WORK ROUTINE DANCE HUSTLE!

BARISTA MAGIC

For some, it's just the daily grind, but for most of us it's a dance... a hustle... a routine and rhythm that we have come to love. It's what keeps people coming to the cafe and thinking, "one day I'd like to be a barista." It's the repeated process of prepping, grinding, calibrating, dosing, distributing, tamping, pulling shots, blending, serving, cleaning... and repeating!

We've already looked at different types of espresso grinders. As long as the grind is consistent and suited to your espresso recipe - then the next several steps are your responsibility.

FIRST - dose into the portafilter basket.

As we just saw, different traditional and modern espresso recipes exist. Let's plan for a happy compromise of a 1 : 2.5 brew ratio. That means for every 1 part coffee we should have 2.5 parts water. This amount may vary slightly but with a 16g espresso basket filled we should pull through +/- 36g water.

Taken a step further we'll try to brew this 36g espresso (which may look like 40ml) in about 25 seconds. That's a standard target and good starting point for a double espresso. If for some reason we fail to put 16g espresso grounds into the basket (while holding all else unchanged) we will find a problem.

• Using more coffee (say 18g) will cause the water to flow slow, long and not at all.
• Using less coffee (say 14g) will cause the water to flow too fast, speeding through the brew.

SECOND - distribute the coffee grounds properly.

We only have 25 seconds to effectively dissolve coffee with a very small amount of water from our portafilter basket. Water is lazy and will seek the path of least resistance through the coffee bed. By distributing the grounds evenly and effectively we should encourage the water to evenly flow through and evenly dissolve espresso from all parts of the coffee.

However, if we fail to distribute accurately then channeling can occur. We can also create some problems with various bad habits described below.

THIRD - pull the shot.

How do we know when we have an optimal espresso shot? Optimal is a chosen word where sweetness, acidity, bitterness, body is all in good high balance. We seek optimal balance in our extraction. Notice below the various stages of proper - under - and over - extraction.

Ideal extraction will start dark brown after a few seconds, move to caramel honey-like and finish golden.

Taste should be sweet, balanced in harmony whether consumed straight or with milk.

Under extraction will start immediately, go yellow and thin like tea. Time will be too short.

Taste will be acidic, sour and lacking in body. It is not suitable for drinking.

Over extraction will take a long time to start and drip black, if at all. Time will be too long.

Taste will be dominated by bitterness and imbalanced. It is not suitable for drinking.

FOURTH - calibrate the shot. Dose first. Grind second.

If the coffee flowed ideally for extraction, volume and timing. GREAT! Skip to the next step : )

If the coffee flowed too quick and was under extracted what should you do? The first step is always to increase the amount of coffee in the portafilter. If you used 16g, then try 17g. By adding more coffee to the basket, you have increased the resistance against water and you will slow the flow of water through the basket. If the flow is still too fast and there is under extraction, try using 18g. Of course if you increase 1-2g ground coffee you can increase 2-5g water output to keep your brew ratio in place.

At this point if your basket is overflowing with coffee, you may need to change the grind. If you want to slow the flow of water and increase extraction then you should grind the coffee finer. This will create more surface area for water to dissolve the coffee and create more obstruction for the flow of water. Thus, increase extraction with increased time.

If you change the grind, you must purge the espresso grinder. Some of the former (more coarse) ground coffee may be hanging out in the doser or chute. Purge one full basket at that new grind setting, discard it and resume with your original recipe of 16grams.

The reverse logic holds if your espresso flows too slowly. FIRST Reduce the dosage by 1-2g. If that does not work, then return to standard recipe and grind slightly more coarse to speed up the flow of water and decrease extraction.

More fine = more extraction.

More time = more extraction.

FIFTH - tamp.

By this point you have already tamped. Still it's important to say that your tamp should be done correctly and exactly the same every time. You do NOT change your tamp to change espresso. Tamping is like riding a bike. You learn how to do it, and then do it correctly and the same every time.

• Tamp level and straight so as to not cause channeling.
• Tamp ergonomically correct. Neither your wrist or elbow should feel strain or fatigue.
• Tamp with the same pressure every time to ensure your espresso flows the same each shot.
• Setup your workspace to help you tamp well. Shorter counter heights, room to work, non-slip surfaces, etc.

Keep up the great work!