A "separate" version of the automatic espresso machine. This allows for greater control, particularly over the amount of ground coffee and its tamping.

When mastered properly and accompanied by a quality grinder, this is one of the best ways to obtain an espresso, with concentrated aromas and a creamy texture.

Material

A manual machine(Sage, De'Longhi, Krups, La Marzocco, Slayer, etc.)

Water:ideally filtered

An espresso grinder:Pre-ground coffee also works, but will be much less aromatic.

A precision scale

Recipe

Quantity of coffee:At least 8g for an espresso, at least 15g for a double espresso. It's helpful to know the size of your basket before you start testing.

Celsius Coffees.All of them, in espresso roasting

Grind:fine

Water temperatureideally above 85°C

Preparation

Step 1Weigh your ground coffee - at least 8g for an espresso, at least 15g for a double espresso.

Step 2Grind your grains finely so that they fall into thefilter holder(and its filter).

Step 3For the most meticulous, the use of aWDT toolis recommended, to distribute the ground coffee in the filter holder and break up any lumps.

Step 4: Pack down your ground coffee using atamperthat it takes the form of a compact disc.

Step 5: Attach the filter holder tobandof your espresso machine.

Step 6: Launch theextractionYou will normally have a pre-infusion of several seconds, then the extraction will begin.

Step 7Stop the extraction when enough water has flowed through. For precise measurement, you can place a scale under your cup. At Celsius, we commonly use a ratio of 1g of coffee to 2g of water, but this is a parameter to adjust according to your taste and the different coffees.

~ Be sure to clean and descale your machine according to your manufacturer's recommendations. The same coffee served from a dirty machine will taste radically different.

~ Experiment with grind settings to find the right one for your coffee.

~ If you like a long coffee in the morning, do not run the hot water through your coffee for more than 30 seconds, instead topping it up with hot water (the hot water nozzle will be perfectly suitable). This will help avoid the bitter aromas typical of a coffee "tired" by too much extraction.

~ If you're unsure how to measure your water, try the ratio 2g of water to 1g of coffee. This is the one we commonly use at Celsius.

~ A good indicator of the quality of your extraction is the flow rate. To put it simply, we consider that the coffee stream should be the stage just above the drip. We can also take a range of extraction times: between 20 and 35 seconds including the pre-infusion.

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