Espresso Coffee Tips For Your Inner Barista

By: Rebecca Prescott
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:17:53
Print this article | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

Living in Australia, we're pretty blessed to have espresso coffee available in most cafe's and shops. Thanks to a strong Italian influence, especially in the development of early 'cafe culture', espresso style coffee is very mainstream, and has been for over 25 years.

I do believe that once you've had this Italian style coffee, it is hard to go back to regular drip filter coffee, although French plunger coffee can be fantastic too. Of course, when you need a 'pick-me-up', any coffee will do!

What is the difference between drip and espresso coffee? Italian coffee is made very differently. It uses a high pressure to force water through the ground beans. Interestingly, whilst the water is very hot, it is not boiling. And the beans themselves are ground very fine and smooth. Contrary to some commercial presentation, this style of coffee is not dependant on one type of bean or roast. It is the process of making the beverage that makes it espresso coffee, nothing else. When a cafe refers to a dark, or stronger roast as an espresso roast, it is no more than an idiosyncrasy of marketing. All coffee beans used to make Italian coffee could be called espresso beans or roasts.

Espresso coffee has a foamy, creamy top made of protein, vegetable oils, and sugars. These all come from the beans, as do the dissolved solid that make up a higher percentage in Italian coffee. This process of coffee making produces a beautiful, intense flavor and aroma.

There is both an art and a science to making a good cup of espresso coffee. Modern coffee chains, particularly the franchises, use standardized temperatures and methods, whereas in Italian communities it is a combination of experience, intuition, individuality, and tradition. The franchises don't even come close to the quality of the coffee made by a good barista using the traditional Italian approach. Having said that, there are a lot of ordinary (and some downright bad) baristas out there who could possibly do well with following a more standardized approach.

To make good espresso coffee, you have to be careful about the temperature of the water used. If it is too cool, the result will be sour. If it is too hot, it can be bitter. Similarly, if you are heating milk to mix with it, burning or overheating the milk will affect the quality of the drink. This is particularly true when using soy milk - overheating it can cause it to separate, and the taste is very bitter and unpleasant. Unfortunately, this is sometimes the case with inexperienced baristas.

The shot of coffee made by the espresso coffee maker also has to be used immediately. When it is left for any length of time, it begins to oxidize, and the quality deteriorates. Most commercial coffee houses have policies taking this into account. And it's a good thing to remember if you're making coffee with home equipment.

Rebecca presents coffee articles here, such as this one on caring for your Kontessa espresso pot. Coffee connoisseurs, find out about barista expresso machines here.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Coffee category

  • Get More Pleasure From Drinking Coffee - By: Alan Detwiler
    How to get more pleasure from drinking coffee. Variety is key. The single most effective way to more enjoy coffee is by using recipes for many combinations of coffee and flavorings.
  • Coffee Makers - Get Your's For Convenience Now - By: Annie Deakin
    Coffee is one of the first things that most individuals look for every morning. Drinking coffee can make you feel vibrant and energetic due to the stimulants it contains. The large amount of caffeine in coffee is what makes you feel awake ready to take on the day. Having coffee makers makes it so much easier! This must be one of the reasons why people from the earliest times fell in love with that first cup in the morning.
  • Coffee Makers, Great Gifts For College Students - By: Annie Deakin
    One of the smells of home for many college students is the smell of fresh coffee brewing in the morning. Many students do not wake up in time to brew coffee in their apartments, but may end up having to grab a cup in the drive through on the way or in the student union. Fresh brewed coffee is often reported as one of the smells most often missed and may be a cause for homesickness of first term college students.
  • Characteristics of a High Quality Gourmet Office Coffee Service - By: Steve Josephs
    For the novice office coffee service drinker, there are four primary taste profiles described and categorized for Specialty Arabica gourmet office coffee. These include: Acidity, Aroma, Body and Flavor. Flavor can be further broken down into Balance, Range, Complexity, Richness and Finish.
  • Buying Organic Coffee or Tea - By: Sarmaad Amin
    Organic food becomes very popular now. This article will give you some tips you may need when buying organic coffee or tea.
  • The Art of Coffee Blending - By: Steve Josephs
    Creating exceptional gourmet coffee is similar to the creation of an exceptional wine. Each crop, and even different harvests of the same crop, will have unique characteristics which must be identified and combined by the master roaster to attain the desired flavor profile.
  • 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.