Let's brew some Espresso

Espresso is one of the purest ways to enjoy coffee, but it’s often misunderstood. While a great shot should taste sweet, smooth, and creamy with just a touch of bitterness, many people only know espresso as harsh and overly strong.

This reputation comes partly from poorly made shots, overly roasted beans and partly from misconceptions. Instead of seeing it as a balanced, flavorful drink, mainstream coffee culture often paints espresso as just a bitter caffeine jolt. Add to that the rise of sugary, milk-heavy drinks, and espresso has lost some of its popularity. Hopefully after going through our guide we can give you a whole new appreciation for espresso.

The most common misconceptions about espresso are that it's made from a specific type of coffee bean or that it's a label for a particular style of roasting. The definition of espresso has nothing to do with the origin or type of coffee bean and it's not a roasting style either. What makes espresso different from other coffee is how it's prepared.

Espresso is a highly concentrated coffee beverage that's brewed under high pressure in a short amount of time.

Dialing in your espresso refers to the fine-tuning process carried out by adjusting the grind size of the beans, preparing the puck, and tamping the grinds to achieve the optimal extraction time for the best tasting shot.  A lighter roasted coffee typically requires a finer grind than one roasted medium to dark.  

Find what works best or you and your taste preferences and carry that over to other coffees you may try.

  1. Use fresh, filtered water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) of 70–120 ppmand aneutral pH of 7.0for optimal extraction.
  2. Preheat your machine by running a shot without coffee in your portafilter.
  3. Measure and grind your beans. A double espresso calls for a 1:2 ratio, for example a typical ratio would use 18grams of coffee to 36g of extracted espresso
  4. Level your grinds and tamp your beans. Espresso puck preparation involves everything you do to the coffee grounds before locking in your portafilter and brewing your espresso.  The important thing to remember is once you have your preferred puck preparation, stick to it each time as changes to your puck preparation will drastically alter how your espresso brews and tastes.
  5. Carefully lock your portafilter in your machine and hit start. Ideally you have a scale which measure how many grams of espresso you're pulling. You want to aim for that 1:2 ratio. Once you're at your desired amount stop your shot and enjoy.

.  Try and only change one variable at a time when adjusting your espresso recipe this includes puck prep steps.


Use high quality spring or filtered water when brewing your espresso, not only is it better for your machine but the taste of your espresso will also be improved.