[0 - 1] - Today, we are doing a deep dive
[1 - 5] into the world of expresso. What's that?
[5 - 7] It's espresso, like with an S?
[7 - 12] I don't think that's right. (lighthearted music)
[12 - 15] I dug into the science of tea in a recent episode.
[15 - 16] And while it's certainly complex,
[16 - 19] I have to admit that coffee, the other hot beverage,
[19 - 20] always leaves my head spinning.
[20 - 22] The different brewing methods,
[22 - 25] drip, pour over, French press, espresso, cold brew,
[25 - 26] there's a lot to know.
[26 - 27] But even diving to just one,
[28 - 30] like say espresso, can be really intimidating.
[30 - 33] I love espresso, that intensity is just so nice.
[33 - 34] I get it at my favorite coffee shops,
[34 - 37] I even brew it at home, but it's hard.
[37 - 39] Today, I'm incredibly excited to get some help
[39 - 40] from James Hoffmann,
[40 - 42] author of "The World Atlas of Coffee,"
[42 - 44] co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London,
[44 - 46] and all around coffee expert.
[46 - 48] We're going to cover the core variables
[48 - 50] when it comes to brewing espresso.
[50 - 52] And if you aren't an espresso brewer,
[52 - 54] stay tuned to the end for James' game-changing tips
[54 - 56] on better espresso drinking.
[56 - 59] But first, what is espresso?
[59 - 61] An espresso can be many things, but at its heart,
[61 - 63] it is a brewing method where hot pressurized water
[63 - 65] is forced over ground coffee to produce
[65 - 67] a really intense, concentrated cup.
[67 - 70] While many of us can't imagine a world without espresso,
[70 - 72] there was a dark, dark time before it existed.
[72 - 74] But in the 19th century,
[74 - 75] some creative Italian started playing around
[75 - 78] with using steam pressure to brew coffee more quickly.
[78 - 80] And that addition of pressure was the spark,
[80 - 82] giving the world a brand new kind of coffee,
[82 - 85] and many, many happy caffeinated espresso drinkers.
[85 - 88] Brewing espresso is a lot like cooking and baking,
[88 - 90] in that there are clear variables that you can tinker with
[90 - 91] to get your ideal results.
[91 - 92] Let's look at the primary variables
[92 - 95] and the influence they have on what ends up in your cup.
[95 - 99] We'll talk dose, ratio, grind size, temperature,
[99 - 101] pressure, and brew time.
[101 - 103] First up is dose.
[103 - 104] Now this is the amount of ground coffee
[104 - 105] that you put in the basket.
[105 - 107] For a long time, I was in the more is more camp
[107 - 109] when it came to espresso dose.
[109 - 111] But it's not my fault, this is America.
[111 - 114] We love big trucks, big gulps, and big espresso doses.
[114 - 118] Well, it turns out there's more to the story than that. Welcome, James.
[118 - 119] I'm so glad you're here.
[119 - 121] I've learned so much from you over the years
[121 - 123] from all of your videos about coffee.
[123 - 124] But today we're digging in on espresso.
[124 - 126] I have a lot of questions,
[126 - 128] but we're gonna start things off with dose.
[128 - 129] What is the deal with dose?
[129 - 130] - I don't wanna over-exaggerate,
[130 - 133] but I would say that dose is kind of everything.
[133 - 135] Getting your dose right sets you up for success
[135 - 138] in what is quite a difficult process.
[138 - 138] Now, a lot of people
[138 - 140] probably don't think too much about dose.
[140 - 141] They kind of use a habitual amount
[141 - 143] or they think that more is better.
[144 - 145] That isn't the case.
[145 - 147] It's gonna be a lot like baking today,
[147 - 149] where it's gonna be about ratios and recipes
[149 - 150] and that kind of stuff.
[150 - 151] And if you're baking something,
[151 - 154] you can't just add more of the one thing that you might like
[154 - 155] and hope everything just works out that way.
[155 - 158] So picking the right dose is really key.
[158 - 160] - Okay, so that makes a lot of sense to me,
[160 - 161] that it is super important.
[161 - 163] And I love that baking analogy,
[163 - 163] where you're actually,
[163 - 165] you can't just add more of what you want.
