ESPRESSO COFFEE

BEANS

Beans should be fresh and recently roasted (between 2 - 6 weeks from roast is ideal).

Taste profile descriptions often include phrases like fruity, sweet, acidic, complex, creamy, spicy, bright & floral.

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Best is to buy whole beans and roast on demand

GRIND

The fresher the grind, the fresher the taste

Grind is influenced by environmental conditions (temperature and humidity). In areas with fluctuating temperatures, you'll often find barista make small adjustment to grinder during the course of the day.

MACHINE

Look for ability to control temperature, water volume and pressure.

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Machines fall under 3 categories, namely semi-automatic, automatic and super automatic (also known as "bean-to-cup")

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Dual boilers allow for espresso consistency while not impacting water vapour required for milk frothing.

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Brew time range between 20–30 seconds.

DOSE

The standard dose weight is 7 - 9 grams for a single espresso. But this is personal choice of each barista and is influenced by basket size used in portafilter.

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At Fika we recommend 16 - 18 grams

TAMPING

Tamping is the term used for the compression of the ground coffee before brewing.

Tamping is required to ensure the high pressured water pass through the coffee evenly and extract as much flavour.

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The objective is to simply push the air out of the coffee bed and to make sure the bed is level and even before brewing. Even and consistent downward pressure is necessary to accomplish this.

TIME OF EXTRACTION

Brew time range between 20–30 seconds.

WATER

Water quality  can damage equipment and influence taste of end product.

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Water temperature range between 90.5-96.1ºC, which is forced at 9–10 atmospheres of pressure.

VOLUME OF EXTRACTION

A standard espresso volume is 25 - 35 ml.

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However the strength of your espresso can be determined by the ratio of dry coffee weight to water volume. Ie. 1:2 ration will be a very strong espresso which means for every 1g of coffee you run 2ml of water. Can be regarded as a ristretto (Lungo is typically 1:5).

MILK

The recommended temperature of milk according to Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is 55–65°C (don't exceed 70°C). This suggestion is backed up by research into the chemistry of heating milk.

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Milk begins to irreversibly degrade in flavour and texture above 68°C.

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A very hot cappuccino will lack the texture, flavour and sweetness of a drink made with milk that has only been heated to 60°C.

BARISTA

You can't beat experience, composure under pressure, friendliness and passion.

FRIENDS

Go get your friends that enjoy and appreciate good coffee.