You might be the kind of coffee nut that experiences the espresso from a commercial machine made by a trained barista, on a habitual basis. A wonderful master espresso machine will no doubt be the machine of choice for most quality expresso shops. Additionally, you’ll normally find that the barista has a recognized qualification.
So when the dedicated coffee drinker returns home and tries to make their own cup of espresso, the results are not surprisingly middling underwhelming.
However, with a little industriousness, patience and the proper equipment, it’s feasible to get very near to that perfect espresso shot even in your own home.
Let’s look at the six main ingredients in extracting a decent espresso at home.
Make sure the coffee is stored suitably. Ideally, the perfect surroundings will be dark, dry and around 37 degrees Celsius, about room temperature. Rather than plastic and metal containers, use a clay or china jar. To keep the flavor intact, avoid putting coffee in the deep-freeze or even the fridge just to make it last longer.
Don’t try to make your coffee last too long. If you can, use up the coffee after 7 or 8 days. A good idea is to purchase small bags or tins of coffee. After 10 days, the coffee will start to lose it’s freshness and the flavour will suffer.
Invest in a decent home espresso machine. These days, the market is full of decent espresso makers. From top of the range machines for thousands of dollars like the Saeco 21103 Royal professional espresso machine to the slightly less flamboyant Gaggia Evolution espresso machine buyers have a smashing choice of excellent machines for executing the best espresso extraction possible.
If in doubt, try reading some espresso machine reviews or get some advice from a quality sales assistant.
Be aware of your machines abilities. The truth is home espresso machines aren’t likely to produce enough water pressure to extract espresso well. You’re looking ideally for pressure of between 120 to 130 pounds per square inch. Make sure you read the owners manual to find out the pressure. It’s likely that your machine will only have a single water heater. This means that the hot water is mixed with the steam resulting in a bitter espresso.
Take your time over your bean grinding. For best results, get yourself a grinding machine with more than one blade. Acceptable results can be produced by a single blade machines but a double blade will be significantly better. Also, keep the blades sharp. In an ideal world, you should put in new blades every 20 kilograms of grinding.
Use espresso extraction methods appropriate for the home, not for a commercial-grade espresso machine. espresso results at home are achieved by using a coarser coffee grind. Also, it’s better not to pack the coffee in as tightly as a master barista would. Your home machine will probably provide less pressured steam in less time than a commercial-grade machine. Take this into account when steaming.
When all is said and done, espresso extraction is best done by the pro barista. It’s a much better experience to enjoy an espresso from a commercial-grade machine, made by a trained barista. But with a little thought, care and preparation, the perfect cup is within the abilities of the home espresso machine.