[165 - 169] But I'm also curious about, if more isn't more necessarily,
[169 - 172] what benefits do you get with going less?
[172 - 174] - Okay, so a lot of what you're focusing on
[174 - 176] when you're making espresso is getting a good extraction
[176 - 178] of the coffee that you have.
[178 - 180] And I think the thing to think about right at the start
[180 - 182] is the more coffee I have,
[182 - 185] the more work I have to do to extract it properly.
[185 - 187] So if you put a really big dose in the basket,
[187 - 189] you can still make it taste good,
[189 - 191] but you're gonna have to work harder
[191 - 193] than working with a smaller dose.
[193 - 195] So in many cases, the machine you're using
[195 - 198] will kind of dictate the dose you wanna work with.
[198 - 200] And it's not just the machine, but the basket inside.
[200 - 204] In some cases, those are built around specific gram dosages,
[204 - 206] and you shouldn't really use more than a gram more or less
[206 - 208] than what that basket might recommend.
[208 - 210] In some cases, there is no guidance.
[210 - 212] And you just wanna make sure that the puck,
[212 - 214] when you finished, isn't sloppy,
[214 - 216] because that's just a mess and frustrating.
[216 - 217] And then it's not too difficult
[217 - 219] to actually load the handle into the machine.
[219 - 221] Somewhere in between those two things
[221 - 223] is a good place to start.
[223 - 224] - So, James, in one of your videos,
[224 - 227] I heard you talk about the lopsided bell curve
[227 - 230] of deliciousness versus extraction,
[230 - 233] which is one of the best things I've ever read in a line.
[233 - 236] But I don't really understand what it means.
[236 - 238] I was hoping you could give a little more context to it.
[238 - 240] - Okay, so I'm gonna to talk a lot about extraction today.
[240 - 243] And, really, we're talking about how much
[243 - 244] of the sort of soluble stuff in ground coffee
[245 - 247] that we got out into the cup.
[247 - 248] If you don't do a good job brewing
[248 - 249] and you don't get enough,
[249 - 251] we would call that under-extraction.
[251 - 252] Essentially, there's good flavors
[252 - 254] in the leftover grounds that you knock out
[254 - 256] when you're finished.
[256 - 257] The more you take, the better.
[257 - 259] And it gets better and better and better
[259 - 261] until it suddenly gets very bad.
[261 - 263] And that's the bit where things kind of fall off a cliff,
[263 - 265] and we talk about maybe over-extraction.
[265 - 268] Under-extraction tends to taste more acidic.
[268 - 270] Unsurprisingly, it tastes a little bit weak often.
[270 - 273] Over-extraction tends to emphasize the very bitter,
[273 - 274] harsher taste within coffee.
[274 - 277] In the middle, this kind of sweet, delicious,
[277 - 279] complex coffee that feels balanced,
[279 - 280] that's really what we're shooting for.
[280 - 283] - Okay, next up is ratio.
[283 - 286] The espresso ratio shows the weight of ground coffee
[286 - 288] next to the weight of the brewed espresso.
[288 - 289] So, for example, let's say you start
[289 - 291] with 18 grams of ground coffee.
[291 - 293] And you pull a shot until your cup
[293 - 295] has 18 grams of espresso in it.
[295 - 297] That would be a 1:1 ratio.
[297 - 299] If you use that same 18 grams,
[299 - 301] but pulled a shot that clocked in at 36 grams,
[301 - 303] you'd have a 1:2 ratio.
[303 - 304] Pretty simple, right?
[304 - 305] So your espresso ratio will put you
[305 - 307] into one of three categories.
[307 - 311] These are ristretto, espresso, and lungo.
[311 - 313] Okay, so that's the basics of ratio,
[313 - 314] but what does it actually mean
[314 - 316] in terms of brewing and drinking?
[316 - 318] - Okay, so ratio is really important,
[318 - 321] and it's a really helpful way to think about coffee
[321 - 323] and espresso brewing in particular.
[323 - 325] So ratio talks about how much ground coffee did you use
[325 - 327] in the basket at the start of the process
[327 - 330] compared to how much liquid espresso you brewed
[330 - 332] on the other side.
[332 - 334] Now, the more liquid you produce from a fixed amount,
[334 - 336] the weaker that drink will be.
[336 - 338] Now, there's no right and wrong here.
