Espresso
Espresso is a small, concentrated shot made by pushing hot water through a tightly packed puck of finely ground coffee under pressure. In about half a minute you get a syrupy drink with a layer of golden crema on top ☕. People love it because it's intense, quick, and the base for lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites. It's also the fussiest method, so don't worry if your first shots taste odd: every barista started there, and small changes make a big difference.
Grind: Fine, like powdered sugar that still feels a little gritty
Pick your kind
- Your first shot on a bean-to-cup machineFill the beans, pick strength and cup size, press the button, then fine-tune the grind.5 min · easy
- Espresso with a built-in grinder machineGrind straight into the portafilter, weigh, tamp, and pull a 1:2 shot.10 min · a little practice
- Espresso with a grinder and machineWeigh, grind, stir with WDT, tamp, and pull a timed 1:2 shot.10 min · takes practice
- Espresso by hand: lever and portable pressesPreheat well, pre-infuse gently, then press steadily to a 1:2 shot.12 min · takes practice
Words you'll hear
- Dose
- The weight of dry ground coffee in the basket, in grams. 18 g is a common starting dose for a double shot.
- Yield
- The weight of liquid espresso in your cup, in grams. Weighing beats measuring by volume because crema makes millilitres misleading.
- Ratio
- Yield divided by dose. A 1:2 ratio means 18 g of coffee becomes 36 g of espresso. Longer ratios taste lighter, shorter ones more intense.
- Extraction
- How much flavor the water pulls out of the coffee. Too little tastes sour and thin; too much tastes bitter and dry. You're aiming for sweet in the middle.
- Crema
- The reddish-golden foam on top of a shot, made from gas and oils. Fresh beans make more of it. It's a nice sign, not a measure of taste.
- Portafilter
- The handle with the metal basket that holds the coffee and locks into the machine's group head.
- Tamp
- Pressing the ground coffee flat and firm in the basket so water can't sneak through loose spots.
- Puck
- The packed disc of coffee in the basket. After the shot it's the damp cake you knock out into the bin.
- Channeling
- When water finds a weak path through the puck and rushes through it. The shot runs fast and tastes sour and bitter at once.
- WDT
- Stirring the grounds in the basket with thin needles to break up clumps before tamping. Short for Weiss Distribution Technique.