Saturday,
June 30,
The Art of Espresso Making---Follow the
Rules!!!!!
The
ANNOTICO Report
Do
you REALLY know the RIGHT way to make Espresso ??? Really ????
Reuters
By
Svetlana Kovalyova
Fri
Jun 29, 2007
In 1901 Luigi Bezzera, an engineer
from
The first espresso machines were huge and cylindrical, made
of copper, bronze and brass and looked like space ships.
They not only sped up the coffee making process -- a
necessity as coffee consumption was growing rapidly at the start of last
century. They also created a new type of beverage -- the creamy, strong
espresso.
Some people say the term espresso, one of the best-known
Italian words in the world, refers to the particular method of brewing coffee
under pressure. Others say it refers to the quickness of the process.
The secret of making the true espresso remains in following a
set procedure to create crema, a
creamy hazelnut-colored coffee foam.
STICK TO THE RULES
Following are the rules for making a perfect espresso as
explained by Luca Mastantuoni, who trains foreign
clients at Lavazza, a leading Italian coffee
roaster:
-- pressure in the machine should be
kept at nine atmospheres.
-- water should be brought to 90-95 degrees Celsius (194-203
degrees Fahrenheit), not to a boiling point.
-- freshly ground coffee should be
used within one day;
-- time of brewing a standard 30 ml (1.01 ounce) cup of
espresso should be 25 to 30 seconds.
-- if it takes more time the coffee will have a burnt flavor
and dark foam, and if it takes less time the coffee will be watery and will
have a light weak foam.
-- an espresso cup should be warmed
to 45C (113F) and should be made of special thick porcelain to prevent the
coffee from getting cold too quickly and losing its specific aroma.
-- the cup should be shaped like a
truncated cone to keep crema the best, and should be
thicker at the bottom to keep the coffee warm longer.
-- the coffee should be drunk within
two minutes after it was prepared or it starts losing its delicate bouquet.
That is why bar counters have the best espresso and not fine restaurants where
it will be served by a waiter.
-- crema
is the best indicator of espresso quality: it should be of an even hazelnut
color and be thick enough so that if sugar is added it should float on the
surface for a few seconds before sinking. The crema
then should close over the sugar after it drops to the bottom of a cup.
-- Another famous Italian coffee, cappuccino, is made by
adding milk emulsion to espresso in a proportion of one unit of coffee to four
units of milk which has been stirred by steam.
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