On the subject of making Espresso, each individual professional Barista, will have their personal secret recipe. In this article I'll show my recipe concerning how to make a perfect cup of Espresso.
The 1st important ingredient of Espresso is water. In espresso you must use only fresh hot water. The water should ideally be around 203F (95C) which is nearly boiling. Water often becomes stale mainly because of the presence of mildew, pure cleaning methods and inadequate filtering. If you use stale water then regardless of how good the standard of the beans, it will not be able to overcome the association of poor water.
The next ingredient is coffee. While making Espresso you should choose Arabica. No matter whether it has been grown in Brazil or Bogota? or elsewhere. The bean ought to have been grown above 915m and should be delivered all fresh for roasting. You may either self roast it or buy it a few days after but your coffee should essentially have the 'fresh food' smell in it.
You can also use Robusta beans as they are easier to grow and more disease resistant. However, this bean has more caffeine and fewer flavors so it is best used for those quick pick-me-up drinks and not for Espresso.
After that you have to finely ground the beans in a burr. Do not use the blade attachment of the blender as the blade often chops the beans and does not grind them. In the burr attachment the beans are ground between two pyramids shaped teeth on two plates. Ideally, your ground coffee should be like the dark Viennese or French. This name often refers to color of the ground coffee and not to where it's grown.
The distance between the two plates often determines the fineness of the granules. The ground coffee should be sand grain sized. It should not be too finely ground or should not be like the shape of small gravel. You should also remember to not to leave the coffee exposed to air, mainly because just like other foods, coffee also oxidizes and absorbs odors within the air. This may often ruin your perfect cup of Espresso coffee.
Since you know the basic ingredients, you can proceed to the next stage of Espresso making.
The first thing that you should do is pre-warm the equipment. All you have to do is turn the espresso maker on, run it through good water and let it heat. When the water is warm enough, you can run a cup through without any coffee in it. This will help to warm the gear and eradicate any particles present in it.
Now, you have to add your ground roast. Just as in tobacco, remember to pack it down slightly. You should feel some springiness that you often feel in pipes. You need to be careful as to not let the coffee scatter.
Afterward you firmly place a hopper inside the machine and a warmed cup of espresso at the outlet of the machine. After you start the machine you should have the perfect thin steady stream of coffee within five seconds. A double shot would require around twenty seconds.
If you want to make cappuccino you definitely should warm half cup of organic milk in a microwave for about 90 seconds. Then you should froth it and add it to your Espresso. You can also add different garnishing like cinnamon, chocolate or nutmeg. If you like your coffee sweet then you can add a small amount of organic sugar.
In the end, if you want a great cup of Espresso all you have to do is keep the whole process simple and straight. It is best to make sure to keep your equipment clean and to start with top quality ingredients.
Additionally, there are flavored coffee options. Flavored coffee sold in supermarkets has been flavored with either natural or synthetic oils and some up to fifty flavoring agents and preservatives. If you want to personally put flavor in your coffee, to experience other coffee flavors, or if your favorite coffee flavor is not available in the market, here are some ways on how to make your own flavored coffee.
You can add your flavor spices to your beans and store them together in a tightly sealed container for a few hours before grinding them. Note the temperature where you will store them because while you want the flavor to be infused in the beans, you do not want them to melt onto your beans. Do not keep them together for a prolonged period of time. If they are stored for a number of days, the spice might overpower the flavor of your coffee and when you grind them, you may have a cup of strong cinnamon flavored drinks with none of the coffee taste. If you are not planning on using the beans yet, take the spice out and do not keep them together any longer than one day so that when you do use your beans, the spice will not be too powerful.
While grinding, you can also add the spice at this time. Grind the beans together with the spice of your choice. Make sure that your spice will not overpower the flavor of the coffee as well. Make sure you get the right coffee to spice ratio or proportion because if you put too much coffee bean and not enough spice, it wont have any effect at all. Or if you put in too much spice, the coffee flavor will be completely lost. It will definitely be hard to correct the flavor and the taste later on. You will only discover it upon final preparation, with the taste and aroma. So be careful how much spice you add. You cannot physically separate them when they are already in powder form. Before you make a lot of batches of coffee mix, be sure to test out the mix first in a single cup of coffee.
There are other more obvious ways to flavoring up your coffee and you could even create your own flavored coffee at home. Add cocoa powder for that touch of chocolaty sweetness, add vanilla for a soft and velvety hint of flavor, or add hazelnut, cinnamon, Irish cream for a little kick or nutmeg for a completely different and special taste. You can also add other powdered drink mixes or syrups to your coffee to create your own unique flavor blend. You can top your cold coffee with whipped cream, cinnamon or chocolate powder for both a delicious and a professional looking drink. If you want to spike your coffee, add liquor such as Kahlua for a great afternoon or evening coffee cup. Adding flavor to your coffee can be fun and may bring your taste buds an awesome surprise.
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