[338 - 339] This is really about preference,
[339 - 341] what kind of drink do you wanna make.
[341 - 348] A ristretto will be kind of like a cask strength whiskey, overwhelmingly intense.
[348 - 350] Add a little water, bring it back to an espresso,
[350 - 352] you still have tons of texture, tons of flavor,
[352 - 354] but not quite as overwhelming.
[354 - 356] And then go again, up to a lungo,
[356 - 358] and you'll find it very balanced,
[358 - 360] but not that kind of very textured experience.
[360 - 362] But one isn't better than the other.
[362 - 366] A ristretto isn't somehow a better drink than a lungo.
[366 - 367] You're just trying to do the best job you can
[367 - 370] with those drinks, with those categories.
[370 - 372] - Okay, so the big takeaway I got there
[372 - 375] is if I go to my local shop and I asked for a ristretto,
[375 - 377] I'm not cooler than the next guy
[377 - 378] who just wants a regular espresso.
[379 - 381] - Absolutely not, there's too much of that around coffee,
[381 - 382] and it's just nonsense.
[382 - 384] Enjoy what you enjoy.
[384 - 385] - I love that.
[385 - 386] That's a great sentiment there.
[386 - 387] Okay, grind size.
[387 - 389] No matter the method of brewing,
[389 - 391] the particle size of your ground coffee
[391 - 392] is incredibly important.
[392 - 395] But with espresso, even tiny changes in grind size
[395 - 396] can have a massive impact.
[396 - 397] And if you ask James,
[397 - 400] it might just be the most important variable.
[400 - 401] - The grinder for espresso brewing
[401 - 403] is the most important thing.
[403 - 404] It's the most important piece of equipment.
[404 - 406] I would rather have an expensive grinder
[406 - 409] and a very cheap espresso machine than the other way around.
[409 - 413] It's also probably the most frustrating part of the process,
[413 - 417] because how you cut the coffee open determines two things.
[417 - 418] Firstly, the finer you grind coffee,
[418 - 421] essentially, the more surface area you're opening up.
[421 - 423] It's a bit like dicing something finer in the kitchen,
[423 - 424] it makes sense.
[424 - 426] This though is complicated by the fact
[426 - 429] that when you pack it together into a machine,
[429 - 431] the finer the pieces, the harder it is
[431 - 432] for the water to get through it.
[432 - 434] Generally, you'd think finer the better,
[434 - 437] because I want as much flavor out of my coffee as possible
[437 - 439] as long as I'm not getting too much.
[439 - 440] But espresso has this really big issue,
[440 - 443] and it's called channeling, or uneven extraction.
[443 - 445] When you have this really high pressure water,
[445 - 448] if it can't easily get through all of the coffee,
[448 - 450] sort of evenly, as in terms of flow,
[450 - 453] it'll eventually crack open these little channels.
[453 - 455] And more water will flow through these channels,
[455 - 457] kind of skipping the rest of the coffee.
[457 - 460] That means you get this taste of over-extraction,
[460 - 462] where the water has flowed through these little beds,
[462 - 463] so you get this harsh bitterness.
[463 - 468] But generally, most of the coffee hasn't seen enough water, that's under-extraction,
[468 - 471] and the two combined are very unpleasant.
[471 - 473] So what you're trying to do is grind fine enough
[473 - 474] to expose enough surface area,
[474 - 475] getting a flavor out of the coffee,
[475 - 478] but still have the water flow evenly
[478 - 480] through that puck, through that cake of coffee.
[480 - 483] Now a good grinder helps you in a couple of ways.
[483 - 486] Firstly, it gives you loads of control.
[486 - 487] A small movement on a grinder
[487 - 489] should give you a very small change.
[489 - 491] Secondly, you want a grinder
[491 - 493] that's gonna give you evenly cut pieces.
[493 - 495] So that's why we use what are called burr grinders.
[495 - 496] You'll have two cutting disks,
[496 - 499] or sometimes a conical-shaped disc,
[499 - 501] that will move further apart or closer together
[501 - 503] to determine the size of the pieces that you're cutting.
[503 - 505] The pieces can only get out of the burrs
[505 - 506] once they're a certain size.
[506 - 509] So better, more expensive grinders generally produce
[509 - 513] more even and more controllable coffee grounds.
