This coffee beverage is made by forcing nearly boiling water under pressure through ground coffee beans, resulting in a brew that’s thicker than those made from other brewing methods.
Espresso is a base for various beverages. Learn how to make an espresso and you’re halfway through learning how to make your own cappuccino, café latte, and macchiato.
And fortunately, Prima Coffee has a beginner’s guide for making espresso. Here are the things you need to get started:
- Espresso machine
- Grinder
- Portafilter
- Tamper
- Gram scale
- Shot glass
Instructions:
- Step 1. Fill the espresso machine’s reservoir with cold, filtered water that isn’t too hard nor too soft. Steer clear from distilled water as it can seriously damage your boiler.
- Step 2. Switch your machine on to heat it up, taking anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the machine. Once your machine heats brewing temperature, wait a little longer until your espresso machine feels warm.
- Step 3. Place a portafilter in the group head and run the espresso machine for a few seconds to bring water to the front and heat up parts of the machine that are close to your coffee.
- Step 4. Wipe the inside of the portafilter and underside of the group head to clean.
- Step 5. Grind a few beans and remove stale grounds from your grinder. Take 18 to 21 grams of freshly ground coffee to the portafilter.
- Step 6. Tamp and apply even pressure, using fingertips to feel the edge of the basket.
- Step 7. Return the portafilter in the group head and start brewing. If your espresso machine has a pre-brew or pre-infusion stage, complete that step first.
- Step 8. Start infusion and end brewing to yield 2 oz. or about 30 grams of espresso.