Espresso Basics
What is Espresso?
Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans at high pressure. The result? A small, rich shot with an intense flavour, deep aroma, and a velvety layer of crema on top.
Coffee is unique in the sense that it is incredibly soluble compared to many plant-based materials, allowing us to extract flavour, aroma, acids, and oils in a short time. This paired with how espresso is brewed makes Espresso one of the most concentrated drinks that we consume.
How Espresso Differs from Other Coffee Brewing Methods
Espresso uses pressure (usually 9 bars) to extract coffee, while most other brew methods like pour over, French press, or AeroPress rely on gravity or immersion. This pressure yields a higher extraction in a much shorter time (usually 25–30 seconds), creating a more intense and complex flavour in a smaller volume.
Espresso, the Foundation for Most Cafe Drinks
Espresso serves as the base for drinks like lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites, macchiatos, mochas, iced lattes and more. When making espresso in Melbourne cafes it's most likely that it will be used in a milk based coffee, however when it comes to enjoying espresso on it's own it's important to actually drink your coffee how it's intended to be had. Some espresso tastes fantastic in milk but needs a whole other recipe to taste better for milk based coffees. Once you nail the espresso shot, you can build a whole menu of drinks around it.
Essential Espresso Gear
Espresso Machine Basics
- Manual: You control everything including the pressure, flow, shot time and Yield.
- Semi-Automatic: The most popular choice for home baristas. You control the grind, dose, and tamp, but the machine handles pressure.
- Full-Automatic: Push button machines that grind, tamp, and brew for you. Easy, but less control on variables and often not the best tasting coffee.
Espresso Grinder
The Espresso Grinder is arguably one of the most important pieces of equipment to impact how your coffee tastes. The first thing you need to know about coffee grinders is that there grinders built for grinding for espresso, filter and some grinders that can be used to grind for both brew methods. This is known as 'Range' and simply just refers to how fine and how coarse a coffee grinder can grind for.
You will also have to consider the user experience, generally the rule of thumb is that if you're grinding for filter coffee a hand grinder is the way to go and if you're grinding for espresso, consider purchasing an electric coffee grinder.
- Electric Grinder: Offers more consistent grinding and easier for smaller grind sizes such as espresso.
- Hand Grinder: Great for travel, entry level options or smaller coffee setups.
Coffee Tampers
Next on our list are coffee tampers, these are an integral part of making espresso and are a fun way to express your own personality.
- Size matters! Match your tamper to your basket size (typically this is 58mm for commercial espresso machines and can be as small as 52mm for domestic espresso machines).
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Calibrated Tampers offer consistent pressure, great for removing an extra variable when dialling in your espresso.
Espresso Scales
You can try to make a cake by eyeballing the ingredients but unless you've done it 1000 times before it's unlikely to be a very good cake, this is even more true for making espresso as it's much more finicky with more variables at play. Using espresso scales help you to weigh your coffee dose and the yield (how much espresso comes out).
- Espresso Scales allow you to take note of what's going in and whats coming out, this helps you to fine tune your coffee to get it right and once it's all dialled in espresso scales help you to maintain a tasty shot.
- Look for scales with fast response time and a built-in timer, some espresso scales even have an auto-start timer, this is handy because once your espresso starts to flow it will automatically start timing.
Coffee Distribution Tools
So you ground your dose of coffee, put your coffee in to the espresso portafilter, now what?
Enter, 'Coffee Distribution'. Essentially this is all about how you can evenly prep the density of your coffee grounds before tamping and extracting your espresso.
We wrote a very dense article about coffee distribution techniques and how to avoid channeling that I highly recommend you read. but to summarise:
- If not properly distributed, the water will find the path of least resistance leading to channeling.
- WDT Tools: Even out the coffee bed to reduce channeling and promote even espresso extraction.
- Even distribution = consistent extractions.
Other Tools
- Bottomless Portafilter: Helps you see how your shot is extracting in real time. Great for diagnosing issues (and super satisfying to watch).
- Upgrading your espresso basket, tried everything else maybe you're using a low quality espresso basket.
- Puck Screen: Helps even out water flow and keeps your shower screen clean.
- Espresso Shot Mirrors pair well with a bottomless portafilters so you can easily see the shot from below.
- Espresso Filters: Similar to puck screens, Espresso filters are circle paper filters that helps to improve your extraction by reducing clogging in the espresso basket.
Espresso Recipe Basics
Dose
Start with 18-20g of ground coffee in the basket.
Ratio
A common ratio is 1:2 - for example, 18g in = 36g out. This helps balance strength, body, and clarity.
Use our Coffee to Water Ratio Calculator to experiment with different ratios.
Brew Time
Typically 25-30 seconds from pump start. Don’t rely on brew time alone, use it as a reference. Taste is the ultimate guide to dial in your espresso.
Brew Temperature
Usually between 90-96°C. Higher temps extract faster, lower temps extract slower.
Pre-Infusion & Pressure Profiling
Pre-infusion wets the puck gently before full pressure is applied, helping with even extraction. Pressure profiling lets you control pressure throughout the shot-advanced stuff, but great for fine-tuning flavour.
Dialing In Espresso
"Dialing in" means adjusting your grind, dose, and yield to get a balanced shot. Moving these key variables around to find the sweet spot that your coffee can shine through, avoid adjusting multiple variables per shot as this can waste more coffee in the long run.
Key Variables:
- Grind Size: Espresso needs a fine grind and this will change throughout the day due to ambient temperature and humidity.
- Dose: How much ground coffee you’re using (in grams).
- Yield: The weight of the espresso in the cup.
- Brew Time: How long it takes to pull the shot.
Troubleshooting Espresso
- Sour? → Grind finer or increase dose.
- Bitter? → Grind coarser or reduce dose.
- Fast shot? → Grind finer or tamp harder.
- Slow shot? → Grind coarser or improve puck prep.
Understanding Espresso Taste
The Three Tastes
- Acidity: Bright, fruity notes early in the shot.
- Sweetness: Balanced sweetness should be the heart.
- Bitterness: Comes at the end, too much is a sign of over-extraction.
Shot Progression
Flavours unfold during the shot. Understanding the flow helps you decide when to stop the shot based on taste.
Adjusting Based on Taste
Taste your espresso! Then adjust grind, dose, ratio and other key variables accordingly.
Choosing Coffee for Espresso
Roast Level
- Medium to Dark: Easier to extract, classic espresso taste.
- Light Roasts: Higher in acidity, more complex, generally harder to dial in.
Single Origin vs. Blend
- Blends: Balanced and consistent.
- Single Origins: Unique and complex, can require more tuning.
Freshness
Coffee should rest 7-14 days after roasting.
Too fresh = gassy and hard to dial in.
Consider using a coffee canister to remove variables that age your coffee beans.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Daily Routine
- Flush group head before and after shots
- Wipe portafilter and basket
- Purge steam wand after use
Weekly / Monthly
- Backflush with cafetto
- Descale regularly (6-12 months) or more regularly if you’re in a hard water area.
- Clean machines = better tasting espresso and longer-lasting equipment.