What is Espresso?
Four Important Aspects to Espresso
Coffee:
The type of coffee used can change the espresso dramatically. Some varietals contain enough character to make a well-balanced espresso, but blends are more commonly used. When creating the espresso blend, several factors determine the desired flavor including acidity, body, aroma, and taste. Blending coffee is an art form and creating a combination of beans that enhances each coffee's desirable flavor characteristics takes skill and patience. It really does not matter whether a single type of coffee or a blend is used in the making of the espresso as long as the flavor profile pleases the drinker’s palette.
Grind:
The correct particle size is critical to espresso flavor. When correctly ground and packed into the espresso machine filter basket, the resulting essence will trickle out like honey dripping off a spoon. Too coarse a grind will result in "instant" espresso (watery but bitter) and too fine a grind may result in a bitter brew or clog a filter and result in no coffee at all.
Espresso machine:
Because of the critical importance of correct temperature and pressure, the quality of the machinery plays a much more important role in espresso than in any other method of coffee brewing. High quality espresso machines need to consistently deliver water at the proper temperature (192-198 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressure (9 atmospheres).
Barista:
Espresso is truly a hand-made coffee, and the skill of the operator plays a decisive role in determining cup quality. The barista must choose the right blend and grind of coffee, determine the correct amount of coffee to be dispensed, make sure the espresso machine is working properly, and keep it clean. Alakef supplies the fresh coffee, but making a quality beverage to serve the customers is up to the barista.
Originating in Italy, espresso is the heart of the European-style café and its popularity has spread around the world. It is a drink where hot water is forced through tightly packed, finely ground coffee at high pressure extracting a thick, flavorful essence in a concentrated form. This "espresso" (quick) method of brewing can produce a shot between 18-25 seconds.
When serving espresso, each cup is prepared fresh to each individual order. The best straight espresso is no more than 1 fluid ounce of coffee, brewed into a warm demitasse (small cup). Filling the cup any further produces an over-extracted brew that is thin and bitter.