How to Make Espresso

What you need

• Espresso machine
• 18 g portafilter basket
• Burr grinder
• Distribution tool
• Tamper
• Scale
• Shot glass or small vessel

Method

1. Flush hot water from the group head, then dry the basket thoroughly

   Flushing clears residual water sitting against the shower screen and stabilizes the group head temperature before extraction

2. Grind 17 g of coffee at a noticeably coarser setting than you would normally use for espresso

   The coarser grind is what reduces astringency; the distribution step below restores the flow resistance that the larger particles would otherwise lose

3. Dose the ground coffee into the basket and perform basic leveling

   Expert tipAvoid aggressive side tapping after dosing — it can disturb the bed and create uneven density patches before you distribute

4. Insert the distribution tool into the basket and begin rotating it immediately as you press it down — do not press it in first and then try to rotate

   Pressing and rotating at the same time builds density progressively; if you push the tool in before rotating, the density is already set and turning it will only loosen the puck

   Expert tipPress the tool deeper than feels natural — the goal is to eliminate all air pockets so the bed feels like a solid wall. Once you feel no further resistance after roughly one rotation, stop: additional turns are meaningless and can undo the compaction

5. Tamp with firm, even pressure to finalize the puck surface

   After deep distribution the puck is already highly compacted, so the tamper should barely travel — you are confirming the surface is set, not compressing loose coffee

6. Lock the portafilter into the group head and start extraction, watching the color of the flow from the moment it begins

7. 23–25 seconds

   Stop extraction when the flow color fades noticeably and before the light blond phase accounts for more than roughly 20 percent of the total output

   Cutting too early produces a clean but thin shot; letting the blond phase run too long pulls bitter, astringent compounds. The host's yield reference is approximately 36 g from 17 g of coffee, but color is the primary signal — use weight as a cross-check rather than a hard target

   Expert tipIf the shot runs noticeably faster than expected even with a coarser grind, the puck was not compacted deeply enough — the distribution step needs more depth on the next attempt

Why this works

Pressing the distribution tool unusually deep removes air pockets and packs the grounds into a near-solid bed. That high-density puck raises flow resistance significantly, so water percolates slowly and evenly rather than channeling through loose spots. The elevated resistance means a coarser grind — which would otherwise flow too fast and under-extract — can still achieve a proper extraction time in the 22-to-25-second range. Coarser particles expose fewer of the harsh, drying compounds that accumulate toward the fine end of the grind spectrum, which is why the finished shot is smoother and lower in astringency than a conventionally prepared one pulled at the same speed.

Where beginners go wrong

1. 1

   Shot runs too fast

   Puck density is insufficient. Press the distribution tool deeper than you currently are — it should descend further than feels intuitive — and rotate while inserting rather than pressing in first and rotating after; the difference in outcome is significant

2. 2

   Tamp feels like it has nowhere to go

   This is the correct result after a proper deep distribution; it means the puck is fully compacted. If the tamper travels freely, the distributor was not pressed deep enough

3. 3

   Shot tastes astringent or harsh

   Either the grind is still too fine or the extraction ran too deep into the blond phase. Try a coarser grind setting and cut the shot earlier — stop as soon as the flow lightens noticeably and before the pale portion exceeds roughly 20 percent of the total

4. 4

   Shot tastes hollow — sharp upfront then bitter at the finish with nothing in between

   This indicates under-extraction: the shot ran too fast and the middle sweetness never developed. Increase puck density with deeper distribution, or — if color allows — extend the shot slightly before cutting

What you should taste

Smooth and full-bodied with minimal astringency; the shot coats the palate without leaving a harsh or drying finish and can be consumed straight without sugar; bitterness is present but resembles dark chocolate rather than a sharp medicinal edge; the texture has a rounded, enveloping quality with no hollow gap between the first hit and the finish

FAQ