How To Brew The Best Specialty Espresso At Home

Making an actually enjoyable cup of espresso is already hard enough, but using specialty beans makes it even harder, especially if you want to use lightly roasted beans. Specialty espresso is the rabbitholest rabbit hole ever. Because you not only need to align tons of factors, but also if one of them is just a tiny little out of perfect, your cup just won’t be a pleasant culinary experience. I mean, if you want to make specialty espresso, then you do it for the taste, right? Then let’s do it properly!

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

• a good specialty roast from your local roaster (light or medium)
• a decent grinder
• any espresso machine
• any kitchen scale
• any clock (or your phone)
• good quality water, like THIS one

GENERAL RULES LIGHT ROAST:

• Brew ratio: 1:2.5-3 (example 18g coffee : 45-54g output)
• Water temperature: 90-96C
• Extraction time: 25-45s (pre-infusion included)

GENERAL RULES MEDIUM ROAST:

• Brew ratio: 1:2-2.5 (example 18g coffee : 36-45g output)
• Water temperature: 85-92C
• Extraction time: 17-30s (pre-infusion included)

STEP 1 — PREHEAT

• Preheat your portafilter for consistent results

STEP 2 — GRIND

• Grind & measure your coffee

STEP 3 — SHAKE IT

• Shake up your ground coffee before pouring it into the portafilter

STEP 4 — DISTRIBUTE & TAMP

• Break up the clumps
• Tamp

STEP 5 — SCALED FOR SUCCESS

• Place the cup on a scale

STEP 6 — PRE-INFUSION

• Try to have some pre-infusion if your machine has the feature
• 3-4 bars up until there are 1-2 grams in your cup would do it

STEP 7 — MACHINE GO BRRR

• Run the water through the puck under 8-9 bars

STEP 8 — FINISH IT

• Turn the extraction off or remove the cup when the desired output is reached
• Mix it with a spoon

TIPS & VIBES

• In case your grinder causes too much static electricity, you can spritz a little water on your beans before grinding
• You can use a dosing ring to prevent things from getting messy
• Doesn’t matter how hard you tamp
• A nice puck screen can make your extraction even evener
• A quick portafilter brushing will help you with keeping your machine clean
• Your primary indicator is taste: this is what you chase
• Your secondary indicators are grind size, brew ratio and water temperature: this is what you adjust
• Your tertiary indicators are extraction time and flow rate: this is what you geek about

WATER MATTERS

• Use Feketeleves Coffee Water – Specialty Espresso
• Specialty Espresso oriented water = clean flavour notes, mellow sweetness, balanced acidity, reduced astringency & bitterness
• Tap water? There are many ways to disrespect your coffee, and tap water ranks just below adding sugar

Still confused?

You can always contact us for real human help. Or just vibe your way into it. What matters is that you enjoy the entire ritual!