less beans.