Espresso recipe 53
0.
gm/l
If sour
If bitter
There’s less than a 10% chance this recipe will be ideal for your roast level. However, if you’ve measured the density, your chances of success soar to 68%. Don’t hesitate to experiment with another recipe based on your taste test results—finding what tastes best for you is worth it!
Espresso parameters

Espresso directions
Don’t get hung up on the details. If you can’t change your pressure, maybe you don’t have a complete set of baskets, you don’t know what that grind size even means. It doesn’t matter.
Providing you are changing the dose, the yield, the ratio, the bits you can, you will be changing the TASTE, and that is what matters. YOU are finding a RECIPE that tastes better than the last recipe you tried.
1.
Pre-heat your espresso machine, portafilter, basket, and coffee cup.
2.
Get your single dose out of the freezer. If you are not single-dosing and freezing your coffee, read How to Store Coffee Beans – 9 tips. While at it, read Best Coffee Beans – Six Purchasing Tips.
Shots of espresso these days are nearly always a double shot of espresso. Double shots are now the standard in America and many places worldwide. A single shot of espresso is scarce. Traditionally, a single shot (solo) of espresso uses about 7g of espresso-fine grounds. If you want to make a single, pull a double, but use a split portafilter to halve the shot.
3.
4.
Grind your frozen coffee; do not defrost it. Either grind into an espresso shaker funnel or using a dosing funnel, grind it into the right-sized basket in a naked portafilter.
5.
Puck prep: I use a WDT tool to break up clumps and redistribute them. I use a levelling tool and a levelling palm tamper. Then, I cover it with a shower screen to help evenly distribute the water.
6.
Place the scales under your cup, tare, and start the timer.
7.
Increase the pressure to 8 bar. Pre-infusion (pausing until the first drip appears) is only necessary if the beans are extremely fresh (for example, within 2 days of roasting) and are degassing so much that it affects extraction. This scenario is quite rare, so you probably won’t need to pre-infuse.
To monitor the extraction, use a mirror to watch the bottom of the naked portafilter. If you notice any spritzing, ease off the pressure for a moment. Reduce the pressure to 6 bars to maintain a steady flow rate. Stop the shot once you have reached your target yield. The extraction time should be approximately 30 seconds.
If the shot is running very slowly despite high pressure, you need to adjust your grind to a coarser setting. Conversely, if the shot is running too quickly and you cannot maintain pressure, you should grind finer.
8.
Now, the most crucial step. Before adding milk, stir the espresso and crema, dip a teaspoon in and taste (you don’t need a spoonful, it just needs to be wet). Is the coffee sour? If so, next time you make this coffee, extract more using the recipe indicated by the button above.
9.
If the coffee is not sour, ask yourself if it is very bitter. Bitterness is more difficult because all coffee is bitter to some extent. However, you can reduce bitterness by extracting less. Go too far, and it will turn sour. You are looking for the calm spot in between. Just above sour will taste the best. If you need to reduce bitterness next time you make this coffee, extract less by using the recipe indicated by the button above.
10.
Add the bypass hot water (optional). Adding hot water reduces the blanket of milk and increases the coffee’s apparent strength while keeping the volume up.
11.
Add the steamed milk. Espresso con panna (whipped cream) may be a little OTT, but adding 5-10ml of cream to your milk before steaming can help the body and taste. Another option is adding 15% coconut milk.
Espresso equipment
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An example of a coffee I'm drinking
Jorge Raul Rivera – Pacamara HoneyDescription
MEET THE PRODUCER | From an early age, Jorge Raul Rivera knew he wanted to build a career in agriculture – but coffee isn’t where he got his start. In 1979, Jorge and his brother, José Roberto, purchased a farm named Finca Santa Rosa, which was a pine resin production farm at the time they acquired it. In fact, the very first Pacamara seeds weren’t planted at Finca Santa Rosa until 2003, after Jorge and José attended their very first Cup of Excellence auction.
Today, Jorge owns and operates four coffee farms across Chalatenango, and he’s made quite a name for himself at those COE auctions – Jorge has won Honduras a staggering three times in six years, from 2014-2019. He has used his extensive education from an agricultural college in Honduras and the agricultural economics program at LSU to transform a small town agricultural endeavor into an internationally recognized coffee empire.
TRUST THE PROCESS | The honey processing method can be thought of as an “in-between” method of processing, compared to washed and naturally processed coffees. Using this method, the coffee is picked and sorted as red cherries before being pulped (removing the skin of the coffee cherry), but the small layer of fruit underneath the skin is left behind. The seeds – with their sticky fruit intact – are set out to dry, either on raised beds or patios. It is this added contact time between the fruit and the seed that, when done well, adds a characteristic sweetness to honey processed coffees.
TAKE A SIP | As a variety, Pacamara is known for its propensity toward the savory, often possessing herbaceous or even onion-y flavor characteristics. This coffee is certainly none of those things. Instead, this year’s lot is funky-but-fun, similar to many of our favorite orange wines. It’s both chocolatey and fruity, like pairing a square of craft chocolate with a lone blackberry straight off the charcuterie board. Passionfruit candy is a real nuanced and welcome addition to the party. As with every year before this one, Jorge’s Pacamara lot really stands alone in a category all its own – there is no other coffee on our menu quite like it.
___________________________________________________________________________
Origin | Chalatenango, El Salvador
Producer | Jorge Raul Rivera
Farm | Finca Santa Rosa
Process | Honey
Variety | Pacamara
Elevation | 1700 masl
About the Roaster
Model Version:
How you can help
I have a dream:
- it might raise the standard of coffee-making globally
- It might reduce dialling in waste, time, and frustration
- It might encourage people to explore more varieties and pay more attention to the producers.
- You might be prepared to pay more for better coffee if it pleases you, returning more money to growers.
You can help:
- The best thing you can do is spread the word on other platforms, such as Reddit or Facebook coffee forums, and share with others how this method can solve everyday problems.
- Use 0.1g accurate scales, the recommended 100ml measuring cylinder. Entering quality data into the form helps improve the model.
- Provide evidence-based feedback for parameter range adjustments to help improve the model.
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