Espresso — Recipes — CoffeeSpecs

Name: Espresso
Cook time: 25 s
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 7 g Ground coffee

Parameters

Ground coffee: 7 g
Yield in cup: 0.8 fl oz
Water temperature: 190 °F
Pressure: 131 psi
Extraction time: 25 s

Grind: Fine. The grind is what sets the time: if you cannot reach 25 seconds, grind finer — do not add more coffee.

Served in: Espresso cup, preheated

Temperature, pressure and percolation time do not change with the number of servings: for two coffees you use the double basket, which extracts in the same time.

Ingredients

7 g Ground coffee — Ground to order

Method

Warm the cup

A cold cup pulls the temperature down: the specification calls for 67 °C ± 3 in the cup.
Dose and level

7 g in the basket, distributed evenly before tamping.
Tamp and lock in

Tamp level and lock the portafilter in straight away: coffee left waiting on a hot group head scorches.
Extract and time it

25 seconds for 25 ml, crema included. The clock starts when the pump starts.

Common mistakes

It runs out in 15 seconds → the grind is too coarse. Tighten the grinder; do not add more coffee.
Nothing comes out, or it drips → the grind is too fine, or the dose too large.
Pale, thin crema → stale coffee, or water below temperature.
Burnt taste → group head too hot, or ground coffee left sitting in the portafilter between shots.

Espresso is one of the very few preparations in the world with a written, certifiable specification. The Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano has defined it since 1998 and uses it to certify cafés: it is not an opinion, it is a document.

The five parameters above hold each other up. Change one without correcting the others and the result moves: that is why the variable you actually work on is the grind.