It requires special equipment and exacting technique to make properly, but is well worth the effort. The lever compresses the spring, which in turn drives the pistion. The result is a demitasse (very small cup) of all of the best characteristics of the coffee bean with none of the less desirable ones. They have the right equipment and know how to make a perfect grind.

Need water quality even be discussed here? You dont drink tap, so dont brew tap. In this design, a long lever is pulled by the barista (hence the phrase pulling a shot) to drive a piston, which in turn forces the heated water out of a cylinder and through the coffee. If youve never tried it, drop by a Kraft package box reputable coffee house and let them convince you. What, me try it? (is you a man or is you a mouse?)

Also, maybe,

I like my coffee black, but not that black!

Wrong. As already mentioned, an espresso machines express purpose is to press heated water (about 200 degrees) through a disc of pressed coffee. Bitter. The flavor is full, complex, and remains on the tongue for 10 15 minutes after drinking it.

Mechanically, the simplest is the steam driven machine. The head is made up of concentrated oils from the coffee. It is dark reddish brown, and should have enough body to support the weight of a teaspoon of sugar for about 2 seconds before it sinks into the drink. The best bet is to have your espresso professionally ground at a good shop. A later refinement of this design was to interject a spring into the process between the lever and piston.

An even better design was introduced in 1961, the pump driven machine. How is this accomplished? There are 3 basic designs: steam driven, piston driven, and pump driven. Espresso, when correctly made, is none of these things.

. The purpose is to better control the pressure of the water (ideally 9 ft lbs) as it is forced through the coffee.

The coffee itself is, of course, rather important. Chances are youll be hooked.What do you think of when you hear the word espresso? Perhaps,

Express train; fast black, iron horse of rocket fuel!

Or,

Strong.

Espresso is a traditional coffee drink invented by the French, but perfected by the Italians. That flavor can be fairly accurately compared with the wonderful aroma present when the seal is first broken on a container of coffee. This principle was also used in early commercial machines but was abandoned by professionals when a better design came along in 1945. If your espresso is bitter blame the barista, not the drink.

Afraid of the shakes? Dont be. Enough said there.

A well pulled shot of espresso is not bitter.

That design is the piston driven machine.

All of this wonderfulness requires a special type of machine to make. This design uses an electric pump to force the water.

Good espresso also has a head, like a beer does. A proper grind can be described as the consistency of talcum powder. This is because the heated water is forced through the coffee too quickly (ideally in around 20 seconds) to liberate all of the caffeine present in the grind. It employs steam pressure to force water through the coffee. Hyper caffeinated. It also needs to be ground exactly right. It should be of a medium roast; a dark roast has had too many of the oils and sugars cooked out of it. The benefit is more accuracy (and no arm strain!).

Espresso is complex in both nature and process. Since there are no moving parts, this design is normally used for lower priced home espresso makers. Surprisingly, given the concentrated nature of the drink, a shot of espresso has only about half the caffeine of a normally brewed cup of joe. You can associate the word espresso with the English word press, for that is the fundamental action pertaining to both the ground coffee which is pressed into a compact disc and the machine used to make it, which forces or presses hot water through the disc of coffee