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As an indispensable part of Italian life, every espresso tells a story about region, culture, and the history of rapid social development. The earliest espresso was invented in the late 19th century, while the espresso we encounter today is made using the method developed after the pressurized coffee machine was improved in the early 20th century.

Espresso became widely known around the world largely because Starbucks introduced and applied espresso machines in its stores globally, sparking a wave of espresso culture. Is espresso good? How do you make espresso? In this article, Front Street Coffee will walk you through the story of how the espresso machine came to be.

Early Italian Coffee Culture

Italy has a very long history of coffee drinking. Since 1580, coffee beans originating from Africa and the Middle East entered Italy through the port of Venice. At first, it was a beverage only the upper class could enjoy. Because it came from the Middle East and Turkey as a "Muslim drink," many Christian Italians called it "the devil's drink."

It was not until the early 17th century that Archbishop Clement VIII fell in love with this dark beverage and performed a baptism for coffee, officially designating it as a Christian drink and naming it "the drink of God." Shortly after, in 1645, Rome opened Europe's first coffeehouse, also Italy's earliest shop dedicated to selling coffee. From then on, coffee spread rapidly throughout Italy.

Italians' contribution to coffee lies not only in flavor but also in the development of equipment

In the early days, people used old-fashioned Turkish pots to brew coffee and then filtered it. With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, everything seemed to pursue a fast pace, and Italians were no exception. In 1884, Angelo Moriondo successfully registered a patent in Turin, Italy, for a steam-powered machine used to make coffee. However, because this device relied entirely on steam, the temperature was difficult to control, often making the coffee burnt and bitter, so it was later modified multiple times by different people.

In the early 19th century, Milanese manufacturer Luigi Bezzara improved this patent and introduced the prototype of the world's first steam-pressure coffee machine. It not only featured a detachable handle and a separable group head, but could also extract a cup of coffee under high pressure in a short time.

With the introduction and application of the new machine, more and more Italians fell in love with the coffee quickly extracted by this device. The word "espresso" was first included in an Italian dictionary around 1920, defined as: concentrated coffee made using a pressurized machine or filter.

For those tasting this "fast coffee" for the first time back then, it did not taste good. But after learning that it was obtained quickly through steam pressure, Italians seemed to be fired up, constantly thinking about how to upgrade and modify this steam-powered coffee machine to make better-tasting coffee.

For example, Milanese engineer Achille Gaggia managed in 1938 to add a lever to the coffee machine, which could forcibly increase water pressure from 1.5 bar sharply to 9 bar. This not only gave the coffee a layer of dark brown "crema," but also quantified the volume of the solution, making coffee quality more consistent.

And so, thanks to people's refinement and popularization of these machines, coffee-making methods underwent earth-shaking changes. Speed and convenience also became new service benchmarks for every coffee shop, and that small cup of espresso began to evolve into the foundational core of today's modern coffee system.

When espresso reached its final form, coffee culture had also caught up. Compared with many other countries, Italian coffee shops emphasize an efficient, fast-paced atmosphere, which perfectly matches the small serving size of espresso, allowing people coming and going to enjoy it quickly, chat a few words with acquaintances, and then leave. Stopping by a coffee shop for an espresso during a brief moment of leisure can be said to be one of Italians' most deeply rooted habits.

Walking into a coffee shop, they will directly tell the barista, "One espresso." It is mostly dominated by the bitter taste of dark roasting, and robusta is generally added to make the crema richer. Some people add a little brown sugar and stir before tasting, then drink it in one go, which is very satisfying. A cup of espresso in Italy usually costs only 1 euro, equivalent to about 7 RMB, making it a very affordable beverage.

How Do You Make Espresso?

Each espresso extraction has different dosage limits depending on the size of the portafilter basket. At Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), when making a single espresso (1 shot), we use 10-11g of coffee grounds to extract 20-25g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 22 seconds; when making a double espresso, we use 19-20g of coffee grounds to produce 35-40g of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of about 29 seconds.

