Espresso 101 - How to Choose Coffee Beans For Espresso

By: Corinne Waldon
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:17:41
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

The coffee market offers a vast array of beans of every origin, in every degree of roast and grind. With so many options to choose from, how does one go about picking the best bean for making espresso?

It is best to start with the basics. Cappuccinos and lattes are variations on espresso. They differ only in their ratio of espresso to steamed milk. Neither requires its own separate kind of bean.

The inexperienced shopper could easily be fooled into thinking that there are countless assortments of beans to chose from and be overwhelmed. Sometimes, unscrupulous marketers with take advantage of this common myth so they seem to have a larger inventory. In reality, there are only two types of beans available commercially: Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica is a high altitude bean, grown at 2,400 feet above sea lever or higher, characterized by a smooth, yet slightly acidic, taste. It is usually grown in eastern Africa and Central and South America. Robusta grows in the lower altitudes of Southeast Asia, central Africa and Latin America and has a more potent, sometimes bitter taste.

There are many methods and opinions about the best way to roast beans, but the basic process involves exposing green, raw coffee beans to high temperatures, usually about 480 degrees Fahrenheit, for seven to 12 minutes. The heat alters the beans, manipulating their natural bitterness and acidity. The beans become more bitter and less acidic the longer they are roasted.

There is no one right way to roast or grind beans for espresso. In fact, espresso is usually made with a blend of beans of different colors and consistencies. It is not uncommon for different geographical areas to favor a specific blend. For example, in northern Italy, they prefer espresso roast in the medium range, while California tastes lean toward the darker, French roast.

You are not likely to find the freshest beans in a grocery store, and you can bet on that when in comes to pre ground coffee. The best you can do in that situation is pay close attention to the expiration date. You should have better luck finding fresh beans in a coffee house, especially one that roasts in house. Naturally, they will need to roast more of the most popular, fastest selling bean more often, and it is probably the most popular for a reason. Perfect freshness comes from grinding your own just roasted beans immediately before brewing.

Quality beans are a good place to start, but by no means is that the only factor to consider when making espresso. Other things to think about are the time lapse between grinding and brewing, the time lapse since roasting, the condition of equipment and water quality. What makes the best espresso will likely be an endless debate, but the endless options ultimately boil down to a matter of preference.

Corinne Waldon has written many articles on the subject of coffee. Corinne writes for The Coffee Site where you can find many gourmet coffee resources at your finger tips including coffee related forums, directories, reviews and more.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Coffee category

  • Coffee T-Shirts and Gifts: Share Your Addiction - By: Ruth Lanham
    If there is another thing a lot of people are passionate about, it's their coffee. For a lot of people, without their coffee, they might not be able to function on the morning or even an entire day. It could make their day at work that much worse as well. It's not always a joke how popular and important coffee is to people.
  • Tomorrow's Tamari Takes Time - By: Search Pros
    Since the Buddhist monk Kakushin brought back the original soy sauce from China in 1254, soy sauce has become virtually ubiquitous world wide. So what is the difference between Soy Sauce, Shoyu and Tamari?
  • Coffee for a Better Life - By: Vader West
    To that, the coffee bean itself contains a number of benefits to health. But the culture of coffee, like the tao of tea, contains a lot of excess trimmings. Espresso machines, for example, produce a highly concentrated form of ordinary coffee. And then the all-consuming vice: sugar.
  • Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee - By: Adam Akelis
    It has been scientifically proved that coffee can fight fatigue that is why millions of people across the world drink coffee to fight tiredness. Coffee can actually helps to improve mental performance, elevates and improves mood and also boosts physical energy.
  • Gourmet Coffee and Fitness - By: Adam Akelis
    Today for larger number of people, coffee has become a main delight in life and some people give your word by it to get their day started. Everyday you will come across more and more data proving tea as a huge means to wade off ill health.
  • Flavored Coffees a Delicious Enticer - By: Adam Akelis
    Millions of people enjoy and consume coffee as a drink not only for its aroma but for its property as a stimulant. Some like to drink hot steaming coffee, while others dribble over cold coffee shakes.
  • How Do Coffee Grinders Work? - By: Paul Archer
    Coffee grinders and electric coffee grinders are the best thing since sliced bread.
  • The 9 Things People Do Not Do When Making Espresso - By: Shikin Roslan
    Espresso simply means ‘to press out’ in Italian. However it is easier said than done. Let me just start off with what espresso really is.
  • How To Apply Logic In Choosing An Espresso Coffee Maker - By: Dean Caporella
    Choosing an espresso coffee maker isn't just determined by price. Many people have rushed in and bought a coffee maker simply because they thought that it's price dictated how good or efficient the machine was. This can be a costly mistake.
  • Espresso Coffee Machine Essential Buying Tips - By: Richard Davies
    Most avid coffee drinkers will concur that an espresso coffee machine is the one and only piece of kit you can purchase that will deliver the perfect cup of coffee. You will be surprised, then, that many of these coffee fans don't actually own an espresso coffee machine. There are a number of different types of machine.