ESPRESSO

WHAT YOU NEED

• Espresso coffee machine, portafilter, tamper
• Wholebeans which grind to 18-22g (about 2 heaped table spoons)

METHOD

• Grind coffee into portafilter
• Spread smoothly the extracted coffee across the portafilter
• Press firmly with tamper, don’t be shy
• Inset portafilter into group head
• Run your shot. It should take about 5 seconds from the time you hit the button to the time coffee hits you cup. Aim for extraction time of about 25-30 seconds, with coffee coming out at a steady dribble. If outside this range, you need to adjust your grind:
• <25 seconds: the ground coffee particles are too big and water coming out too quickly = sour taste. Make grind smaller (harder for water to pass through)
• >30 seconds: your ground coffee particles are too small and the water is struggling to pass through = bitter taste. Make grind bigger (easier for the water to pass through)
• Froth your milk - this is the trickiest part but practice makes perfect. You want the milk frothing in a circular motion. Give it a good swirl and taps on the table to reduce bubbles and increase smoothy creaminess.
• Clean steam handle and never let steam arm soak in milk as it sucks it back up into the machine, causing damage and poor tasting coffee.
• Latte art: start with love hearts and build up to flowers, and even swans for the experts!

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