5 simple tips to recognise a good espresso.
Written by Ricardo Quintero
If you drink espresso regularly, its worth knowing a couple of things that will make this drink more enjoyable.
Espresso is by far the most popular drink in the world of coffee. Most of the coffee variations that include milk such as cappuccino, macchiato, even an americano have as base this popular Italian preparation.
So, what makes a good espresso?
Here are 5 things that will make a regular espresso even better.
1. The use of freshly ground coffee
Coffee beans should be ground just before the preparation starts and not much more before.
Coffee beans loose approximately 70% of the aromas only 15 minutes after they have been ground and if not kept in a proper container.
2. Medium roast coffee.
If you want a drink full of flavours, aromas and great aftertaste choose a medium roast coffee. Arabica will have double the flavour and half the caffeine.
If you can choose, go for high altitude coffee (Above 1700mts) avoiding with this choice the use of sugar. Remember that the best way to hide bad quality coffee is by roasting it too high.
3. Extraction time is important.
There is a science to this.
An espresso should take between 25-35 seconds to prepare with a final volume of between 30-35 ml of coffee in your cup. Here is why. Coffee will typically extract first all the sugars, then the acids and finally the bitterness. If the extraction time is too short or too long you loose that balance of combining all 3 important flavours making the drink either to acid or too bitter.
4. Crema or foam is a sign of freshness.
One of the beauties of a great espresso is feeling the crema or foam as you drink it. One great way of knowing if the coffee you have in front of you is fresh is to push the Crema to the sides with a small spoon and see if it quickly comes back to fill the top layer of your drink. If it does, coffee is fresh. Crema should also last for some minutes in the cup.
5. Taste is only getting better.
Taste is clearly the final test. Know that today, It is possible to have an espresso that has great and balanced taste that lasts. Gone are the days of having to conform with burnt taste coffee that has a bitter aftertaste that will leave a lasting memory in your mouth.
