how to make espresso - Intelligentsia Coffee

ESPRESSO MODULE
HOW TO MAKE
ESPRESSO
A step-by-step walk-through
of the process.
up or slow down drastically. Using a
scale will be the most accurate way
to track your dose, but the leveling
process is also a way to adjust and
build consistency in dosing.
STEP 1:
CLEAN &
DRY BASKET
Before coffee is added to the basket,
be sure to thoroughly wipe the basket of coffee grounds and residual
oils leftover from a previous use. A
clean, dry cloth will work well for
this.
STEP 2:
DOSE COFFEE
Consistent dosing is what will
make or break your espresso.
Typically, a dose of coffee has a
tolerance of +/-.25 grams of coffee
before you’ll see the extra to missing coffee cause the shot to speed
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STEP 3:
LEVEL COFFEE
When dosing coffee, it’s important
to level the coffee grounds using
either a finger or a tool in order to
create an even density of the coffee
bed before tamping. An unleveled
coffee bed will have different pockets of thickness once tamped, even
if they are invisible to the naked
eye. This will cause the water to run
through different parts of the coffee
more quickly than others, promoting higher extraction yield from
some sections and lower extraction
yield from others. The resulting
espresso will then have an abundance of tartness, and dry, bitter
or unpleasant tones without much
sweetness to balance them out.
STEP 4:
TAMPING
When tamping coffee, it’s important to achieve even pressure across
the surface of the coffee bed, as
well as creating a level ‘puck’ once
it is tamped. The key is applying
consistent, firm pressure. If puck is
uneven, the water will pass channel
through the portion of coffee where
less pressure was applied and result
in uneven extraction. The amount
of pressure needs to be firm enough
to compact the coffee completely,
but applying too much pressure can
lead to the ta per slipping and an
uneven level.
STEP 5:
FLUSH GROUPHEAD
STEP 7:
EXTRACTION
Flushing the grouphead for 2-5
seconds between shots both primes
the boiler to bring fresh water to
the front, and cleans the screen off
of any old coffee.
The first part of the streams that
comes off the portafilter will be
thin and dark. As the shot progresses, the streams will get thicker
and lighter colored. Eventually, the
streams will start to kick and get
very light and almost blonde in
color. The moment that the streams
start to go transparent and get pale
and thin is the moment the coffee
tells you it is no longer dissolving
any desirable flavors.
STEP 6:
INSERT & START
Once the puck is of an even density and tamped levelly, it should be
treated like an egg. Any disruption of the seal will cause hairline
cracks to occur in the surface of
the espresso puck, and allow water
again to channel through the
coffee bed, promoting an uneven
extraction. Extra care should be
taken during cleaning of the wings
of the portafilter and top of the
espresso filter basket and when
re-inserting the portafilter into the
grouphead.
SUMMARY
When all of these steps are put
together, we can find that 18g coffee
extracted to 28-36g espresso wt. or
approximately 1.5-2 fl. oz. in 23-28
seconds — with close attention paid
to temperature, will result in a double
espresso with a balance of tartness,
sweetness and bitterness.
Additionally, the flavor profile of the
espresso can then be fine-tuned by
making minor changes to the grind in
order to produce a slightly faster or
slower shot. With these adjustments
— specifically targeting the center of
these number ranges will be helpful
in achieving and maintaining balance in your espresso shots.
STEP 8:
FLUSH GROUPHEAD
Once the shot has been pulled,
remove the portafilter from the
grouphead, knock out the espresso puck from the basket into a
knockbox. Wipe the basket clean
while flushing the grouphead for
three seconds. Doing this prepares
the barista for future drink orders
and keeps the grouphead in top
working order throughout the day.
INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE
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