Barista training part 3: Brews Clues

Hands on is always the fun part and so, after our lessons and lectures, we got down and dirty with the espresso machine. Cuvee uses a La Marzocco, which is tagged the “holy grail” of espresso machines in many commercial reviews. In the hands of a skilled barista, they make excellent espresso. They’re also quite beautifully designed, excepting the awful logotype used on the nameplate, which is unfortunately featured prominently on the front of the machine. (It’s strangly ugly in other ways on other machines, too — that shot to the right is on the front of the gorgeous machine at Cafe Medici here in Austin.) After spending a few hours learning to use it, I of course wanted one for my very own. Considering you could buy a good used car for less, I’ll probably settle for something cheaper.

Even though the steps for making espresso shots are very clear cut, there are still plenty of variables that can lead to, shall we say, a less than perfect result. Okay, a crappy result. First, though, let’s go over the steps. Then we’ll review ways to screw them up.

The first piece of equipment you need to know about is the portafilter, that thing with the handle that is popped out, loaded with ground coffee, and then locked back into place so that water can push through, evenly distributed and at a high pressure and temperature. Inside the portafilter is a removable filter basket. These baskets come in single and double shot versions.

The steps

1. Take portafilter out.
2. Flush group head (that’s where the water comes out).
3. Wipe portafilter with towel
4. Turn grinder on and aim for a grind between sugar and salt texture.
5. Dose out the coffee as it fills the poratfilter — you want even distribution and 1 ounce (20 grams) per filter.
6. Level off the coffee in the portafilter.
7. Pack the coffee using a tamper — square your body up and distribute pressure over the major muscle groups to avoid carpal tunnel/repetitive stress injuries. Hold the tamper like you’re shaking hands with it.
8. Tamp it with 30 pounds of pressure.
9. Shake off any remaining loose grind.
10. Lock the portafilter into place and turn machine on.
11. Aim for 27 seconds for the extraction — otherwise you’ll over or under-extract.

Okay, so now you’re wondering, how can you “make” it extract at 27 seconds? We wondered the same thing. Answer: adjust the grind of the coffee to speed up or slow down the process.

What’s that wet disc of coffee grinds called post-brewing? A coffee puck!

What happens if you use a wet tamper and it pulls out a little chunk of dry grinds? Uh-oh — you’ve got yourself a puck divot and that, my friend, will result in a crappy drink. Yes, it’s really that sensitive.

How can one fairly simple process yield so very many different results? Easy. Think about it like this — a 5′0″, 100 pound barista is probably going to pack the puck differently than a 6′4″, 250 pound BARISTA.

How do you know when to turn off the machine? Besides the obvious — the shot glass is full — the volume and color of the shot will indicate when to turn it off. A perfect shot will look like a little black-and-tan, complete with the beautiful crema undulating down the sides.

Barista training part 1: Adventures in Coffeeland
Barista training part 2: Brew ha-ha
Barista training part 4: Hot & Steamy