Every espresso machine and espresso grinder has different performance, and different coffee beans are also in different states. It is not 100% guaranteed that you can extract delicious espresso under these data. The above are only the parameters for extracting espresso at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores, using the Q18 grinder, Lelit coffee machine, and Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Sunflower Warm Sun blend coffee beans.

Through extremely fine grinding, and under a vacuum environment of 9-10 bar, 94°C water is quickly passed through the coffee particles. The extracted espresso drips from the portafilter smoothly like honey, with the color shifting from reddish-brown to golden yellow. After extraction is complete, the surface of the espresso is covered with a layer of delicate golden crema (the oily foam produced when carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combines and emulsifies with coffee oils under a vacuum environment).

Key Factors That Determine the Taste of Espresso

In making espresso, the most important factors are dose, ratio, time, grind size, water temperature, and pressure. Each step will change the final expression of the coffee's taste. For water temperature and pressure, most machines have a preset setting, and there is no need to change them unless necessary. So the parameters we ultimately need to determine are dose, ratio, time, and grind size.

"Dose" has different usage limits depending on the size of the portafilter basket. At Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), when making a single espresso (1 shot), we use 10-11g of coffee grounds; when making a double espresso, we use 19-20g of coffee grounds.

"Coffee-to-liquid ratio": a relatively common espresso ratio is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. Front Street recommends starting with a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio for extraction, meaning if you use 20g of coffee grounds, you extract 40g of coffee liquid.

"Extraction time": keeping extraction time within 20-30 seconds makes it relatively easy to extract delicious espresso. Espresso completed in less than 20 seconds will most likely taste thin and watery. Espresso completed in more than 30 seconds is prone to burnt bitterness. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses double espresso for daily service, with an extraction time of about 28-30 seconds.

"Grind size": the scale on every grinder differs, so you need to continuously extract and taste to feel the changes in the coffee's flavor until it is balanced. The coffee machine is very sensitive in checking the coffee grind level. If the grind is slightly too coarse, the flow rate will be too fast, the extraction time will become shorter, and the coffee will taste thin; if the grind is slightly too fine, the flow rate will be too slow, the extraction time will become longer, and the coffee will taste burnt and bitter.

Espresso Extraction Steps

① Dosing

Before dosing, wipe the portafilter basket clean and keep it dry. Turn on the grinder switch and start grinding the coffee beans. Catch the coffee grounds with the portafilter basket.

② Distributing & Tamping

Use your finger or a distribution tool to distribute the grounds, with the aim of ensuring the coffee grounds are evenly distributed and avoiding areas of inconsistent density during tamping. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using a distribution tool, which helps beginners ensure stability and speed. Place the distribution tool flat on the portafilter basket, rotate it several times, and then lift it off.

③ Confirmation Before Extraction

Before locking on the group head, confirm two things: first, whether the tamp is level; second, whether there are no residual grounds around the edge of the basket. Then press the brew button to wet the group head, and gently lock the portafilter onto the group head. Be sure to confirm whether it is locked tightly to avoid leaking.

④ Extraction

After locking on the group head, quickly press the brew button to avoid the high-temperature group head scorching the surface of the coffee grounds. At about the 4th second after pressing the extraction button, the espresso drips from the portafilter smoothly like honey, with the color shifting from reddish-brown to golden yellow. After extraction is complete, the surface of the espresso is covered with a layer of delicate golden crema (the oily foam produced when carbon dioxide in the coffee particles combines and emulsifies with coffee oils under a vacuum environment). 

Espresso Coffee Bean Recommendations

To give espresso a more stable flavor expression, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using blend coffee beans specially customized for espresso. The advantage of blended coffee beans is that by combining coffee beans from different producing regions in different proportions, they compensate for one another's shortcomings to stabilize and balance the coffee's flavor expression, while dark roasting enhances the coffee's body.

The main flavor expression of espresso is determined by the coffee beans. Among the products currently sold by Front Street, many are espresso blend coffee beans. If you want to recreate the same effect as a coffee shop at home, we recommend Front Street commercial blend coffee beans. This is a formula designed specifically for those opening a shop, giving espresso rich crema and a full-bodied mouthfeel, while also being suitable for common categories such as Americano, latte, cappuccino, and flat white.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.