How To Make Espresso At Home || Complete Guide

With this quarantine for the Covid-19, do you miss terribly, and more and more, your espresso every morning? Have you already tried the courier services and in addition to being very expensive, does it arrive ice cream? There is good and bad news for you, an espresso, as such, is impossible to replicate at home; the way it is done traditionally requires a machine that exerts enormous pressure —more or less than 8 thousand kilos per square meter—, with which the water passes through the ground coffee.

As you will understand, it is difficult for a homemade machine to replicate this effect, and even though they do exist, the truth is that in addition to not being practical at all, they are quite expensive.

If you are not willing to invest so much to have your homemade espresso, the good news is that you can achieve a rich coffee, as similar as possible to the original, if you follow any of the three methods that we will share with you below.

If you are a regular coffee bean drinker, you will most likely already have one of these coffee machines, but if you don’t have any of the three, the investment is much less than with the specific machine to make this type of coffee.

Method 1: With French Press

It is one of the most common coffee makers for real coffee lovers, so you probably already have one; but if this is not the case and you don’t know what it is, the French press is basically a thin glass or acrylic cylinder with a serving spout, surrounded by a metal frame with a handle made of a material that does not heat (Bakelite, usually ) and a lid with a piston that goes down to just past the middle of the glass cylinder. Their price is super accessible and they are easy to find.

The only thing you need to prepare your homemade espresso with this method is, literally, hot water and ground coffee. First of all, you need to grind the coffee beans. We know that to make a traditional espresso you need a very fine grind, but this is not the case, because if you grind them very finely, it would go through the piston mesh and make a muddy coffee, it is best to grind them to become more or less coarse, and they can release their essence into the water just long enough to create a vigorous coffee. You need 4 tablespoons of ground coffee beans to make two cups.

In the second step, heat the water. Once it’s hot but not simmering yet, pour a splash into your coffee pot and turn it over to heat it up and prevent it from roaring from the sudden change in temperature. Keep heating the water just until it starts to boil or a little earlier. If you don’t heat it enough, your espresso will be weak and watery.

Now, add the ground coffee to your coffee maker. Once the water has boiled, let it cool for 20 to 25 seconds and then pour it into the coffee pot until the ground beans are just covered with it. Since they release a rich aroma, pour the rest of the hot water, stir very gently with a spoon and let them rest so that they release all their essence for about 5 minutes. After this time has elapsed, lower the piston slowly and carefully.

The time you let the coffee release its oils and essence is very important to obtain a perfect cup, so once you have tried it, determine if you need to leave it a little less or a little longer next time, and remember how many minutes is ideal. . It is important that you do not leave it in the coffee pot too long because it will become bitter. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Method 2: With Italian Aluminum Coffee Maker (Moka Pot)

Invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, this Italian octagonal aluminum coffee maker, known as the Moka Express or Moka Pot, provides another way to make delicious homemade espresso. If you’ve heard of stovetop espresso, this is exactly what we’re talking about. According to an article published in the New York Times, in 2016, 96% of Italian kitchens already had a Moka Pot, which is not surprising, given its ability to make coffee as close to espresso as possible, without the need. of an expensive and sophisticated machine.

This coffee maker basically consists of an octagonal aluminum container with three chambers and a handle. The base will contain the water, the second chamber, shaped like a funnel, is the one that houses the ground coffee beans and the upper chamber will contain the coffee once it is made. It’s inexpensive and allows you to make delicious coffee on the stove!

You need 20-22 grams of roasted coffee beans for a perfect cup of homemade espresso. Contrary to the fact with the French press, for this you will need to grind them very finely; This is so that the steam that is generated in the lower chamber when placing the coffee maker over the fire (or heat) on the stove, perfectly soaks the ground coffee in the middle chamber and allows it to release its essence and flavor. It is important not to fill the lower chamber with water more than half its capacity, as doing so could explode with the pressure generated by the steam.

Then, place the ground coffee in the middle chamber in a small pile, shake it lightly to make it even rub it with your index finger and if there is a little left, make it fall into the lower chamber. Do not squeeze it to allow the steam to pass up well. Screw the upper chamber but do not tighten it too much and place it on the stove over medium heat (or heat), if it is very high, the coffee will begin to come out of the spout of the coffee maker. Leave it uncovered so you can see how your coffee is being made. When the water boils, it will begin to flow into the upper chamber through the valve of the middle chamber in a stream, when it turns a yellowish color, turn off the heat and put the lid on the coffee pot. Serve and enjoy!

Method 3: With An Aeropress

Invented by Stanford professor Alan Adler, the Aeropress is a very simple invention: it consists of an acrylic cylinder, a plunger or piston, and a filter at the bottom. The mechanism is the same as that of a French press, but it is a more updated and improved version, lightweight and portable. It is so effective that many modern coffee shops and coffee roasters use it to make their artisan coffees.

Like the aforementioned coffee makers, this gadget is inexpensive and allows you to make delicious homemade espresso.

The first step is to grind the coffee beans, you will need two tablespoons, approximately 20 grams, of roasted beans. You must grind them, as with the Moka Pot, until they are with the consistency of table salt. If you are going to grind them with an electric grinder, you should monitor the grind carefully.

Place a paper filter in the bottom of the Aeropress, pour in a little hot water to get rid of the flavor of the paper, empty the ground beans into the cylinder and tap it to even out. Before putting the water, press the grains with the plunger, if when they are returned to their place they look like a disk, you did the first step well. Heat the water in a kettle until it comes to a boil or just before.

Once it is at the ideal temperature, if you put 20 grams of ground coffee (2 tablespoons) into the Aeropress, pour water up to the mark that says ‘2’. Contrary to what happens with the French press, you don’t have to wait for it to settle or soak, it can be done immediately. Press slowly, raise the plunger and press slowly again Enjoy!