Types of machines. Invented, designed and improvised in Italy these machines come in broadly two different formats.
1. Steam driven espresso machines – This was invented in 1884. These are more common in India. They are cheap and are widely available. Majority of the machines from Big Bazaar or from Bajaj are steam driven. They are much simpler and have no moving parts. A pressure valve which allows steam to build up and forces steam and water through the coffee powder. These are considered inferior in quality and are much similar to Moka pots. Probably a bit higher pressure. The coffee is of lower quality essentially because it is best to brew coffee at 90-95 degrees whereas steam driven machines have to extract it above 100 degrees the boiling point of water. 2. Pump driven espresso machines – These are considerably higher end machines we get. These machines have a pump mechanism in them which pressurizes water. This considerably increase the pressure of water flowing through and thus creates a better espresso at the right temperature (90-95 degrees) and the right pressure (8-9 bar) |
MethodIt depends on what kind of machine you own but the procedure is fairly straightforward and has much of hit and trial involved before we hit the sweet spot unless the machine you own is highly complicated in which case you should already be knowing this stuff very well.
1. Primarily make sure you have the right blend. Thunder won’t strike if you don’t. ( I know many people out there in the world would scorn at me for not dictating terms and spoiling the sacrosanct espresso nevertheless). It is always better to have the perfect espresso blend and roast quality which starts right from the roasting part. But here in India where you have limitations in getting ground coffee it would be foolish to set terms on the degree of roast etc. etc. Refer to the dedicated espresso section for a detail on everything related to espresso. a. The right blend would most normally be a darker roasted coffee bean (could range from a tan to oily shiny dark tan bean) b. The bean would be i. Lower in acidity ii. Full bodied iii. Notes of sweetness to balance the acidity and bitterness c. This might look like jargon throwing or a fake wine tasters guide but believe me it does make a lot of difference. 2. Grind of coffee. Theoretically it has to be by the burr grinder. WHY? Because it has conical blades which can chop chop a coffee bean shaped thing to equal, same sized particles. a. Why same sized particles – If run water through two different sized particles common sense says that the finer ones are over extracted and the larger ones are under extracted. b. The grind has to be fine. It has to be salt like consistency. Because you now have pressure on your side 3. Take around 6-8 grams of coffee powder in the basket/filter. Wipe off the excess grounds. 4. Pick the tamper and tamp the grounds gently. There are many considerations here a. An even firm tamp is necessary to fill up all air gaps b. Create equal density of the coffee grinds in the basket c. This will help in the even spread of the water and thus will extract evenly from all the coffee powder present in the filter/basket 5. Now that the tamping ritual is done. Fit the basket/filter into the porta filter and fit this setting to the machine. Before we go any further pre heat the cups and the machine too so that the coffee grinds do not encounter cold water in the pipe before hot water starts flowing through. 6. Switch on and let the water flow through. Observe the colour of the fluid flowing through the porta filter into the cup. When it reduces in foam-iness or when the colour starts to fade out i.e. when the colour changes from dark to transparent or light tan. Stop the flow. Remove the cup and replace it with something to collect the dripping fluid 7. 27-30 second duration for a 6-8 gram coffee should do the thing. 8. If everything went right you should now be holding 30 ml of espresso with nice dark brown to golden colored foam/ crema on it. 9. Go ahead savour it A detailed note on roasting, grinding and extracting an espresso shot are mentioned in the dedicated espresso section. Go through that for greater details |