From its humble beginnings in the coffee fields through processing and roasting, your coffee arrives at your home a half-finished painting, ready for you to steam it up into a great cup of coffee. So how do you do that?

The first step in the process is to grind your coffee, this could be the most important factor in creating a great espresso shot! If your coffee is too fine or too coarse, it could adversely affect the shot, so its important to calibrate your coffee grinder so that it produces a ground similar in texture to granulated sugar. Stick your had in the sugar jar and experiment with your grinder until youve achieved similar textures.

Next, take a moment to preheat your portafilter and cup; this step is important because, otherwise, both will remove some of the heat of your carefully pulled espresso shot. You can do this by pulling a blank shot running a shot through the portafilter & into your cup without using espresso.

The third step is to place two scoops in your double-shot portafilter and tamp your coffee with approximately 30lbs of pressure; it should now be compact with a level surface. Since uneven surfaces can result in extraction issues (like uneven pours or just a plain bad extraction,) brush off any coffee grounds around the top of the rim and make sure the surface of the coffee looks polished.

Now, place the portafilter handle into the machine and put your preheated cup under it. Check your watch so that you can time this shot. This is critical information in learning how to pull a perfect shot. Initiate the shot and watch carefully.

If done correctly, the first part of the brew will be dark and will then turn into golden brown/foamy mixture that flows into the cup in a thin, curly stream that is just strong enough to hold together. When your shot has reached 2.0 to 2.5 oz, stop the shot and check your time again; the golden rule is 20 to 25 seconds for the 2.0 to 2.5 oz double shot, so if you are running long, you might want to change your tamp pressure or the fineness of your ground.

What you are looking to create is the fine golden crema atop a rich dark brew; take the time to perfect this and every iteration of espresso drinks you make in the future will taste infinitely better!

Directory of Espresso Drinks: