At a gathering in Dinghai Baiyun Garden, several espresso enthusiasts came together to personally demonstrate the complete process of making ESP, where every step from grinding beans to latte art was filled with ritual. They shared their experiences of getting to know their coffee machines and spoke of their persistent attempts in pursuit of the ideal cup. Coffee is not just a beverage, but a way of life that allows the mind to settle. This article takes you into their world, to experience the richness and the state of mind that espresso brings.
Before even stepping into the home where the gathering was held—a certain unit in a certain building of Dinghai Baiyun Garden—the thick aroma of coffee already filled the corridor. Take a deep breath, and the sweet, mellow aftertaste lingers. At that day's coffee salon, several espresso devotees demonstrated the full brewing process of ESP on site and exchanged notes on how they "get along" with their coffee machines. They admitted that quietly savoring a rich cup of coffee can gradually calm a restless mind.
These people all love espresso
The grinder and the coffee machine sat side by side on the kitchen counter. The host, Chen Xiaojie, fetched the vessels and started with grinding the coffee beans. In no time, he extracted a fragrant cup of ESP from the machine. Then he poured milk into another container and used the coffee machine to steam it continuously until the milk foam became fine and dense. After that, he poured the steamed hot milk into the freshly extracted ESP, finishing with a gentle turn of the wrist and a few adjustments, and a lovely "latte art" leaf appeared on the surface of the coffee.
Coffee enthusiast Wang Zhidong also took a turn to demonstrate, though the final latte art didn't turn out ideal—what appeared before everyone was a "swan" with thin, sparse wings.
Two coffee machines sat on the counter. That day, coffee lover Zhu Yong brought along a newly purchased one, inviting the "old hands" to try it out and give their评价 of the machine's performance. Everyone loved coffee, having gone from early instant coffee through the stages of hand grinders and siphon pots. Ever since they encountered ESP, they had all fallen for the rich aroma of this concentrated coffee.
His exploration of espresso borders on obsession
When it comes to coffee, Chen Xiaojie can't stop talking. "Choosing coffee is actually choosing an attitude toward life." He himself has always had a particular fondness for coffee. "I especially love the thick, full-bodied mouthfeel of espresso."
"Espresso brewed at different water temperatures tastes different," Chen Xiaojie explained. If the water temperature is too high, the coffee takes on a burnt, bitter taste; if too low, it turns sour. "Even with exactly the same equipment, you can't necessarily reproduce an identical cup of coffee."
The most extreme instance: Chen Xiaojie stayed at his usual spot in the kitchen making coffee from early morning until the sun went down. He completely disassembled the coffee machine and ran all kinds of tests repeatedly. That day he made fifty or sixty cups in total,几乎 all of which he poured out after just a sip. This persistence was solely to find a cup of coffee that tasted good in his mind.
That long-sought-after coffee flavor had once "flashed by" among several cups. He described that wonderful taste: "With the first sip, the entire middle of your tongue 'explodes,' and for the next half hour, even water tastes sweet." Unfortunately, it was just that one cup—afterward, no matter what he did, he couldn't make coffee with the same feel again.
Take some free time, sit down and have a cup of coffee
ESP is short for Espresso, known in Chinese as 意式浓缩咖啡. It belongs to the category of intensely flavored coffees, made by forcing extremely hot but not boiling water under high pressure through finely ground coffee. In the homes of these espresso enthusiasts, almost all have a coffee machine. "You have to do it yourself to truly experience all the feelings involved in espresso," Wang Zhidong said with a smile, also encouraging the reporter to try making a cup.
On ordinary days, this group of coffee lovers often uses coffee as a bond to get together and chat about how things are going. "Today's society is too restless. If you can take a little time, sit down and have a rich, aromatic cup of coffee, your mind can settle," Chen Xiaojie said. Whether you prefer Americano or also like espresso, even if you only drink instant, it doesn't matter—what matters is that state of mind. "Seek common ground while reserving differences—as long as you feel it's good, that's enough."
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
