Coffee lovers who appreciate strong, authentic coffee enjoyment prefer an espresso. We will show you which preparation method is used to make espresso and provide further information about the little wake-up caller.
What is an espresso?
An espresso is a specialty coffee that can be described as a type of concentrated coffee. Hot water is pressed through finely ground coffee powder under high pressure. The amount of coffee powder corresponds to that of a coffee with 125 ml, but only 25 ml of water are used for espresso. The taste of the espresso is strong and is characterized by a full aroma. The pressure creates an aromatic, hazelnut-brown foam layer – the crema. The espresso comes from Milan and was created around 1900. It can be enjoyed neat or serves as the basis for other coffee specialties, such as latte macchiato.
Espresso: There are these types of preparation
Coffee lovers can also prepare a delicious espresso at home. There are these types of preparation:
Espresso from a portafilter machine
Distribute seven to nine grams of freshly ground, very fine ground coffee evenly in the portafilter. With the so-called tamper, press the ground coffee evenly into the ground. As a result, the water meets the same resistance everywhere on the coffee. A constant extraction is ensured without water being able to run past the coffee. The filled portafilter is now placed in the portafilter machine. One more push of a button and the machine does the rest. The water is pressed through the espresso powder at a pressure of 9 bar and the finished espresso drips out with a nice crema.
Espresso from a fully automatic coffee machine
Before using it for the first time, the fully automatic coffee machine must first be set according to your taste preferences. The amount of water, the pressure and the water temperature can be adjusted as desired. The classic settings are around 25 ml of water, a pressure of 9 bar and a water temperature of around 92 degrees. At the push of a button, the fully automatic coffee machine freshly grinds the beans and then brews the espresso. You can then draw an espresso as often as you like at the push of a button, without any further action. This is quick and does not require as much specialist knowledge as with the portafilter machine.
Strong coffee from the espresso maker
Although the name associates it differently, you cannot use the espresso maker to make espresso. Only the preparation of very strong coffee is possible with it. If you don’t have anything else on hand, you can use this as a weakened espresso substitute.
This is how it works: heat the water separately and then put it in the espresso maker.
Caution: The safety valve must not be covered with water. Fill the funnel of the pot completely with freshly ground, fine espresso powder. Be careful not to press it down. Place the filled cooker on the stove and heat the contents until you hear the characteristic “gurgling”. Once the color of the espresso is nut brown, it’s perfect.
The espresso bean – the most important thing about espresso
For an espresso, the beans are roasted longer and darker than the beans for a classic filter coffee. Because of the roasting, espresso beans have a fuller flavor. Longer roasting breaks down acids, but also builds up bitter substances. Espresso is more digestible mainly because the extraction time is significantly shorter than with filter coffee. Both the well-known Arabica beans and the Robusta beans are used for espresso roasting. If the proportion of Robusta coffee beans is increased, this gives the drink the typically strong coffee taste. This mixture is highlighted by a special roasting as well as a special way of preparation.
