Crafting the perfect espresso, by Jeffrey Veen

Crafting the perfect espresso

Despite our many responsibilities at Google, the Measure Map team has managed to find a new obsession: the perfect espresso. Ryan in particular has gone right over the top in his quest; having given up on drinking from paper cups, a porcelain espresso serving set showed up on his desk last week.

Searching for guidance, we contacted our friend Cory for help. Cory is responsible for training baristas at a highly regarded local chain of cafés (and not the ones with green aprons, thank you very much). We have been implementing his suggestions, tweaking variables we can control, and perfecting our technique. Here's what he had to say.

You have no idea how much has been written and discussed about this very subject, but I have some numbers for you off the top of my head.
The proper amount of ground coffee to put in the porta-filter (the thing that holds the grounds) can vary depending on what size port-filter you have. There is often an indented line about a quarter inch from the lip of the basket (on the inside). The coffee should reach up to this line AFTER it has been tamped.

The correct amount of pressure (and I am not joking about this- I swear) is 30lbs. They have barista competitions where they press a tamper on a scale to see how accurately they can press. Personally I think that rule is kind of silly. A good firm tamp (no need to put your full weight into it) should be fine.

A properly tamped (and properly ground-you didn't even mention that) shot will take between 25 and 30 seconds to extract after the brew button is pressed. There should be a delay of approximately 4 seconds between the button being pressed and coffee coming out of the spout. During those 4 seconds the grounds are absorbing the water.

When the coffee does begin to flow it should be in a thin viscous stream about
the consistency of poured oil. The final yield should be about 1 to 1.25
oz. (a shot glass works well to check).

With Cory's help, we're getting better. Maybe we'll send Ryan to the competition in Berne this year.

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 6 April 2006 at 2:56 PM. It was filed under Personal. | View blog reactions

Comments

1. On 6 April 2006 at 4:05 PM Matthew Oliphant wrote:

It's also really hard to do consistently. Changes in humidity, the heat generated form the burrs in the grinder, and of course the coffee you start with....

I was telling someone at work about this today. He said, "It's just coffee and hot water, what's so hard?" :)

I enjoy designing web-apps by day and pulling shots by night.

Keep it up! The perfect espresso is a quest worth finishing. :)

2. On 6 April 2006 at 8:16 PM Bashir wrote:

There is one important feature before all these. It is the degree of grind. There is a specific degree of grind for espresso. If you grind it finer, it will be diffecult to water to flow. If you grind it coarser, there will be no crema extract from the coffee and the water will flow fast.

You should add this feature to the first three steps you posted. The last one you posted is just to check that you did the right things : perfect grind degree, perfect tamp, 25 seconds for brewing.

3. On 6 April 2006 at 8:29 PM vanderwal wrote:

30 pounds? It all depends on the grind, oil content in the beans, humidity, how water is flowing through the machine. There is a perfect taste and texture one tries to achieve. Once you hit that perfection is becomes an obsession. Those darned mechanical machines at the green apron place are horribly decent but don't approach greatness.

4. On 7 April 2006 at 6:21 AM Dan Wilkinson wrote:

Also important is tamping technique: finish tamping with a twist to polish the top of the grounds.

And, don't forget about the artistic side of it all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latte_art

5. On 7 April 2006 at 6:29 AM Gordon wrote:

Wait, you mean there is something better than Nescafe?! Aww man!

Seriously though, I've never tried this, don't have access to the machinery but I know full and fine well that I'd end up just as addicted to that as... say... the internet!

Mmmmm. Espresso.

6. On 7 April 2006 at 8:34 AM Rachel wrote:

There's an ISO standard for tea - is there one for coffee related drinks as well? Not that it matters, of course...and not that I'm an ISO nerd or anything.

Thanks for the photo tutorial. Seems that caffeine affectionados are a breed unto themselves... between coffeegeek.com, coffeeratings.com and espressoguy.com what more could an addict need, other than the actual drink? ;)

7. On 7 April 2006 at 12:09 PM Javahead wrote:

What make & model espresso machine are you using?

8. On 8 April 2006 at 6:30 AM Jan Veen wrote:

I think and hope that you are famely from me.
My uncle Freerk Veen and his wife(my aunt Janna and the sun Eltje Veen,they going with a boat to California,Los Angelas after 1947 and before 1957
I am the sun of Eltje Veen,the brother from Freerk Veen.P.S. My is not so good because I speak Nederlands(Dutch)
My adress etc. is Jan Veen Borgweg 53 p.c.9608 TG
Westerbroek Groningen Nederland.tel.0031598392005.

9. On 9 April 2006 at 6:02 PM Ben Buchanan wrote:

Really makes you appreciate the skill of a great barista, eh? :)

10. On 11 April 2006 at 4:00 AM leandro agro wrote:

Guys,
I think that is VERY important to choose the right kind of coffea, also. :)

For example, I love "arabica". - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica

11. On 11 April 2006 at 8:16 AM Benjamin wrote:

This is the secrets everyone should know :)

12. On 17 April 2006 at 8:43 AM Kat wrote:

Forget espresso (although I've heard that 40 lbs pressure is the proper tampiing pressure, and that the final "polish" is extremely important) -- is Jan Veen your family?! I'm sitting here drinking my espresso and waiting to find out. I love heart warming stories.

13. On 17 April 2006 at 2:58 PM Benjamin wrote:

For consistency:

Keep the grip (porta-filter) attached to the machine so it doesn't cool down between coffees. This can really affect the amount of crema produced.

'Flush' the machine between uses, so coffee doesn't back up in the pipes and start bittering the taste. This can be done with a blind filter or without - running water through the grip, then loosening and tightening the grip will kick a bit of fresh water back through the system.

14. On 23 April 2006 at 6:36 PM Louise wrote:

I am a coffee addict. Can't do caffiene but I'm okay. According to my family and friends my coffee is too strong. Thats the way I like it Strong. Often I'll recycle the pot to achieve the strength I want. Loving big cups and so not tech savvy, I don't see me ever going espresso.

15. On 27 April 2006 at 5:31 AM Chris wrote:

Javahead asked a good question:
"What make & model espresso machine are you using?"

A cycling enthusiast like yourself should really only consider a Saeco (Cipollini, Simoni, Cunego)

or, even better, a Faema (Bahamontes, Van Looy, Merckx... *sigh* ).

I would love a Faema, for the association with cycling alone. It would probably make a mean cup of espresso to boot.

16. On 4 May 2006 at 7:01 PM EpikDave wrote:

Having tried to also create the perfect expresso while at Google I look forward to a more experienced crew to teach me the techniques! I typically consume about 4 a day while at the campus so get ready!