How 'Spro Can You Go?
This is starting to sound like a riddle, right? But there is a simple explanation:
Unlike most other brewing methods, when making espresso there is no set "recipe" to follow.
You see, in brewing methods such as French Press or Pour Over, ground coffee simply sits and soaks in hot water, exposing each particle (and thus extracting) for the same amount of time, and then is gently separated using some form of filter. Because these brewing methods are so gentle, it's pretty easy to achieve the same outcome every time, enabling you to set and follow standard measurements.
But it's a little different with espresso where highly pressurized water is forced through finely ground and tightly packed coffee, pushing out the oils and gasses. And with such a forced extraction, coffee particles become volatile, exaggerating the smallest of variables into major factors; such as roast date, weather conditions (humidity and temperature), equipment temperature, and the list goes on.
But it's a little different with espresso where highly pressurized water is forced through finely ground and tightly packed coffee, pushing out the oils and gasses. And with such a forced extraction, coffee particles become volatile, exaggerating the smallest of variables into major factors; such as roast date, weather conditions (humidity and temperature), equipment temperature, and the list goes on.
It's a baristas job to reign in all of these variables that would make for a bad shot, and manipulate them into something that is delicious! We have two main variables that we use to help us achieve this: dose (amount of coffee) and grind (particle size). Usually these two will go hand-in-hand in kind of a teeter totter fashion; low dose + fine grind or high dose + coarse grind. Through some combination of these two variables we create a coffee puck with even density that is going to let the water pass through just slow enough to push all those tasty gasses and oils out, but not fast enough to over extract them with too much water.
These parameters can change in as little as ten minutes! And the only way to determine these parameters is by taste! So when you see us tasting shot after shot, we are in the process of finding that sweet spot, which is called "dialing in".
Now you can see why this is a tricky question for a barista: We drink a lot of coffee, but usually just not a whole cup at a time!
How do we handle drinking that much coffee?
Water, water, water! Hydration is key. And a little barista trick to cure the coffee shakes: Bananas!
These parameters can change in as little as ten minutes! And the only way to determine these parameters is by taste! So when you see us tasting shot after shot, we are in the process of finding that sweet spot, which is called "dialing in". Now you can see why this is a tricky question for a barista: We drink a lot of coffee, but usually just not a whole cup at a time!
How do we handle drinking that much coffee?
Water, water, water! Hydration is key. And a little barista trick to cure the coffee shakes: Bananas!
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david Mar 19, 2010 – 9:33 PM
love the banana trick, perfect for steadying the hand when pouring!
ChrisFizik Mar 23, 2010 – 12:04 AM
Bananas? what? what's that about -- you mean, like as a snack during the day to somehow....counter coffee shakes with..what's in bananas again? potassium?
adah.bennion Mar 23, 2010 – 12:19 AM
Yep. Potassium! This is all I could come up with to back the theory up : http://caloriecount.about.com/caffeine-potassium-levels-ft97105
Bananas are just what I have always been told to eat when I get the shakes on a shift and they have always worked- Be that placebo effect, actually legit, or just a barista myth, it keeps me on track!
Your Friend D. Mar 25, 2010 – 4:10 AM
I didn't even know you drank coffee