(I know, I promised you Part 2 of the Fair Trade series. But never fear; it’s coming next week. Really. For now, you get to hear about another passion of mine: The Perfect Drink. Warning: this post is sort of long. I have a lot to say on this subject.)
I’ve been making espresso drinks for a lot of years now. Wherever I’ve worked, I seem to attract a reputation for putting together a mighty fine beverage whenever espresso & milk are involved (not to pat myself on the back or anything, but…okay, maybe a little). Over the years, I’ve picked up various methods for perfecting all the fussy minute elements of the process, from grinding/measuring/tamping to incorporating just the right amount of air into the milk as it heats up, resulting in a velvety-smooth surface without a bubble in sight. I’m telling you: while it may come easily to me now, the learning curve was steep. But with advisory counsel from regional corporate managers with annoyingly ridiculously high standards to café owners concerned that customers experience a delicious level of consistency in their beverages from day to day or barista to barista, I learned. And I’ve come to appreciate—perhaps even more than the fussiest boss I’ve ever had—a beautiful drink that tastes exactly the same every single time.
So how does it work? I thought you’d never ask.
There are several factors to be concerned about when it comes to consistent drink-crafting. Here are a few*:
(*If you’ve never been [or never plan to be] a barista, and/or if you’re not familiar with some of the terminology here, I apologize – this blog may be less interesting to you. But if you stick with it, you might learn a thing or two!)
1. Humidity. That’s right: the weather can turn all your efforts to naught. Coffee for espresso should be ground almost as finely as possible (not the finest setting—that’s reserved for Turkish). But when there’s more moisture in the air than usual, that fine grind might be a little too fine, since that moisture makes the grounds stick together even more, resulting in a shot that packs too tightly, pulls too slowly & ends up over-sharp & bitterly tart. A conscientious barista pays attention to how long the shots are taking & adjusts the grind (usually by rotating the neck of the grinder just above the burrs) accordingly.
2. Dose & Tamp. This is the part of the process that is actually missing from a lot of coffee bars. Not that it doesn’t happen—it just happens automatically. Some fancy-pants grinders do the dosing and tamping for you, & in a high-volume bar, that can be pretty handy. But the problem is that many baristas don’t learn how to dose or tamp properly. Here’s how:
Fill the portafilter with coffee so that it mounds just a little over the top. Holding the portafilter over your knock box, use your finger or the side of your hand to level off the coffee at the top edge of the portafilter, distributing the coffee evenly. Set the portafilter on a flat surface, ideally on a rubber mat. Gently drop your tamper down onto the grounds, then lift it out briefly & tap the front side of the portafilter with the back end of the tamper (to settle the grounds & fill in any air pockets). Back on the flat surface, replace the tamper in the portafilter, & push down with about 30-40 pounds of pressure. Too hard, and you’ll pack too tightly, ending up with the same problems as with a too-fine grind. Too light, and the water will rush through, not extracting enough flavor from the coffee as the shot pulls. Brush off any straggling grounds from the top edge of the portafilter (so you get a clean seal with the group head), and don’t waste any time getting it into the group to pull your shot.
Intelligentsia has a great video detailing this process, and it pretty closely matches my description above—check it out here. (My only complaint: the guy says “the reason is because.” Redundant! Come on, people.)
3. Timing. With every step, timing is important. The whole business should only take a minute or two, so each step happens quickly. The most common error I’ve seen is a delay between putting the portafilter in the group head and actually pulling the shot. That group head is HOT, friends--believe you me, I’ve been burned a few times—and it will burn your coffee before you even brew it. You want that hot water to start moving through your grounds immediately. Your shot should pull in 20-30 seconds. If your shot glasses fill up before that, it’s an indication of some inconsistency in one of the previous steps.
Keep in mind that once your shot is pulled, its quality starts diminishing immediately, so it should be used (drank or mixed) ASAP. A straight shot tastes different even after sitting out for as little as ten seconds. So if you’re making a latte (or something else with steamed milk), steam your milk first, then pull your shot. The milk will hold its temperature a lot longer than the espresso will hold its deliciousness.
With timing in mind, I suppose it would have made more sense for me to explain how to steam milk first, before rambling on educating you about the fine points of shot-pulling. Ah, well.
4. Steaming Milk. Notice it’s not just about heating the milk. Yes, the milk gets hot—but it also increases in volume, because we’re incorporating air into it. You’ve all heard this happen: the distinctive gurgle and whirr when a barista unleashes the power of the steam wand into a pitcher of milk. The success of this step is dependent upon the attention paid to what’s happening inside that pitcher. (I’ve seen many a barista set the pitcher on the espresso machine and walk away while it steams. This offends my quality-obsessed barista sensibilities to no end.) If the tip of the wand is too far down into the milk, not enough air (or even none at all) will be forced into the milk, and you’ll end up with zero foam. (To be fair, some customers prefer a “flat” latte—that means without foam.) If the tip is too close to the surface of the milk, too much air will come in (that’s when the process gets noisier than necessary) & you’ll have a pitcher full of giant air bubbles. Yuck.
The goal is for a small, steady stream of air to be pulled into the milk, & a whirlpool effect ensues. For a latte, the milk should increase by about a third. For a cappuccino, you want the milk to double in volume, so that stream of air should be a little wider. (Ideally, you won’t get any bubbles at all, but if you do, they can be “killed” by the whirlpool.) Many baristas use a thermometer to achieve an exact temperature (150-160 is average for a standard drink), but I’ve steamed enough milk that my palm knows when the milk is hot enough. (The sound of the steaming also gets a bit higher-pitched when the milk reaches about 160.) Use a stainless steel pitcher with a distinct pour-spout.
Commercial espresso machines obviously have a lot more oomph in their steam wands than you’ll get with most at-home versions. It’s possible to steam lovely milk at home—it’s trickier, but the methods are the same.
Okay, I’ve gone on far too long. And I haven’t even gotten to the part about how to make a pretty rosetta. It’ll have to wait: you’re surely exhausted by now.
A friend suggested that I "sign" my blogs so you know who's talking. Good idea.
Cheers,
Jennifer
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