Expobar BREWTUS IV - 9. Coffee Preparation and Golden Rule; Understanding Espresso Crema; The Golden Rule for Espresso Extraction

16
9
.
Coffee Preparation
What is crema?
Crema is creamy foam that is on top of your espresso and is the essence of what espresso
is all about. The crema houses the multitude of aromas and flavors that are extracted from
t
he beans. The color will vary with
the beans that are used and can
range
from a medium
golden brown to a dark golden brown
Golden Rule
The Golden Rule is a simple formula that if you read it, understand it and follow it you
will be brewing commercial qual
ity espresso in no time.
A double shot of espresso should equal 2 to 2.5 fluid ounces, have approximately 14
grams of ground coffee in the filter basket, and take approximately 25 seconds from
the moment you start the pump until you reac
h the appointed li
quid volume.
A single
shot of espresso should
have
1 to 1.5 fluid ounces
and
approximately 7 grams of
ground coffee in the filter basket and take approximately 20 seconds.
Your best shots are always double shots
,
due to the chemistry involved in extractin
g the
flavors and arom
as from the coffee.
Use the double
-
shot filter basket. L
oosely fill the
filter basket with coffee and tamp with a
pproximately
30 pounds of p
ressure. Put the
portafilter in
to the machine; turn on the brew switch to start the pump and t
ime how long
it takes to dispense 2 to 2.5 ounces of espresso into your cup.
If the coffee comes through to
o
fast, grind your coffee a
little finer and try it again.
If it
comes through too slow, grind your coffee a lit
tle more coarse and try again.
The t
amp
pressure and the coffee volume stay the same, the only thing that changes is your grind
setting.
If yo
u don’t have your own grinder and
you can’t vary how fine o
r coarse the coffee is
ground, you will
have to vary your tamp pressure according to the s
hot timing. If the
water runs through the coffee too fast
,
tamp a little harder. If
the shot is
too slow, tamp a
little lighter.