Barista Pro Tips

KEY POINTS

• 18-20 grams finely ground coffee beans for a double shot, 9-10 grams for a single shot.
• Start with whole beans, pull shot immediately after grinding
• Fresh beans make the largest difference in quality
• Use filtered water. No distilled water, No Tap Water! Reverse osmosis filter works best.
• Let beans rest after roasting date. 10 days for drip coffee. 15 days for espresso

Did you know, espresso is not a type of bean, but rather a brewing method? "Espresso" translates into "pressed out" in Italian, "squeeze out" in Latin. This is because of high water pressure forcing out the hot water in small, very concentrated amounts of coffee. That being said, any coffee bean can be used for your favorite latte! It's the pressure that is essential for brewing espresso. To get this pressure, it takes approximately 18-20 grams of finely grounded beans for a double shot, 9-10 for a single. the finer the grind, the harder it is for the water to pass through, heightening the pressure. More importantly is the amount of surface area of the bean that is extracted from the water, so there is a sweet spot that makes the perfect shot of espresso. If the grind is too fine, the shot might have too much trouble passing through, making what's called an over-extracted shot. Some shops call this a dead shot or a burnt shot. The reason for this is because the hot water actually burnt the beans due to taking too long to pass through. Over-extraction tastes extremely burnt and bitter. In contrast, if the grind is too coarse, the water passes too quickly, in which it fails to capture all the flavors and delicacies of the bean. An under-extracted shot will be more watery and less flavored. The extraction timing is what makes the grinder the most important tool when brewing espresso.

The most important ingredient, however, is of course the bean. There's more to this though... There are three parts to a shot: the crema, body, and heart. The crema is the sweet foam that sits on top of the shot. It's the highlight of the shot that every barista looks for. The best way to get quality great tasting crema is through FRESH BEANS. You could have the right grind size with zero or flavorless crema if the beans are not fresh and freshly grounded. Once beans are ground, they quickly start losing their aroma and fresh taste, so when making your favorite latte, it's best to buy whole bean and brew immediately after grinding. This is why here at Nessy's Coffee House we take pride in providing freshly roasted beans. We have an extraordinary amount of care into roasting our beans because we know the vast impact of even slight variations of the roasting process can have. I even make sure to have positive music playing next to the roaster.... don't judge me, trust the process.

Roasting quality beans takes care and precision, both during the roast as well as after. Once the beans are roasted, they need to go what is called a "degassing" process where they release unwanted aromas, typically overly smokey or burnt taste. Light roast beans take longer to degas than the dark roast as well as the brewing method they are used for, so the degassing time can fluctuate drastically. A dark roast used for drip coffee can be ready in 2-5 days, where a light roast used for espresso can take up to 20. 

Another underrated ingredient but almost equally important is the water. coffee is 90% water, therefore needs to have quality water. If you're using tap water, you're going to taste all the minerals and other stuff that's in it mixed with coffee. So my pro tip would be NO TAP WATER! Filtered water is good, reverse osmosis is best, don't use tap or distilled.