Brewing espresso - here's how
Tommy WinbergBrewing espresso is all about the right technique and good equipment. At Monteriva, we will guide you through setting up the machine, dosing and tamping your espresso coffee to make a really great espresso.
How do you make espresso?
Espresso is brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee under high pressure. To succeed, your espresso machine needs to be thoroughly heated up. Larger prosumer and E61 machines often require 30–45 minutes to heat up, while a smaller home machine is ready after 15–30 minutes. Always use a preheated cup so that the porcelain does not cool down the coffee and impair the taste. We usually recommend heating the cup with hot water from the machine.
Espresso – Recipe
Check out our espresso recipe below, where we go through step-by-step how you can easily brew a really good espresso at home.
Grind size
Always use freshly ground espresso coffee. You get this by grinding whole beans in a coffee grinder just before you are about to brew your espresso. The grind size on the grinder controls how quickly the water passes through the powder. The finer you grind, the slower the coffee flows. You can also fine-tune the flow through dosing, as a larger amount of coffee creates more resistance.
Measurements & dosing
For a single espresso, take the single-spouted portafilter and fill the basket with 7 grams of coffee. For a double espresso, take the double-spouted portafilter and fill it with 14 grams. By sticking to exactly these measurements, the water gets the perfect resistance and flows at the right pace.
Tamp the coffee powder
Tamp your espresso coffee so that the surface becomes completely even. Place your coffee tamper over the powder and press down firmly; a pressure of around 14 kilos is a good guideline. Wipe away all loose coffee from the edges of the basket so that the portafilter seals completely when you put it in the machine.
Brew immediately!
Attach the portafilter to the group head, place your warm cup under the spout and start the water immediately. The machine is very hot, and if the coffee sits screwed in without the water flowing, the powder burns and gives a bitter aftertaste. You can avoid this problem by starting the machine immediately.
See how you do it
What is espresso?
An espresso is a small and highly concentrated coffee drink. The method of brewing espresso coffee under high pressure was invented in Italy at the end of the 1800s and is popular all over the world. The drink is traditionally served in small porcelain cups and serves as the base for most milk-based coffee drinks such as cortado, cappuccino and latte.
Find the right brewing time
A single espresso is 25 milliliters including crema (the foam on top) and is brewed in about 25 seconds. We recommend a time between 20 and 30 seconds for a good result. For a double espresso, the same brewing time applies, but the amount is double, i.e., 50 milliliters.
The coffee may drip initially, then it should flow in a thin stream into the cup. If it only drips during the entire brewing process, it is going too slowly. If the coffee instead gushes out, it is going too fast. If the machine has automatic dosing, the water stops by itself when the right amount is reached. On a manual machine, you finish the brewing by pulling the lever all the way down.
Serve immediately; within a couple of minutes, your espresso loses both temperature and taste.
Clean the machine after every brewing
Clean the machine immediately after use. Knock out the coffee grounds from the portafilter immediately. Then rinse the basket or wipe it completely clean with a towel. If the grounds are left inside, they will dry out and burn on, making the equipment difficult to clean before the next brewing.
