Espresso machine
Espresso
Hot water under pressure passes through tamped coffee in 25–30 seconds. The result is a concentrate with crema — the base for cappuccino, latte and raf coffee.
While the timer runs, the screen stays on. Brewing progress is kept on this device, so you can reload the page.
- 18 gcoffee
- 36 gin the cup
- 1:2ratio
- 92–95 °Cwater
- finegrind
- 0:30time
- Pre-infusionWater soaks the puck of coffee
- ExtractionA steady, caramel-coloured stream: 36 g in the cup by second 25–30
- StopStop the shot. Too fast — grind finer, too long — coarser
A recipe is a starting point: you tune the taste with the grind and the ratio. Coffee for this method — on request
How it works
Espresso is the café’s method: a portafilter, about 9 bar of pressure and a precise grind. Baristas commonly aim for 18 g of coffee to 36 g of drink (1:2) in 25–30 seconds — a convention, not a standard. IARC describes espresso as water at 92–95 °C, 8–12 bar, 15–35 seconds.
If the shot runs faster, the coffee is sour and thin: grind finer. Slower, and it turns bitter: grind coarser. Here the timer is the key tool after the scales.
Robusta beans hold twice the caffeine of arabica, so an espresso on a robusta blend is stronger. In cafés one espresso can hold anywhere from 48 to 317 mg of caffeine.
What you need
- An espresso machine with a portafilter
- 18 g of finely ground coffee
- A tamper and scales
- Water at 92–95 °C in the machine
Tips
- Weigh both the dose and the yield: a stopwatch without scales misleads.
- Tamp level — a tilt creates a channel, and the water runs past the coffee.
- Adjust the grind in small steps: the seconds respond right away.
More methods
Beans for your method
Vietnamese coffee ground for the phin, cezve, pour-over or espresso — for home, café or office. One request, one answer.