How to make a perfect espresso recipe? Your Espresso is your choice

In a coffee shop, the recipe of an espresso has very high requirements in terms of body, flavor balance, and stability. So, how is the recipe of espresso formulated? Why should a fixed recipe be formulated? What factors should be considered when formulating an espresso recipe? Let's dig deeper into the world of espresso today!

What parameter do you want to adjust or measure?

When making espresso, we have to measure at least three main parameters: the amount of ground coffee, the extraction volume and the extraction time. As a barista, you should check these three parameters every day. Some baristas may even check the extraction parameters of each cup of coffee crazily.

It is worth reminding that from here on, we will only discuss double espressos. In my opinion, we should only use double baskets for espresso as much as possible, and it is best not to touch the single-head portafilter. Of course, that is another topic, this time let's focus on the recipe.

Powder quantity: Powder quantity refers to the weight of the coffee powder you are using. (Unit: g)

The amount of ground coffee is usually measured in grams. It is generally believed that for a double espresso, the amount of ground coffee is between 14-24 grams (depending on the size of the basket). In the "dark ages" when all coffee beans were roasted to a shiny black, 14 grams was the golden rule. Fortunately, the trend has changed in the past 10 years. Now the coffee beans for espresso are gradually becoming medium-dark roasted and starting to show a trend of gradually becoming lighter, and the amount of ground coffee has also increased accordingly.

We should take the amount of powder as the first parameter to adjust. So how do we know how many grams we should use? This is the simplest step in the recipe making process - check the capacity of your double-dose powder basket. The capacity of the powder basket, together with the degree of roasting of the coffee beans, basically determines how many grams of coffee powder you should use. For example, the standard capacity of the double-dose powder basket of the Pegasus espresso machine that I often use is about 20 grams. So my espresso recipe usually uses 20 grams of powder as the initial parameter.

Of course, even if your powder basket also has a capacity of 20 grams, you can adjust the amount of powder a little more or less according to the degree of roasting of the coffee beans. Simply put, for dark roasted coffee powder, the amount of powder can be a little less (18-20 grams); for lighter roasted coffee powder, the amount of powder can be slightly more (20-21 grams).

If you need to extract a smaller amount of espresso for some reason, and need to use 14 grams of powder, then it is best to replace it with a shallower, smaller flat-bottomed powder basket. Using a large-capacity powder basket for a small amount of coffee powder will increase the risk of perforation. Because it is difficult to evenly distribute the powder before pressing, and the gap between the powder cake and the water distribution net is too large after pressing, it is easy to produce turbulence. Once perforation occurs, hot water will not be able to evenly pass through the coffee powder cake, the overall extraction will become uneven, and the brewing parameters and flavor cannot be used as a reference.

Extraction volume: Extraction volume refers to the amount of extract in the cup (coffee liquid + Crema). (Unit: ml, g)

Traditionally, the extraction volume is measured in milliliters (ml), but in the past 10 years, more and more baristas have begun to use electronic scales and measure the extraction volume in grams (g). The advantage of measuring in grams is accuracy, because there is no need to consider the impact of the degree of roasting and freshness of the coffee beans on the volume of Crema, while in milliliters (ml) these conditions need to be considered.

The extraction amount is usually related to the amount of powder. For example, a powder-liquid ratio of 1:2 means that when the amount of powder is 20g, the extraction amount will be 40g. More examples:

15g powder: 37g extraction = 1:2.5

17.5g powder: 47.5g extraction volume = 1: 2.7

22g powder: 44g extraction = 1:2

With a fixed amount of powder, a greater amount of extraction means that the espresso will be more diluted (the flavor will become weaker and lighter); vice versa, a smaller amount of extraction will make the espresso more concentrated and the flavor will be stronger and richer.