[513 - 515] - So one unfortunate takeaway from what you just said
[515 - 518] is that you can't have under extraction and over extraction,
[518 - 520] and they somehow like meet in the middle
[520 - 522] for like a perfect extraction.
[522 - 524] The channeling is a really big problem
[524 - 526] because you get kind of the worst of both worlds.
[527 - 528] - Exactly right.
[528 - 531] - Okay, now the variable that you've all been waiting for, water temperature.
[531 - 533] As we all know in the kitchen,
[533 - 535] hotter water can extract a lot more stuff
[535 - 537] from whatever it is in contact with.
[537 - 539] Think about making chicken stock in lukewarm water
[539 - 541] versus in simmering water.
[541 - 542] You are gonna get a lot more flavor
[542 - 543] from the simmering water.
[543 - 545] And you won't get food poisoning.
[545 - 546] And it's the same with espresso.
[546 - 548] I guess not the food poisoning part.
[548 - 551] If you go hotter, you will extract more.
[551 - 553] Going hotter can be a really good thing for lighter roast,
[553 - 555] but with darker roast, it's a potential issue.
[555 - 557] Here are some good ballpark temperature ranges
[557 - 561] for darker roasts, medium roasts, and lighter roasts.
[561 - 562] So, James, if the temperature ranges
[562 - 563] for these different roasts
[563 - 565] aren't all that different from one another,
[565 - 567] how much does water temperature really matter?
[567 - 568] - It does make a difference.
[568 - 571] It is important, but it's not as important
[571 - 573] as espresso machine manufacturers would have you believe.
[573 - 575] There's a lot of hype, a lot of sales
[575 - 577] around brew temperature.
[577 - 580] If other aspects of the brew are wrong,
[580 - 581] temperature won't fix it.
[581 - 583] Temperature is a nice tweak for flavors,
[583 - 585] where you might pull a shot and think,
[585 - 587] oh, it just needs like a little bit more.
[587 - 588] It's just a touch acidic.
[588 - 590] That's a great time to increase the temperature.
[590 - 592] What's frustrating, if you have a machine at home,
[592 - 594] is a machine that doesn't do the same thing
[594 - 596] two times in a row, right?
[596 - 598] Whatever profile your machine produces,
[598 - 600] I'm kind of okay with it as long as it does it
[600 - 602] every single time you use the machine.
[602 - 605] And that's where cheaper machines tend to be worse.
[605 - 607] - So consistency is really the name of the game,
[607 - 609] predictability and consistency
[609 - 610] when it comes to water temperature.
[610 - 612] - Yes, that's basically it, be aware of it.
[612 - 614] You can use it as a little variable,
[614 - 617] but do not obsess over it unnecessarily.
[617 - 619] - Next up, pressure.
[619 - 621] Now, as we all learned at the top of this episode,
[621 - 623] pressure is what differentiates espresso
[623 - 625] from all other brewing methods.
[625 - 626] It allows us to push hot water
[626 - 628] through a puck of ground coffee
[628 - 631] in about 30 seconds and make a delicious drink.
[631 - 633] It is also the reason that we can achieve crema,
[633 - 635] that lovely, dense, foamy creamy layer
[635 - 637] on top of the espresso.
[637 - 639] Carbon dioxide gas that is trapped within the beans,
[639 - 641] and therefore within the ground coffee,
[641 - 643] is forced into the brew water under pressure.
[643 - 645] When the brewed coffee exits the machine
[645 - 646] and that high pressure environment,
[646 - 649] the carbon dioxide gas expands as tiny bubbles.
[649 - 650] James has a whole video on crema,
[650 - 652] and I've linked to it below this video.
[652 - 653] You have to check it out.
[653 - 654] But I'm getting off topic.
[654 - 656] What is the deal with the pressure
[656 - 658] and different pressures for brewing?
[658 - 659] - What we're trying to do with espresso
[659 - 661] is use a very small amount of water
[661 - 663] through very finely ground coffee.
[663 - 665] And the only way you can get the water through the coffee
[665 - 666] is with some force.
[666 - 670] And so we talk about the pressure that we brew with.
[670 - 672] Historically, they tried using steam pressure early days,
[672 - 675] then they switched to compressed springs with levers.
