If you’ve ever had a good coffee at the bar and you’d like to get a perfect espresso at home but don’t know where to start, then you’re in the right place! I still remember the first coffee that sparked something in me… it was a Blue Mountain served to me at the end of a dinner at a beautiful agriturismo in Todi. It was a truly unexpected experience because we were there for a simple dinner at the end of a busy day, but I still clearly remember that that espresso made me think that up until then I had never had a good coffee with a capital C. I couldn’t really explain what was different, but it was without doubt something very pleasant. From then on, a flood of “routine” coffees… the ones we all generally drink every morning just out of habit, without much awareness, interspersed with very few other notable coffees. Little by little, though, the desire grew in me to make espresso every day a pleasant experience, no longer sporadic and random but with method and knowledge. I discovered a whole world, obviously, and I understood something that may disappoint you a bit: the perfect coffee doesn’t exist!
I’m talking about coffee in general and not just espresso for the simple fact that there are so many ways to prepare this beverage. Here in Italy when we talk about coffee we essentially mean espresso or moka, but we’ll discover together that there are other extraction methods (V60, AeroPress, pour over, French press, cold brew…) that are still little known here. If you want to follow us we’ll see them together. Last but not least, coffee is a personal taste, and we can’t standardize something so subjective.
Now I have to give you another small disappointment (the last one, I promise) by telling you that, obviously, it’s not possible to get a perfect espresso just by reading this article. There are in fact many factors to consider, each of which requires study and experience. Even in this case, though, if you follow us we’ll give you all the indications to get the best possible espresso in relation to your tools.
However, for those who love Italian-style espresso, the one with that beautiful, compact hazelnut-colored crema, there are some parameters to consider that are essential. Let’s now briefly touch on each of them:
Making a perfect espresso at home isn’t impossible: it takes method, the right equipment and a few genuine tricks. This guide on perfect espresso at home brings together 7 surprising secrets to get a bar-quality result, even as a beginner. The key to a perfect espresso at home is respecting precise parameters on grind, dose and temperature.
1. How to choose the right blend for a perfect espresso at home
The main coffee varieties, as you know, are Arabica and Robusta. While in the past Robusta was used much more, today there’s a tendency to prefer Arabica (70% of world production). This can be used on its own (100%) or mixed in varying percentages with Robusta. In our blog you’ll find in-depth analysis of the characteristics of both, but in general terms we can say that:
- Arabica expresses greater aromatic complexity, tends more toward acidity rather than bitterness, has a body (the sensation of density in the mouth) that is lighter, is “sweeter” than Robusta and contains less caffeine (1-1.5%)
- Robusta is, just as its name suggests, more “robust” in the sense that it has greater impact on the palate, tends more toward bitterness rather than acidity, has a stronger and denser body that produces more crema and contains about double in terms of caffeine compared to Arabica (about 2-2.5%)
2. Ideal roasting: which one to choose to get the best espresso
Here too we can say that the absolute perfect roast doesn’t exist. The right one is the one that works for us to get the type of coffee we want. On this topic there are several schools of thought in Guelph-vs-Ghibelline style… not exactly aligned, in short. Just to get an idea, you can refer to the photo here on the side. Generally speaking, for espresso we should consider Medium, Medium/Dark and Dark roasts, each of which gives certain characteristics. Dark tends to give a denser body, more “chocolatey” aromas, but also a stronger and sometimes harsh feeling on the palate. Medium, on the other hand, is able to produce more complex and defined flavors, has less impact on the palate and turns out to be more digestible. The so-called light roasts, instead, are more suited to other types of preparations that don’t concern espresso. Clearly this topic will be explored in more depth as it deserves in upcoming articles.
3. Grinding for the perfect espresso: how much it counts and how to manage it
It took me a while to understand how important grinding was, but after hundreds of trials and several grinders bought and sold, in the end I also became convinced, as all the main experts and professionals in coffee say, that the grind is more important than the machine we use to make espresso. The ideal condition, which not everyone unfortunately can reach in a home setting, would be to have an excellent grinder and grind on the spot only the right amount of beans needed for a cup. Clearly this is not always possible. In this case, then, you should choose a good roastery and become the best friend (not to say the worst nightmare) of your roaster, who will be able to advise you on the best grind to use based on your home equipment, as well as how to best preserve the freshly ground coffee. For espresso you’ll need a fine grind that allows you to have a 1:2 extraction ratio. I’ll talk more about it shortly when we tackle the topic of extraction time (see below).
