Espresso

Home espresso machines are much like cars. There are economy models, and there are models for those doing extremely well in any economy. But regardless of your at-home setup, perfecting an espresso pull takes time, patience, and many, many sleepless nights (because of all those shots). This approach, perfected after years of testing in the Intelligentsia coffee lab, rewards the patient with clean and balanced results.

Home espresso machines are much like cars. There are economy models, and there are models for those doing extremely well in any economy. But regardless of your at-home setup, perfecting an espresso pull takes time, patience, and many, many sleepless nights (because of all those shots). This approach, perfected after years of testing in the Intelligentsia coffee lab, rewards the patient with clean and balanced results.

Step 1

Use a clean, dry cloth to thoroughly wipe the portafilter so it is free of any coffee grounds and residual oils.

Step 2

Weigh the coffee. Adjust your grinder to grind the coffee similar to the above reference.

Step 3

How much coffee you use is dependent on your portafilter basket size. Most of the time, it is between 14 and 18 grams. Make sure you know what you have, and use a scale to weigh your dose for accuracy.

Step 4

Make an even bed of coffee. Don’t leave any gaps or mounds.

Step 5

Grasp the tamper and press firmly down on the coffee in the portafilter. Use enough pressure to compact the coffee grounds into a puck.

Step 6

Gently insert the portafilter and ensure it is seated tightly in the grouphead. Pull the espresso to the target weight—around 2.5 times the weight of the ground coffee. Start your timer at the same time that you start the espresso.

Step 7

Once you’ve pulled your espresso, remove the portafilter from the grouphead, and knock out the spent puck from the portafilter basket into the trash or a knockbox.