Starting the day with well made espresso can make the difference between a nice and successful day or a boring and sleepy one. While making a good espresso is not a form of art, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to make your espressos even better than before. If you are using a super automatic espresso machine, you should try to adjust the settings for fine grinding. The trick is not to go for the lowest grinding number because you want the grinder to still keep slightly larger pieces of coffee, which will add more flavor. An effective way of making espresso is with a pump espresso machine. Here is what you should do: grind the coffee so that it becomes fine (but not too fine) and in the meantime your machine should reach the optimal temperature.
After ensuring that your filter is as clean as possible, put in one tablespoon of coffee for each cup. The trick is to push the coffee evenly and not to apply too much pressure, as the espresso might become to strong. On the other hand, if you do not apply enough pressure it will be weak.
The final result should be a creamy and dense espresso. Sprinkle granulated sugar instead of pouring sugar straight in, so that the creamy surface remains intact. How about some great tasting Italian cappuccino? If you keep your coffee fresh and you wrap it each time after use, you will get a better tasting cappuccino. After opening your coffee bag and using it partially, use plastic foil and tape to seal it as best as you can. Store it in the refrigerator for best results. Let's get back to our cappuccino: use a single espresso portion but make sure it has enough concentration and will be strong enough to really influence the taste.
The next move is to use about a third of a cup of frothy milk and mix it all in. Making the perfect espresso is a combination of a few elements that we will have a look at below. The espresso machine, for example, should heat water to temperatures of around 190' F (about 90' C).
It should also have a pressure of about 9 or 10 atmospheres. An adjustable grinder is another important piece in the process. You should extract around 7 grams of coffee for each espresso cup - not more, not less! In general, the extraction time should be somewhere around 20 seconds.
Last but not least, the blend of the coffee is also essential. Here, personal taste rules, so use whatever coffee styles you enjoy the most. In general, however, blends of coffee coming from the same categories provide a more harmonious and balanced taste. .
By: George Anderson