4. Coffee dose: how much to use for excellent results
By dose we mean the quantity of coffee we put in the filter expressed in grams. Here, at the beginning, I had a bit of difficulty understanding what the right amount to use was, because if we go into any Italian bar and ask the barista how many grams of coffee they use, they’ll answer “between 7 and 9 grams.” I used to watch various YouTube tutorials instead, where the quantities were practically double. Then, asking various professionals and experts directly, I understood that our habit is to make single shots of 7/9 grams, also for obvious economic reasons (think of a bar that makes a few hundred coffees a day). Specialty coffees and in general the higher-quality ones, instead, use a filter with a greater capacity. We’ll dig deeper into this aspect as well, but in extreme summary we can say that this choice depends on the fact that double doses are often preferred to single ones because they offer a richer aroma, more caffeine and are more effective for serving milk-based drinks like latte macchiato and cappuccino. While a single dose offers a concentrated and robust aroma, a double dose offers a more intense coffee experience, especially when combined with milk. This topic will also be the subject of further exploration.
5. How to properly tamp the coffee for a creamy espresso
The grounds must be tamped in the portafilter with variable pressure from 9 to 15 kg depending on the type of grind. Here things start to get complex because, as you see, tamping goes hand in hand with grinding. They are two aspects linked to each other for an obvious reason that I’ll try to explain in two lines. If we have a very fine powder (so grains like sand) and we tamp it very energetically, the water will encounter greater resistance in passing through and we’ll need a higher extraction pressure that could negatively affect the taste in the cup. On the contrary, a coarse powder lightly tamped will make the passage of water too easy, and this will result in a flat beverage, without adequate body or aromaticity. How to figure out the right tamping requires here too several trials and errors but in the end, I assure you, together we’ll manage to find the right compromise. I can certainly tell you that a calibrated tamper can help you a lot.
6. What’s the right water for espresso? Temperature and quality
The temperature of the water that comes out of the boiler and enters the filter is a value that greatly affects the taste of the coffee because, in relation to it, we’ll be able to extract more or fewer substances from our tamped blend. This value also goes hand in hand with the roast we use. In general, the temperatures used for espresso are in a range from 85° to 98°. The general rule is to use higher temperatures for lighter roasts and lower temperatures with darker roasts. If we think about it, there’s actually a logic given by the fact that dark (black) coffee has already undergone stronger cooking, and therefore very high temperatures would risk burning it further, with obvious negative effects in the cup (bitter and burnt notes). It’s also very important to have a machine that guarantees thermal stability throughout the entire extraction process.
7. Extraction pressure: the heart of true Italian espresso
The standard recommended pressure for espresso dispensing is 9 bar. This pressure is considered the balance point between the force with which the water enters the filter and the resistance of the coffee puck, leading to an optimal extraction and a balanced aromatic profile. The ideal, then, would be to have a machine that lets you see the extraction pressure in real time and to be able to adjust it to an optimal value.
8. Espresso extraction time: the 1:2 ratio rule
extraction
This was a parameter that, as a novice, I didn’t give much importance to. Obviously I was wrong, because on the contrary it’s the main piece of data that lets us understand whether all the previous steps have been done correctly. For a standard espresso, the extraction ratio is 1:2, meaning 1 gram of grounds must generate 2 of liquid. Clearly there are other extraction ratios that will lead you to other types of results, but we’ll talk more about it in upcoming articles. Now I’d like to give you a practical example: for a single shot (a single coffee) we put 8 grams of coffee in the filter and in about 30 seconds we should get 16 grams of liquid. For a double espresso, then, we should get 32 grams of coffee from 16 grams of grounds. How do we measure it? The answer is very simple: a precision scale. You’ll just need to first weigh the coffee you put in the filter, tamp and insert the filter into the machine. Then you put the cup on the scale, start the machine and at the same time a timer (I look at the seconds on my watch) to measure how much coffee comes out in 25/30 seconds. It should be double the grounds you tamped. If you’re too far off these values, something is wrong. It could be the grind, the tamping, the water pressure, the incorrect temperature or a mix of all the above. The extraction time is a litmus test that indicates whether our procedure is correct.
9. Conclusions: how to improve your espresso every day at home
You made it this far and you still want to make yourself a nice coffee? Great sign, it means you haven’t given up. And actually there’s no reason to give up. At the beginning, when I too watched the tutorials on YouTube, I thought it was all very complicated, but then little by little I started to experiment and equipped myself, time and money permitting, with what I needed. Today I manage to get good results even without super-expensive equipment. I have to say I’ve had fun experimenting with every new thing and I’ll definitely continue to do so. Just as with cooking recipes, with coffee too, experience counts a lot. The important thing is to have fun, and if you want, we’ll do it together step by step.
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Perfect Espresso at Home: Mistakes to Avoid
For a perfect espresso at home, avoid these common mistakes: using old coffee (more than 30 days from roasting), grinding in advance (loss of aromas within 15 minutes), overfilling the portafilter, tamping asymmetrically. To get a perfect espresso at home, invest in a grinder with conical or flat burrs (no blades), a machine with a separate boiler or quality thermoblock, and a precision scale. Water is also fundamental: for a perfect espresso at home, use low-hardness water (50-150 ppm TDS) and little scale. For the technical extraction standards, consult the SCA Brewing Standards. Also dive deeper into our coffee/water ratio for ideal proportions.