[675 - 677] And now we use sort of modern pumps,
[677 - 680] that might be a vibration pump or a rotary pump,
[680 - 681] to generate a lot of force.
[681 - 683] We talk in bars of pressure typically.
[683 - 686] So nine bars of pressure at the pump,
[686 - 689] about 130 PSI, converting it that way around.
[689 - 691] So a good amount of force is required
[691 - 694] to get this hot water through this very finely ground,
[694 - 696] packed-in puck of coffee.
[696 - 699] So the funny thing about brew pressure though
[699 - 700] is that we tend to use nine bars
[700 - 703] because it's the peak of a bell curve in many cases.
[703 - 705] Lower pressures aren't as good at getting the water
[705 - 706] through the finely ground coffee.
[706 - 708] It takes a little bit longer to do so.
[708 - 712] But go above nine bars, and actually that force
[712 - 714] compresses the cake of coffee so much
[714 - 715] that the water can't get through,
[715 - 717] and the flow slows down again.
[717 - 720] So this seems to be why the industry
[720 - 722] settled on around nine bars of pressure.
[722 - 725] That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best though.
[725 - 726] For many starter baristas,
[726 - 729] I think using lower pressures can be really helpful.
[729 - 732] What again is confused by manufacturers
[732 - 734] is that you'll see claims of a cheap machine
[734 - 737] with 15 bars of pressure, 18 bars of pressure,
[737 - 739] as if that's desirable, it's really not.
[739 - 741] Essentially, the way that those machines work
[741 - 743] is they generate too much pressure,
[743 - 745] and what they should have is a little valve that opened,
[745 - 748] that leaks out any excess above your desired pressure.
[748 - 750] It's called an over pressure valve.
[750 - 751] Most of them are set horribly wrong.
[751 - 753] They're generating too much pressure.
[753 - 754] They're flowing too slow.
[754 - 756] They encourage you to grind too coarsely.
[756 - 758] They don't help you make great coffee.
[758 - 761] So be cautious of getting obsessed with pressure.
[761 - 762] If you're starting out,
[762 - 764] then I would say six to eight bars
[764 - 766] is a really good place to start.
[766 - 768] The machine will be a little bit more tolerant.
[768 - 769] It's a little easier to use.
[769 - 772] But nine bars is a good industry standard,
[772 - 776] set and forget and kind of don't worry about it setting point.
[776 - 778] - And finally, brew time.
[778 - 780] Now I'm putting brew time in here as a variable
[780 - 782] even though James and a lot of other coffee pros
[782 - 783] don't really think of it as one.
[783 - 786] Meaning that it's not a variable that you control directly,
[786 - 787] but rather one that you track
[787 - 789] to see how all of your other variables are working out.
[789 - 792] The goal is to pull a shot in 25 to 30 seconds.
[792 - 794] If you end up with a ratio that you were after,
[794 - 796] and you did it in that timeframe,
[796 - 798] you're doing a lot of things right.
[798 - 800] That doesn't necessarily mean that you'll love the taste
[800 - 803] of that cup of coffee, but you pulled a successful shot.
[803 - 805] Then by tinkering with all of these
[805 - 806] other variables we talked about,
[806 - 808] you can get to the cup that you love.
[808 - 811] Okay, so we've made it through all of our variables.
[811 - 811] I'm really excited.
[811 - 814] And I wanna celebrate by pulling a shot of espresso.
[814 - 816] But before I do that, and before we let James go,
[816 - 819] he has offered to tell us his top tips
[819 - 821] for how to drink espresso.
[821 - 822] - First one is always, always,
[822 - 826] always stir your espresso fully before taking a sip.
[826 - 829] When you brew espresso, it kind of accidentally layers.
[829 - 831] The first liquid out of your portafilter is really dense,
[831 - 833] and that sits right at the bottom of the cup.
[833 - 836] If you just sip your espresso without stirring it,
[836 - 838] then you just get the last stuff you brewed.
[838 - 840] It'll taste a little thinner, a little less enjoyable.
[840 - 843] Stir it all up, taste that, that's what you've made,
[843 - 845] and that's what you're gonna use
[845 - 846] to maybe make an adjustment.
[846 - 848] - I see people swirl espresso,
[848 - 850] and I've done that a lot myself.
