Espresso Coffee Brewing

...and some easy to make coffee recipes!

For a great espresso coffee brewing with dark reddish-brown crema, coffee beans must be ground and brewed in order to create a beverage. Grinding the roasted coffee beans is done at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home.

They are most commonly ground at a roastery then packaged and sold to the consumer, though "whole bean" coffee can be ground at home. Coffee beans may be ground in several ways.

A burr mill uses revolving elements to crush or tear the bean, an electric grinder chops the beans with blades moving at high speeds, and a mortar and pestle grinds the beans to a powder. The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used.

Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grind. The most common grinds are between the extremes; a medium grind is used in most common home coffee brewing machines.

Espresso coffee brewing has several methods: boiled, steeped, or pressured. Brewing coffee by boiling was the earliest method, and Turkish coffee is an example of this method.

It is prepared by powdering the beans with a mortar and pestle, then adding the powder to water and bringing it to a boil in a pot called a cezve or, in Greek, a briki. This produces a strong coffee with a layer of foam on the surface.

Machines such as percolators or automatic coffeemakers brew coffee by gravity. In an automatic coffeemaker, hot water drips onto coffee grounds held in a coffee filter made of paper or perforated metal, allowing the water to seep through the ground coffee while absorbing its oils and essences.

Gravity causes the liquid to pass into a carafe or pot while the used coffee grounds are retained in the filter. In a percolator, boiling water is forced into a chamber above a filter by pressure created by boiling. The water then passes downwards through the grounds due to gravity, repeating the process until shut off by an internal timer.

Espresso coffee may also be brewed by steeping in a device such as a French press (also known as a cafetière). Ground coffee and hot water are combined in a coffee press and left to brew for a few minutes. A plunger is then depressed to separate the coffee grounds, which remain at the bottom of the container. Because the coffee grounds (hyperlink to Gourmet Coffee Beans Types - How to choose the right type of coffee beans...) are in direct contact with the water, all the coffee oils remain in the beverage, making it stronger and leaving more sediment than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine.

The espresso coffee brewing method forces hot, but not boiling, pressurized water through ground coffee. As a result of brewing under high pressure (ideally between 9-10 atm) the espresso beverage is more concentrated (as much as 10 to 15 times the amount of coffee to water as gravity brewing methods can produce) and has a more complex physical and chemical constitution. A well prepared espresso has a reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface.

The drink "Americano" is popularly thought to have been named after American soldiers in WW II who found the European way of drinking espresso too strong. Baristas would cut the espresso with hot water for them.

The classic espresso, also called a 'short black' forms the base of every coffee style. Proper espresso is made from freshly roasted beans that are measured in the correct amount, finely ground and firmly packed before being extracted under pressure. The result is an intense flavor - a rich concentration of coffee taste, color and aroma - topped with a dense golden brown foam called crèma.

Espresso Coffee Brewing and Other Coffee Styles

Coffee styles including long black, flat white, cappuccino, macchiato, latte, etc. can be made by varying the number of 'shots' of espresso, along with the amount of water and milk.

Making and Serving Espresso
One shot of espresso is made using approximately 6-7 grams of compacted, dark-roasted, finely ground coffee and 40-50ml of pressurized hot water (93-96 deg celsius) which is forced (pumped or steamed, depending on the espresso machine) through the coffee for at least 20 seconds. The resulting liquid is generally served black, in a 60ml pre-heated demitasse cup (an espresso), or with warmed frothy milk (a cappuccino).

Serve your espresso in a pre-heated demitasse cup.

Espresso Beans
Beans roasted especially for espresso are a particularly dark roast. We recommend whole beans, ground at home.

Here are some easy to make great espresso coffee brewing recipes!

espresso

Cappuccino

Ingredients:

1 espresso coffee,
frothed milk,
bitter cocoa.

Preparation:

Froth the milk by inserting the steam pipe into the milk jug.

The milk will emulsify spontaneously and achieve the correct temperature within about 15 seconds.

Now prepare the espresso in a large cup and sprinkle the cocoa over the coffee.

Pour in the emulsified milk until the cup is full: the perfect cappuccino is all yours.

Marocchino

Ingredients:

1 espresso coffee,
frothed
bitter cocoa.

Preparation:

Froth the milk as you would for a cappuccino.

Now prepare the espresso in a transparent cup and sprinkle the cocoa over the coffee.

Add the milk foam and sprinkle again with liberal amounts of bitter cocoa.

Espresso Shakerato

Ingredients:

1 long espresso coffee,
caramel or vanilla syrup,
simple syrup, crushed ice.

Preparation:

Prepare a long coffee and leave it to cool.

Measure the vanilla or caramel syrup into a glass.

Pour the coffee, the sugar, and the ice into a cocktail shaker: now shake the mix for a few seconds.

Slowly pour the mixture over the syrup to create two layers.

Espresso Tiramisu

Ingredients:

1 espresso coffee,
confectioner´s custard,
meringue,
caramel.

Preparation:

Prepare the espresso coffee in a glass cup previously rimmed with confectioner´s custard.

Top with pieces of meringue and garnish with a drizzle of caramel.

Espresso Cardomo

Ingredients:

1 long espresso coffee,
sugar,
3 cardamom pods.

Preparation:

Prepare the long espresso in a glass cup and add sugar.

Garnish with the cardamom pods.

Espresso Ola

Ingredients:

1 long espresso coffee,
sugar,
2 to 3 pieces cinnamon,
orange peel (optional).

Preparation:

Prepare the long espresso in a glass and add sugar.
Garnish with orange peel and the pieces of cinnamon.

Espresso Amerato

Ingredients:

1 long espresso coffee,
simple syrup,
Amaretto,
crushed ice,
single cream,
cocoa.

Preparation:

Prepare a long coffee and leave it to cool.

Pour the coffee, sugar, 3 measures of Amaretto, and the ice into a shaker: now shake the mix for a few seconds.

Slowly pour the mixture into a cocktail glass.

Finish with a thin layer of single cream and a sprinkling of cocoa.

Espresso Nocciola

Ingredients:

1 espresso coffee,
sugar hazelnut syrup,
hot chocolate,
crushed iced,
whipped cream,
cocoa.

Preparation:

Prepare the coffee and leave it to cool.

Pour the coffee, sugar, 2 measures of hazelnut syrup, ho chocolate (same amount as the coffee),
and the ice into a shaker: now shake the mix for a few seconds.

Slowly pour the mixture into a glass. Top with whipped cream and a dusting of ground coffee.

Espresso Coffee Brewing Recipes and other Books

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