🫘 0 BEANS

ESPRESSO FUNDAMENTALS

Espresso is coffee under pressure: ~9 bar of water at ~93°C pushed through a fine, tamped puck for ~25–32 seconds. Everything else — cappuccino, flat white, americano — is built on a good shot.

What espresso actually is

Pressure, fine grind, short time

Pixel art of a single shot of espresso in a small demitasse cup with thick hazel crema

A concentrated extraction: ~18g of finely-ground coffee → ~36g of liquid in ~25–32 seconds, at ~9 bar of pressure and ~93°C. The result is syrupy, intense, topped with crema — emulsified oils + CO₂ from fresh beans.

CRAFT NOTE

Espresso is the only brew method where the barista controls every variable in real time. The cup is built, not steeped.