Step by step: espresso preparation with the espresso machine

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At a glance

  • Amount of coffee
    16 - 18 g
  • Grind
    Very fine
  • Amount of water
    40 g
  • Temperature
    93 - 95 °C
  • Brewing time
    0,5 min

What you need:

Anyone who wants to prepare espresso, needs not only a good espresso machine, but also manual skills and an analytical mind. No, of course it’s not that difficult to prepare a good espresso. Here we’ll show you what to look out for when preparing it. If you’d like to read a bit more about what makes an espresso, you’ll find some answers here in our blog.

Eight simple steps to a better espresso

Tasse vorwärmen

1Coffee is sensitive to temperature change. This applies all the more to espresso, as it is a particularly small quantity. We therefore recommend preheating the cup. Many espresso machines have a hot water dispenser, which is ideal for this purpose.

Clean the sieve carrier

2Knock out the coffee grounds and clean the sieve carrier, preferably with a cloth. This step is often forgotten, but is essential, because during extraction coffee releases oils that negatively affect the taste of the next espresso. Dry the sieve carrier well.

Grind and dose coffee

3Grind the coffee to the finest settings. The rule is: the shorter the contact time with the water, the finer the grind. Take enough ground coffee to fill the sieve carrier slightly heaped - we recommend 16 - 18 g of espresso. This corresponds to a full sieve carrier. If possible, use a grinder with a disc mill. This grinds the coffee evenly and you always achieve a good result. A hand grinder with the appropriate grinding mechanism is also well suited.

Espresso tampen

4Tamping involves compressing the espresso ground coffee in the sieve carrier with a metal tamper. Use the tamper to evenly apply 15-20 kg of pressure to the sieve carrier. This will give you a well-solidified, nicely uniform result. You do not need to overdo it with the pressure. Because the water pressure on the brewing plunger will be many times more later. It is important that the coffee surface is even and firm.

Rinse brew head

5Before you insert the sieve carrier, the brew head should be cleaned. Let the hot water wash away all coffee residues for about three seconds. Now nothing stands in the way of the perfect espresso.

Espresso durchlaufen lassen

6Now place the cup under the carrier opening and wait a few seconds. A good espresso should go through in 25 to 35 seconds. If it goes through too fast or too slow, you should adjust the grind.

Help, my espresso does not taste good!

Your espresso tastes different than expected? We’ll show you how to positively influence the taste and what to look out for if your espresso doesn’t taste the way you want it to.

This is the first of four videos on the ideal preparation of espresso, cappuccino and latte art

You can find all four videos on our blog.

Overview of our espresso range

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Espresso Yirga Santos 250 g whole beans
1095
Espresso Yirga Santos
Brown Sugar, Chocolate
€9.90
Espresso Grano Gayo 250 g whole bean
391
Espresso Grano Gayo
Brown Sugar, Roasting Aromas
€10.90
Espresso Sidamo 250 g whole beans
1024
Espresso Sidamo
Caramel, Dark Berries
Roast Degree
€9.90
coffee of the month
Cerrado Coffee & Espresso 250 g whole beans
127
Cerrado Coffee & Espresso
Hazelnut, Sweet Fruits
€11.15
Espresso Decaf 250 g whole beans
103
Espresso Decaf
Chocolate Cookies, Cinnamon
€10.90

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