How to make espresso in a coffee machine

Even the most expensive coffee machines will not make coffee on their own. Therefore, in order to enjoy delicious and aromatic espresso every day, you should familiarize yourself with the technology of its preparation.

Preparing espresso

Espresso is a coffee drink characterized by a dense structure, thick foam and a bright coffee aroma.

Espresso is the basis for most other coffee drinks and the final taste depends on the quality of its preparation.

It has been noted that brewing espresso is a rather complex process, since the final taste of the drink is influenced by many factors:

• type of coffee beans;
• amount of coffee used;
• water quality.

Attention! In Italy there are relatively many factors influencing the final taste of coffee; there is a different opinion; Italians believe that the type of coffee, the quality of its processing, adherence to technology, and human professionalism are important in the preparation process. Moreover, the last factor accounts for only 5% of importance.

How to brew espresso in a coffee machine

At this stage of time, there are a large number of recipes for making espresso. But the classic recipe remains the most popular.

Classic espresso recipe

To prepare a classic espresso recipe, you need to follow the following sequence of steps:

1. You need to take finely ground coffee (if you use too fine a grind, the drink will end up with sediment). The ideal amount is 7–8 grams of coffee (level teaspoon). Coffee is poured into the coffee machine holder.
2. It is necessary to compact the coffee tightly - this will give the drink strength and richness.
3. Press the button to start cooking.
4. Coffee preparation will end in 30 seconds. The drink should be poured into pre-heated cups (you can use the cup warming function included in the coffee machine).

If you own a pod coffee machine, then it will do part of your work on its own - you won’t have to calculate the required amount of coffee and tamp it down.

If all preparation technologies are followed, the drink should have the consistency of syrup and a rich aroma.

Cooking secrets

In order to prepare high-quality espresso, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. After preparing the drink, the foam should have a golden-nutty hue, gradually turning into dark brown. There may be a reddish tint to the foam. If the crema is much lighter after preparing the espresso, it may be due to insufficient extraction (less than 30 seconds), very low temperature (less than 88 degrees), poor tamping of the coffee, or low pressure (less than 9 bar). Therefore, in order to correct the situation, you need to re-prepare the drink, increasing all these indicators.
2. If, after preparing espresso, there is a black ring or white bubbles on the surface of the cup, this may indicate an excessive dosage of coffee (more than 7 grams), too fine a grind, very high temperature (exceeding 92 degrees), high pressure (more than 10 Bar).In order to improve the quality of the drink when re-preparing espresso, all these indicators need to be reduced.
3. In the case when the coffee machine is preheated (plain water is poured into the cup first, and then only coffee), the drink will have a richer taste.
4. The taste of the drink is directly affected by the quality of the water used during the preparation of espresso, so it is recommended to give preference to purified water.
5. If, after preparing the drink, the foam quickly disappears, then you should pay attention to the roasting of the coffee beans; it may be insufficient.
6. The aroma evaporates from already ground coffee very quickly, so you should grind the beans immediately before preparing the drink or with the expectation that all the ground coffee will be used during the day.
7. To prepare an aromatic and tasty drink, it is recommended to combine coffee varieties such as Arabica and Robusta. During the cooking process, their ratio should be 2:1.
8. When choosing coffee beans for espresso, it is advisable to opt for Italian roasting; in this case, the beans have a dark brown color, almost black.

Advice! To avoid dulling the taste sensations while drinking the drink, it is worth serving a glass of clean cold water with the espresso.

By following the technology for preparing espresso and taking into account all the above secrets, you can prepare a coffee drink that is not inferior in quality to any Italian cafeteria. And by adding a few additional ingredients to espresso, you can create any other coffee drink that suits your taste.