How to Make Espresso at Home: What Key Aspects You Need to Know

How to Make a Good Espresso at Home

FrontStreet Coffee gives a short overview of how to make a good espresso at home, and which key points deserve special attention.

Coffee Beans

Always buy coffee from reliable specialty suppliers, because only they know how long the beans have been stored, how they were processed, and how they were roasted. As a rule, the fresher the beans, the better the espresso, because freshness determines whether the crema is full and whether the flavor is balanced. Lower-quality coffee tastes one-dimensional and has a very thin mouthfeel. Always buy whole beans rather than pre-ground coffee. There is no need to keep beans in the freezer; the best method is to store them in a cupboard away from heat sources, and to make sure they are used within 3 weeks. Finally, keep the beans in an airtight container.

Roasting

Before buying, check that the packaging carries a roast date. Coffee tastes best between day 5 and 3 weeks (day 21) after roasting.

Grinding

The grind size directly affects the extraction time and, through it, the taste of the coffee. If the coffee is ground too finely it turns burnt and ashy; if it is ground too coarsely it comes out weak and thin, because the water flows through too quickly and the essence of the coffee is never fully extracted.

The grind used for espresso should feel like coarse salt or sand mixed into flour. Rubbed between thumb and index finger, the grounds should clump a little, but not be too dense. The same advice holds that the texture of coffee grounds used for drip coffee should feel like breadcrumbs.

Portafilter

Before making coffee, make sure the portafilter is completely dry. Once the grounds touch moisture, extraction begins, so always wipe the portafilter and filter basket dry with a paper towel before you start.

Tamping

If you are a meticulous person, spend a little money on a high-quality tamper so the grounds sit even and level after tamping. Fill the portafilter about 3/4 full with coffee grounds and tap the portafilter lightly with your hand to loosen and even out the grounds. Keep adding grounds until the portafilter is full, and be careful not to overfill.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For home espresso, the place to start is a blend built for crema and forgiveness. FrontStreet Classic Blend was designed specifically for espresso and moka pot use, and its greatest strength is an outstanding crema that even a beginner can pull with an ordinary home machine. Based on the traditional Mamba recipe, it is full and rounded, so it works just as well for a first machine as it does behind a counter. If you want the classic cafe taste that most people picture when they think of espresso, FrontStreet Premium Blend pairs Brazil Cerrado with Colombia Huila; it has carried the shop's americanos and lattes for close to ten years and remains an easygoing choice for home or commercial use.

For a single-origin option, FrontStreet Natural Huakui SOE brings Ethiopia's Guji Hambella region into the espresso basket. Grown as high as 2,300 meters and processed naturally, it is roasted medium to keep the elegant floral and fruity notes while adding gentle caramelization, so an americano or latte shows cream, cocoa, berries, a light floral lift, and a black tea finish.