It is recommended to start the recipe with a ratio of 1:2. Because at a ratio of 1:2, most espressos can still maintain a pleasant, strong but not too pungent taste, and all the nuances can be tasted. A ratio of 1:1.5 may make the espresso too strong and mask some of the good taste of the coffee. For some coffee beans, it is not a bad idea to go to 1:2.5, so that the strength will be reduced a little, making the coffee flavor clearer and more complete.

I recommend that you don’t change the 1:2 ratio easily when making espresso recipes, at least before testing a few different extraction times. If you feel that the 1:2 ratio still doesn’t produce satisfactory results after trying different extraction times, then you can try changing the ratio.

Extraction time: Extraction time refers to the time required to extract espresso. Timing starts from pressing the switch button until the extraction amount reaches the target. (Unit: s)

Most organizations and books agree that the extraction time for espresso should be between 20-30 seconds. The darker the roast, the shorter the extraction time should be; the lighter the roast, the longer the extraction time should be. This is because the darker the roast, the lower the density of the coffee beans (the lighter the roast, the higher the density), so it is easier to extract flavor from the ground coffee. It is recommended that the extraction time should be controlled between 20-25 seconds for darker roasted coffee beans and between 25-30 seconds for lighter roasted coffee beans. Every coffee bean has a "sweet spot" in terms of extraction time, and the barista's job is to find this point by changing the grind scale.

Darker roasts have shorter extraction times and lighter roasts, longer extraction times. This is because darker roasts are less dense (lighter), so it is easier to extract flavor from them. On the other hand, lighter roasts are "tighter packed" (denser), and you will have more time to extract the same amount of flavor from them. I recommend that it is best to start the extraction time between 20-25 seconds for darker roasts and between 25-30 seconds for lighter roasts. Every coffee has a "sweet spot" in terms of extraction time, and it is the barista's job to find that spot by varying the grind size.

The simplest way is to try to find the extraction time when the coffee starts to become bitter, and then go back to the last extraction time when it was not bitter. For example:

25 seconds = too sour, hollow taste, short finish;

27 seconds = bright acidity, more flavor, pretty good;

29 seconds = pleasant acidity, more sweetness, balanced flavor and long finish;

31 seconds = sweet and bitter notes.

In the above case, we could have chosen 27 or 29 seconds and stopped the experiment, but if you wanted to see if you could extract more sweetness, then keep going. At 31 seconds it starts to become very bitter, and we know we are overextracting, so we go back to 29 seconds, which is the optimal extraction time for this coffee bean.

Want to further develop your recipe? Here’s some helpful info!

Temperature: Temperature refers to the temperature of the water used for extraction. (Unit: ℃)

Temperature shouldn’t be at the top of your list of tweaks, but it’s definitely something to consider if your espressos are having trouble getting the best results. Higher water temperatures make extraction easier, and therefore faster. If you feel like you can’t extract enough flavor from the coffee in 30 seconds (especially with lighter roasts), then raising the water temperature may be a wise move. Because espresso brewing almost always starts to experience channeling (the loosening of the coffee cake as the flavors are extracted) near the end of the brew, if you can’t extract enough flavor before the channeling starts to increase flow rate, your espresso will be under-extracted. By finding a way to increase the water temperature before extraction begins, you can increase the extraction rate, thereby increasing your overall extraction yield.

Pressure distribution: Pressure is required to extract espresso. Pressure distribution means that the pressure used to extract espresso is different during the different stages of extraction. (Unit: bar)

If you want to set the pressure curve, only some specific coffee machine models have this function, such as Synesso, Modbar or Slayer. Pressure increases the extraction rate, so for lighter roasted coffee beans, you can use lower pressure in the extraction stage (pressurization in the middle stage and then pressure reduction at the end), so that less acidity can be extracted. Using lower extraction pressure in the early stage of extraction can also reduce the channeling effect, thereby obtaining a higher extraction rate.

Uniform extraction: avoid perforation

Even extraction means that the hot water is evenly distributed through the coffee puck, without any part of the puck being extracted more or less than other parts. Even extraction should be the ultimate goal of a barista.

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