5 Untold Truths about Home Espresso Brewing
We all love espresso drinks. We get a contact high from the aromas escaping the Barista's workbench. We are swept away by pillowy cappuccinos with impossibly beautiful latte art. We dream of a life filled with espresso every day, multiple times a day, right at our fingertips.
So, you consider buying an espresso machine for home. In the rankings of aspirational dreams, home espresso is right up there with the best.
Before you make that dream a reality and spend months wondering if the inevitable struggles are worth it, let me fill you in on some truths about home espresso brewing. Knowing there are struggles ahead will allow you to be easier on yourself when you pull bad espresso or think about just packing it in.
The Grinder and Grinder Settings are your most significant challenge.
It doesn't matter which espresso machine you've chosen for yourself. The wrong grinder and setting can be the silent saboteurs of your home espresso.
Fine Grind - Espresso requires finely ground coffee. And it needs to be fresh if you're using a standard basket. If you're using a pressurized basket, all of this might not be relevant.
It seems pretty simple to say that all you need is fine coffee grounds. But it is not.
You need to be able to adjust the grind setting in macro or micro steps to dial in coffee. For example, a medium roast specialty coffee might need to be a finer fine than the dark espresso roast from the supermarket. Or, the Ristresso you are pulling might need to be finer than when you extract a Lungo.
Dosing - The next issue is the dosing. Cafes fill their hoppers with coffee beans for a full day and mostly get through them. However, home espresso brewers will not likely make it through a hopper full of coffee in a day.
You likely want a grinder that is suited for single dosing.
Also, the grinder design should be such that it releases all the ground coffee while retaining very little. It's not a significant issue; it won't throw off your ratio if you account for it.
Home Espresso Machines need time to preheat, but that's different from what the manuals or the internet say.
I have a Breville Barista Express. It will allow you to pull espressos as soon as the power button stops flashing. That's about a minute after switching it on. I’m sure it’s the same with most machines.
The problem is that the machine is not warm, and the temperature is not entirely stable yet.
The manual recommends running hot water through the portafilter to warm everything up. It also recommends warming the cups by rinsing them with hot water and then placing them on the warming tray. I would certainly do that if I were in a rush, but I still would wait at least 5 minutes before rushing into the extraction process.
My usual preheat duration is about 10 to 15 minutes, especially if I'm extracting lighter roasts.
There are many steps to Espresso extraction, so be ready for the effort.
These are the steps based on my workflow after preheating the machine:
Measure the dose;
Flush the group head and rinse the portafilter;
Wipe the portafilter dry;
Grind and fill the basket;
Distribute and tamp;
(Fill the cup with water if I'm making an Americano);
Lock the portafilter in place;
Place the cup on the scale under the spouts, and tare the scale;
Start the extraction;
Knock out the puck once done;
Flush the group head and rinse the portafilter;
Make adjustments if the espresso does not extract as required;
Repeat if pulling another espresso.
Steaming Milk is fun but an effort and wasteful.
This is one of the upsides of home espresso. Steaming and stretching your milk to develop your latte art skills is worth the effort.
But it can be an effort, and because most home machines can't extract while steaming milk, it slows down your workflow.
I use smaller cappuccino cups, so I waste some milk if I'm brewing for myself. I still need to resolve this.
You have to clean the machine and grinder for the best results.
The grinder can get gunked up due to the oils from the beans. If you're single dosing, these stale grounds might get released into your fresh-ground coffee.
This issue doesn't worry me much because I clean the burrs regularly. Another option is to send through a small number of beans to "flush" the grinder. But this does result in wastage for a home brewer.
You also have to clean the machine regularly. Cleaning will include flushing the machine, cleaning the group head, and changing the reservoir filter. Also, clean the steam wand to remove milk buildup. All of this is in addition to your regular cleaning of the drip trap and general wipe-downs.
Final Thoughts:
Getting into espresso at home is absolutely worth it if you're into coffee, enjoy brewing your coffee, have the budget, and want it to be a part of your lifestyle. But you do have to be up for the challenge. And even if you make your espresso at home, you will still enjoy the cafe experience and possibly appreciate it more.