Espresso 101

What is Espresso?

Espresso is a concentrated brew of coffee. Both flavor and caffeine are intensified in a 1.5oz to 3oz. "shot" of coffee. A shot of espresso contains about as much caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. This concentrated brew can be enjoyed on it's own or mixed with milk in either a cappucino or latte.

Typically, espresso beans are a dark roast coffee, but really any coffee can go through the espresso brewing process. Espresso brewing starts with a very finely ground coffee that is packed into a "group handle". Espresso machines force very hot water at high pressure through the packed coffee grinds and extract the flavors and oils.

There is a lot that goes into pulling a good shot of espresso. The grind must be adjusted regularly through out the day because air temperature and moisture can effect the quality of the shot pulled from the espresso. Packing the shot too tightly can cause bitter espresso, and too light can cause a watery shot.

When grind and packing are performed correctly it should take about 27 seconds for the espresso machine to force the water through the espresso. At the Leaf and Bean we time all of our shots to be sure that only correct length shots are served. If the water flows too quickly it is watery, and if it is too slow it will be bitter.

Another way to tell the quality of an espresso shot is the texture and color of crema. Crema is the caramel brown cream at the top of the shot where all the flavor is held. A good shot will have thick, rich crema.

We make use of bottomless group handles which allow more crema to flow directly into your cup rather than through spouts.