Espresso

Name: Espresso Coffee Recipe
Total time: 1 min
Yield: 1 double shot (~38 g)
Cuisine: Specialty Coffee
Ingredients: Coffee: 18 g

Close-up of a bottomless portafilter extracting espresso into a speckled ceramic cup

Reflections

Espresso is how I first got into specialty coffee, mostly because I wanted to be able to make cafe-style lattes at home. Every now and then I’ll want a quick, small hit of coffee and gladly have a shot straight, but lattes are how I drink espresso almost all the time, and now I get to enjoy them most mornings.

I actually started with a capsule-based machine before moving to a setup where I get to grind my own beans. The capsules were good, easy, and met a need at the time, but being able to experiment with freshly roasted specialty coffee, in the comfort of my home, is on another level of delicious.

I settled on a routine here that is straightforward and repeatable. Use it as a starting point and adjust to suit your equipment and taste.

What you need

Coffee:18 g

Grinder:Capable of grinding espresso fine

Dosing cup

Espresso machine

Needle distribution tool

Tamper

Scale

Timer

Preparation

STEP 1Grind 18 g of coffee to a fine grind into the dosing cup and transfer to the portafilter.

STEP 2Use the needle distribution tool to draw circles from the bottom up to the top of the espresso.

STEP 3Tamp the grounds (just until you feel resistance).

STEP 4Lock the portafilter into the espresso machine.

STEP 5Place your cup on the scale under the portafilter and tare to 0 g.

1. Pre-infuse

10s

Pre-infuse for 10 seconds to saturate the puck.

2. Extraction

Start flow of water

As soon as the scale starts moving, start timing.

3. Stop Shot

Stop at 34g

Allows for some residual flow, you're aiming for 38g out in ~30 seconds.