How To Brew A Perfect Shot of Espresso

By now, you have a good espresso machine and have figured out the fine art of grinding your espresso. You also know how to properly pack a double shot. One might be inclined to think the hard part is over with, but you are far from done. At this point, it will be useful to start paying attention to the kind of water you use in your machine and the brew time duration. If you did everything else correctly, your espresso shot should come out perfect with a nice carmel crema on top. But if you messed up somewhere along the way, this is the place where your mistakes will begin to catch up with you.

It is best to use softened water in your espresso machine. This is exactly what many of the big chains like Starbucks do. There are several reasons for this, but one stands out amongst all of them. Softened water, simply put, has less variables. It is much more likely to have a consistent taste. Hard water, in contrast, has varying degrees of hardness depending on which minerals are present. If you use hard water, your shots will be different every time. In the latte art world, the water you use is like your paint. If it doesn't have the same consistency every time, it will be useless so far as you are concerned.

The second thing you need to monitor is how long it takes for your espresso shot to brew. The ideal espresso brew time is between five and seven seconds. Some espresso machines allow you to adjust the brew time. Others simply don't. If you don't have a machine that allows you to do this, you may need to either get a different kind of coffee, grind your coffee differently, or pack your shot better. A well packed high quality espresso roast, when brewed through most machines, should brew within the five to seven second range.

As you begin to brew espresso, make sure you take the time to test all of your creations. I once worked at a coffee shop where we had a little timer for each espresso machine. This was great because it allowed us to carefully monitor our espresso quality all day long and make adjustments accordingly. Even within a few hours, some variable or another can change, and that will affect your espresso brew time. Also, do check for a brown crema on every shot and do a few taste tests now and again. If you don't have a nice crema, something isn't right.

One more final note. Espresso that is left sitting for longer than ten seconds starts to lose its flavor due to oxidation with the surrounding air. At the same coffee shop where I worked, we had a very demanding customer who always insisted that we get the espresso into some milk within ten seconds. We initially thought she was paranoid, but she was actually right. It pays to be detail oriented when your iced latte is at stake.

Don't get frustrated quite yet if your espresso isn't coming out the way you want it to. This is an art after all. Steaming milk is a much simpler process when compared to making good espresso. In fact, if you are doing it right, you are probably making drinks that are much better than what you will find in most coffee shops where lazy teenagers do whatever they want to with your drink. Solider on, and that delicious latte with your own existential musings on top will be yours!

Learn more about making Latte Art in our Latte Art How To!