[850 - 852] You're saying don't swirl it, like actually stir it,
[852 - 854] even if you're not adding anything to it.
[854 - 856] - Swirling looks good, feels kind of cool,
[856 - 858] doesn't really do a great job.
[858 - 859] - Okay, awesome.
[859 - 863] - Second tip, don't worry about the espresso going cold.
[863 - 864] Essentially, the way your body works
[864 - 865] is that you're better at tasting stuff
[865 - 868] the closer it is to body temperature.
[868 - 870] If your espresso cools down and tastes bad,
[870 - 871] it always tasted bad.
[871 - 873] It didn't die or fall apart.
[873 - 875] Nothing changed really,
[875 - 877] except that you could actually taste what you'd made.
[877 - 881] So a lot of cafes will encourage espresso to be drunk hot
[881 - 883] to kind of hide any potential flaws
[883 - 884] that there might be there.
[884 - 888] Letting it cool down really lets you taste what you've made,
[888 - 889] and again, make better decisions
[889 - 891] around how you might tweak that,
[891 - 893] change your recipe to improve the espresso
[893 - 894] that you wanna make next.
[894 - 895] - Oh, I love that.
[895 - 897] Okay, so yeah, so if you've walked away from your espresso,
[897 - 899] you come back, don't dump it and brew another one.
[899 - 901] Like it's actually really good.
[901 - 903] You get to taste everything you have in there.
[903 - 904] - I'll give you one more that I just think
[904 - 905] is really super fun.
[906 - 909] Now, crema, on top of espresso, I think is beautiful.
[909 - 911] It's the kind of defining characteristic for the drink.
[911 - 913] But interestingly, contained within it
[913 - 915] is quite a lot of bitterness.
[915 - 917] So if you, just once, just once,
[917 - 919] scoop the crema off your espresso,
[919 - 922] get rid of it and drink the espresso underneath.
[922 - 923] It's really interesting.
[923 - 925] It's that much sweeter, cleaner,
[925 - 927] brighter, juicier, more complex,
[927 - 930] but kind of less fun in a different kind of way.
[930 - 932] But a kind of fun little exercise
[932 - 934] to understand the espresso you make a little bit more.
[934 - 937] - I love that so much because you both will understand
[937 - 938] your espresso more.
[938 - 942] And if anyone else is around, you'll totally confuse them.
[942 - 943] Might actually make them angry
[943 - 944] just by doing that.
[944 - 947] - (laughs) I will say it's maybe not practical day to day
[947 - 950] to do on your espresso, but if you like an Americano,
[950 - 953] but wished it had just a fraction less bitterness,
[953 - 957] 100% recommended as a daily routine for Americano-making,
[957 - 958] I think you get a really delicious drink
[958 - 960] if you skim the crema off an Americano
[960 - 961] before stirring it up.
[961 - 963] - That's cool, that's a great tip.
[963 - 966] All right, You've given us like four or five tips, that's awesome.
[966 - 968] James, thank you so much for this.
[968 - 970] I learned so much here and I know all of our viewers
[970 - 971] have as well.
[971 - 973] I'm gonna take all of what you talked about,
[973 - 974] head into the kitchen,
[974 - 976] and see if I can improve my espresso game.
[976 - 977] - Please let me know how that goes.
[977 - 978] Thank you so much for having me.
[978 - 980] It's been a real delight to chat.
[980 - 981] - So now without further ado,
[981 - 984] let's go to the kitchen and do some brewing.
[984 - 985] I'm using my personal machine,
[985 - 987] which is this lovely funky, quirky,
[987 - 989] Italian guy named La Pavoni.
[989 - 991] It's one of the earliest designs for an espresso machine
[991 - 993] and is entirely manual.
[993 - 996] It's also pretty steampunk, if that's something you like.
[996 - 998] Anyway, I really like it and it's been fun
[998 - 999] to learn how to brew espresso with.
[999 - 1002] If you're interested in getting an espresso machine at home,
[1002 - 1004] check out the link below to our big review on them.
[1004 - 1006] There's tons of options, lots of bells and whistles
[1006 - 1008] and stuff to figure out so you can find the one
[1008 - 1009] that is perfect for you.
[1009 - 1012] Now let's put everything together and brew a shot.
[1012 - 1015] I'm using a medium roast that I love called Gold,
[1015 - 1016] from a Massachusetts roaster
[1016 - 1018] called Barrington Coffee Roasting Company.
[1018 - 1020] But you should use whatever you really love.
[1020 - 1023] I'm using one of the finest settings on my burr grinder.
[1023 - 1024] And for the first half of my ratio,
[1024 - 1026] I have 13 grams of coffee.
[1026 - 1028] I'll get it into my basket,
[1028 - 1029] and if there are any small clumps,
[1029 - 1031] I use a cake tester or anything fine like that
[1031 - 1033] to break them up before using a leveler
[1033 - 1035] to give me a nice smooth surface.
[1035 - 1036] And then finally, the tamp,
[1036 - 1038] to get a consistent puck of coffee.
[1038 - 1040] I then lock it into my preheated machine.
[1040 - 1042] When I raised the bar to the top,
[1042 - 1044] water floods from the boiler into the group head.
[1044 - 1046] After just a few seconds of infusing,
[1046 - 1048] I lower the handle and push the water
[1048 - 1049] through the ground coffee,
[1049 - 1052] into my non-preheated cup that is waiting below
[1052 - 1053] on a digital scale.
[1053 - 1055] I'm using an open portafilter
[1055 - 1056] so we can actually get underneath
[1056 - 1058] and watch the espresso come out.
[1058 - 1061] Now, to be honest, I mostly use this open portafilter
[1061 - 1063] because it just looked so cool coming out.
[1063 - 1066] But you can actually diagnose espresso problems
[1066 - 1067] by watching what comes out.
[1067 - 1069] One such issue is channeling,
[1069 - 1071] which leads to that awful uneven extraction
[1071 - 1072] that James talked about.
[1072 - 1073] I'm looking for 26 grams,
[1073 - 1075] which will give me a 1:2 ratio.
[1075 - 1079] And of course I want it all to happen in 25 to 30 seconds.
[1079 - 1081] Just look at this beauty.
[1081 - 1083] And that thick layer of crema is thanks to the fact
[1083 - 1084] that my coffee is fresh enough
[1084 - 1086] that it still contained lots of CO2.
[1086 - 1088] Okay, it's time for a taste.
[1088 - 1090] But first, gotta give it that stir.
[1090 - 1093] Mmm, this cup has a lovely sweetness
[1093 - 1096] balanced by just the right amount of acidity for me.
[1096 - 1098] It is, however, a touch too bitter.
[1098 - 1099] But now we know that there are lots of options
[1099 - 1100] to address that.
[1100 - 1101] I can grind a little coarser,
[1101 - 1103] I could go down on my dose a little bit,
[1103 - 1105] I could decrease the water temperature,
[1105 - 1107] I could scoop out that crema, I guess.
[1107 - 1109] Well, sorry about that.
[1109 - 1111] I kind of lost in that variables dream.
[1111 - 1113] Whether you are brand new to espresso,
[1113 - 1115] or you buy it all the time at your local coffee shop,
[1115 - 1118] or you pull pro-level shots at home,
[1118 - 1119] we can all take comfort in knowing
[1119 - 1121] that we're enjoying one of the most complex
[1121 - 1124] and frustrating culinary endeavors in the whole world.
[1124 - 1126] And if you ever get frustrated dealing with espresso,
[1126 - 1128] just remember what they always say,
[1128 - 1131] the best espresso is the one that you have in your hand.
[1131 - 1132] Do they say that?
[1132 - 1135] This is how to drink espresso.
[1139 - 1140] Now, if any of this has piqued your interest
[1140 - 1142] in brewing espresso, great.
[1142 - 1143] James has done a wonderful deep dive
[1143 - 1146] on all of these variables on his YouTube channel,
[1146 - 1148] as well as tons of other videos around coffee.
[1148 - 1149] You'll learn so much.
[1149 - 1151] There's a link to it below this video.
[1151 - 1152] Can't recommend it enough.
[1152 - 1154] I'd love to hear from all of you in the comments.
[1154 - 1155] Do you love espresso?
[1155 - 1156] Do you brew it at home?
[1156 - 1158] Do you like when I cover beverages?
[1158 - 1159] Are you over caffeinated?
[1159 - 1160] I need to know!