As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The basket is the cheapest part of an espresso machine and one of the most overlooked. It's a steel cup with holes in the bottom. On a lot of stock baskets those holes vary in size and spacing, and water takes the easiest exit. You can do everything right at the grinder and the tamp and still get uneven extraction … [Read more...] about Precision Espresso Baskets: IMS, VST and Pullman Fix Uneven Holes, Not Bad Grinders
Espresso
Espresso Grinder Buying Guide: Why the Grinder Matters More Than the Machine
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Ask experienced home baristas where to spend money and many will give the same answer: on the grinder. A good grinder with a modest machine usually makes better espresso than a great machine with a poor grinder. It sounds backwards, but it comes down to what espresso needs. Why Espresso Is So Fussy About Grind An … [Read more...] about Espresso Grinder Buying Guide: Why the Grinder Matters More Than the Machine
Espresso Tamper Sizes: Why a 58.35mm Tamper Beats a 58mm One in a Standard Basket
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A tamper looks like the simplest tool on the counter. It's a weight with a flat bottom. Buy the wrong size, though, and every shot pays for it. A gap between the tamper and the basket wall leaves a ring of loose coffee, and water under pressure takes the easy way through it. The shot runs fast and tastes thin and sour, … [Read more...] about Espresso Tamper Sizes: Why a 58.35mm Tamper Beats a 58mm One in a Standard Basket
WDT Tools, Puck Screens and Distributors: Which Espresso Puck Prep Tools Actually Help
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Between the grinder and the group head there's a small industry of tools. Needles, screens, spinners, funnels. Some fix a real problem. Some fix how the coffee looks in a photo. Here's how to tell them apart. The problem they're all aimed at is channelling. Ground coffee comes out of most grinders in clumps, and it … [Read more...] about WDT Tools, Puck Screens and Distributors: Which Espresso Puck Prep Tools Actually Help
What Is a Cortado: Espresso and Warm Milk in Roughly Equal Parts
A cortado is a shot of espresso cut with about the same amount of warm milk. That's the drink. It comes in a small glass or cup, usually around 4 ounces (120 ml or so), and it tastes of coffee first and milk second. The name is Spanish. Cortar means to cut, and cortado means cut: the milk cuts the espresso, softening its acidity and bitterness without burying it. In Spain it's … [Read more...] about What Is a Cortado: Espresso and Warm Milk in Roughly Equal Parts