Just like many other things in life starting with a solid foundation is vital...
and coffee is no different. So lets start with the basics of pulling a shot of espresso like a pro. In this tutorial I'll go over the items step-by-step. As I'm doing this from home I've excluded a few of the Specialty Coffee Association's standard steps in the video, but listed them below in the breakdown. Also, this tutorial does assume you've got a basic understanding of dial-in.
- Remove the portafilter from the group
- Flush the group to remove any loose grounds and pre-heat the area
- Wipe your portafilter clean and dry
- Place your portafilter on your scale and tare out it's weight
- Grind into your portafiter and place onto your scale to assure the correct gram weight
- Flatten and distribute your grounds by tapping, shaking, or using a tool like the OCD (I do it all)
- Tamp your coffee bed flat using roughly 30lbs of pressure
- Place your gram scale with cup onto the drain tray and tare it out
- Flush your group again, lock your portafilter in place and begin the pump
- Slide your cup and scale beneath the portafilter and start the timer
- Let your shot run to the parameters you're shooting for, then disengage the pump.
At this point the SCA would want you to place the demitasse on a saucer with a spoon, and present it to a customer. You would then knock out the puck, rinse the group, wipe the portafilter clean and place it back into the machine.
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