Espresso 201
It only took us four years, but we’re finally sharing the second part of our espresso-making blog! In our Espresso 101 post, we mentioned that when making modern espresso with lightly roasted coffee, it’s best to have outrageously long shot times (40, 50, 60 seconds or even longer) in order to get shots that are sweet, fruity, and full of character and complexity. Now, we’re focusing on pressure and flow rate to actually make that happen.
Espresso 101
It is perhaps the most difficult and most misunderstood method of turning ground coffee into a delicious liquid. Historically, a single espresso shot was 7 grams of ground coffee producing 25 milliliters of liquid espresso in 25 seconds with very darkly roasted, low quality coffee beans. At best, this would give a rich, chocolatey flavor, but generally just tasted very bitter and smoky. Most espresso drinkers added sugar and/or milk to cut down on the bitterness.
