The coffee world is both overwhelming and exciting. What one person claims is the best product in the world, another will discredit until the cows come home.
But if you own one of the best espresso machines and your espresso still doesn’t taste as good as your favorite coffee house’s, it might not be the machine. If you want to brew consistently top-notch shots, you need to understand what makes good espresso.
Espresso is a pressurized form of coffee — it’s literally in the name — but too much pressure can destroy delicate aromas in the drink. You also need to put the correct amount of coffee in your machine and extract for the right amount of time — this is why I recommend everyone use one of the best coffee scales. You also need one of the best grinders, which is why I’ve suggested three models here.
Questions? Of course. Ex-barista at your service. If you have specific enquiries, just comment them below and I will reply to you.
Why should I get a coffee grinder?
Most coffee lovers agree that the most important aspect of espresso brewing is the grinder. You can make barista-quality espresso with super-cheap espresso machines — like the $149 De’Longhi Stilosa — as long as you have a good grinder, great beans, and a little patience.
Trust me — I’ve made Starbucks-beating flat whites on the Stilosa, and it was all down to the Eureka Mignon Specialita (and my barista knowledge).
Essentially, you want a coffee grinder that grinds all your coffee the same size, so you get a consistently pleasant flavor. You don’t want your beans too small or too large, as that will result in an overextracted (bitter) or underextracted (sour) espresso. You also don’t want your grinder to heat the beans as it crushes them.
I have full faith that when you understand the key principles of espresso, you will never need to go to a coffeehouse again. Unless, of course, you love the ambiance, which is the only reason I really go to cafes now — to support independent businesses and soak up the atmosphere.
I’ve written loads of articles on how to grind your coffee correctly, so please do read thoroughly if you want to brew like a pro!
Why should I get a coffee scale?
So, a good coffee grinder is the key to getting uniform, high-quality coffee grounds. But what about once you’ve got said uniform coffee grounds?
To get a cafe-quality espresso, you should follow cafe recipes. Most coffeehouses use 18-21g of coffee for a double espresso, and around 12-14g for a single espresso. I’ve worked at cafes that used 14g, and some that used 12g. Double shots were always at least 18g, but never more than 21g.
It does depend on the type of bean — lighter roasts can be ground finer, and, therefore, you can fit more of them in the portafilter basket — but for the most part, I’d recommend 18g. This is what results in the best flavor on my Breville Bambino Plus.
But how do I know the precise measurements of my espresso? I use my Wacaco Exagram Pro, of course. This coffee scale tells me exactly how much coffee I’m using; it then tells me exactly how long the espresso takes to extract, and, finally, the total weight of my espresso.
You generally want to aim for a ratio of 1:2 coffee:water extracted in 25-28 seconds, and with a coffee scale, you can achieve consistently delicious results.
Why should I use a bottomless portafilter?
All right, you don’t have to use a bottomless portafilter. As long as it’s single-walled/non-pressurized, you can use a spouted portafilter, and you’ll get the same results. Bottomless portafilters just look really cool.
If you’ve got a bean-to-cup or a great grinder, you will only get professional-quality espresso if you use a single-walled portafilter — I recommend bottomless portafilters over pressurized portafilters. Dual-walled portafilters create way too much pressure for freshly ground beans and can destroy delicate notes in coffee.
Think about the espresso made on super-automatic machines (like those at car dealerships and offices). Do you like that flavor or not? If not, then you definitely want to be using single-walled portafilters. Those automatic machines mostly use dual-walled as it lets the user/machine get away with a lower-quality grinder.
All espresso machines have different styles of portafilter, though, so you’ll need to make sure you’re using the correct one for your machine. I’ve included third-party portafilters for De’Longhi’s La Specialista range and Breville’s machine further up, but if you just go onto Amazon and search your machine name + bottomless portafilter, tons of options should come up. Don’t spend more than about $70 on these — you can get great ones for around $40.
Let me know if you have any more tips or if you have any questions below — I will reply to everyone.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.