So, I recently started with my coffee journey, and I have been really enjoying it so far.
I got into this mainly when I was browsing Facebook market place (as one regularly does) and I came across a listing for an Agaro espresso machine↗. I got it for pretty cheap, for like around ₹3,000.
Let’s start with espresso.
What is espresso?
Espresso is technically a method of coffee extraction where hot water is pushed through finely ground coffee under high pressure (around 9 bars), in a relatively short amount of time (24 to 33 seconds).
Typically, we use around 14 to 20 grams of coffee grounds for a standard “double shot”. The ratio of coffee grounds to final espresso should be around 1:1.5 to 1:2.5, depending upon your preference.
If the ratio is lower, you get a Ristretto, and if it's higher, you get a Lungo. We'll get into these terms later.
To make a good espresso, you will need to focus on these factors:
- Dosage
- Grind Size
- Brew Time and Temperature
We will get into the details later. First let’s understand what you will need to make espresso at home.
Espresso Machine
This is what actually makes the coffee. You get a portafilter where you put the coffee grounds.
The machine then runs hot water through these grounds under pressure to extract the coffee, giving you your espresso shot.
Dosage
There is no fixed standard for espresso dosage. People generally recommend around 14 to 20 grams of coffee grounds for a double shot. However, this is a recommendation, not a rule. Some machines comes with smaller baskets that can comfortably hold around 12 grams of coffee grounds. That’s perfectly fine too.
What you should really pay attention to is the amount of liquid that you get after the extraction.
The general ratio for espresso is 1:1.5 to 1:2.5. This means that for every 14 grams of coffee grounds, you should get about 28 to 35 grams of espresso.
You can tweak this ratio depending on your preference. If you get less liquid, it's called a Ristretto, and if you get more, it's called a Lungo.
Ristretto has generally more concentrated flavour while Lungo is kinda weaker in taste.
Grind Size
If you are a beginner and on a budget, I would suggest starting with pre-ground coffee. These are coffee beans that are roasted and ground by coffee roasters, so you can use them directly.
Coffee enthusiasts prefer buying the roasted beans and then grinding them themselves. This is usually recommended if you want the best tasting coffee and the freshest cup.
The problem in grinding your own cofffee beans is that there are no good budget coffee grinders in the market. You can either get manual grinders which are good starting at like ₹7,000 and if you want an electric one, you will need to spend at least ₹20,000.
This is one of the reasons I'm still using pre-ground coffee to this day. I am waiting for a good deal on a grinder on marketplaces.
Also, if you're someone who just wants a quick cup of coffee to start your day, grinding beans every morning can become a bit of a chore. For some people, though, it's the best part of the whole process. It really depends on what you enjoy.
Brew Time & Temperature
These are two very important factors in coffee brewing.
If the water temperature is too high, you get a bitter and burnt tasting shot, but if the temperature is too low you get very weak taste, same goes for brewing time, if you go too high you get the burnt taste and if you go too low you get a weaker shot.
You get these three things right, you will have a good Espresso shot, it would be pretty close to what you get in a specialty cafe like Blue Tokai or Third Wave.
My Current Setup
This is my little coffee corner.
Recently, I also got the opportunity to attend a coffee workshop by Blue Tokai.
I'd highly recommend attending workshops like these. There's only so much you can learn by watching videos or reading articles online. Getting hands-on experience and learning directly from people who work with coffee professionally is a completely different experience.
That’s basically it for getting started with espresso at home. I am planning to document more of this journey as I expreiemtn more and get more equipement.
See you in the next cup :)