The Red Monkey Coffee.Com guide to the wonder that is espresso, yes the sensation that is compared to making love! Read on and letter espresso be the love of your life.

>Introduction to Espresso.
The name espresso mainly relates to a brewing method that uses pressure to force hot water through fine ground coffee. The espresso machine was first invented in 1902 in Italy by Luigi Bezzera. Now the spring powered pistons have been replaced by electric pumps so all you have to do now is push a button and it will produce the 9+ bar of pressure needed to force the water through the grounds.

Espresso also relates to the roast colour of the coffee beans, espresso beans are commonaly dark roasted producing a dark bean and when fresh are oily. Espresso beans are made up of specific arabica bean blends best suited for making espresso. Bean colour varies in each blend. Our Espresso Milano blend is a mid dark roast.
Click for Espresso Coffee £4.39 250g

 Description of an Espresso
An espresso drink properly know as 'caffe espresso' is a pure concentrated flavour brewed from the beans. It uses a lot less water than a normal coffee around 50ml compared to 175ml for a normal filer coffee. An espresso is a contrast to other brewing methods and is always made fresh and savoured straight away while its flavour is at its peak, in Italy it is usually drunk standing at a bar.


>Equipment ?
True Espresso can only really be made using a proper espresso machine which uses a pump or piston, these machines must produce over 9 Bar pressure. They work not by steam but by heating water just below boiling point which is the optimum for extracting those flavours out of the beans. The best thing to do is invest in a Pump or Piston type machine which can produce professional results.




We sell the full range of Gaggia Espresso Makers like the 'Coffee Deluxe' model shown on the left, we belive these to be machine and prices start from £85 .
click to view our machines

A really true espresso can not be made by a stove top brewer or an inexpensive "cappuccino" machine, there are lots of machines which call themselves cappuccino machines but these only use the steam pressure, these machines do not create enough pressure (only 3.5 Bar) to brew true espresso. These cheap steam machines have varied milk steaming results. If you want caffe latte on occasion or a caffe espresso or maybe your starting out using fresh coffee then one of these machines would be a good start. We do not sell any of these steam powered machines. Click to view our machines

Grinder: A grinder is also a necessity if you want to enjoy the true supreme freshness of espresso, buying coffee ground only makes the coffee go off faster and losses its freshness, you should buy your coffee in bean form and grind what you need just before you use it. There are two types of grinders, a blade grinder and a burr/mill grinder, a blade grinder basically spins round and chops the bean up which does not produce a even grind, there is then a burr or mill grinder which crushes the coffee beans using two cerated mills which produce an even grade grind and is capable of producing finer grinds and gives more control. Remember beans will stay fresh for around 7-9 times longer than ground coffee.

We sell a range of quality grinders.
click to view the grinders


>Why master making espresso?
Once you have mastered the art of making a good espresso the drinks which use espresso as their base will come easy to you and taste great. If you are NOT making a good espresso, you are NOT making a good Cappuccino, once you unlock the art of espresso you unlock the many coffee drinks which require espresso.

>What factors make up the quality and flavour or an espresso?

There are 4 factors which determine the flavour of your espresso:

1.Grind, how fine the beans are ground.
2.Amount of espresso used
3.Tamp or packing of the espresso in filter.
4.Rate of pour, speed coffee comes out.

Factor 1 > Grind
The correct grind is needed to make sure there is a steady flow of espresso into your cup, this is only achievable with the correct amount of coffee that is properly tamped.

If your grind is too course the coffee will gush through, making it thin and under extracted. If your grind is to fine the coffee will drip out slowly and produce a bitter espresso. Small variations in the grind can make a big difference to performance so experiment with grind textures to get the best result from your machine.

Proper espresso machines which work under high pressure a fine powdery grind is needed, this is easily produced by a burr/disc grinder. We sell a good Russell Hobbs burr grinder for £24.49, click to view. For lower pressure machines a grind similar to cone filter machines grind will work well, this can be produced by cheap blade grinders but we recommend using a burr grinder.

Ground coffee becomes stale quickly due to the exposure to air, that is why we strongly recommend buying your coffee in beans. Grinding coffee beans at home will help produce a better espresso, if you have to buy ground coffee use it as soon as possible and only buy what you need.

Factor 2 > Amount of coffee
Using the correct amount of coffee is important for getting a good espresso. The correct dose for professional pump/piston machines is 7g of coffee or about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Smaller filter holders may hold less so decrease the amount of water used to compensate.

The total amount of liquid in a espresso should be 50ml or 1 1/2 fl oz.

Factor 3 > Tamping (packing coffee in filter).
The term Tamping relates to the pressure with which espresso grounds are packed into your filter used in the espresso machine. The purpose of firmly packing your ground coffee is so water flows more slowly through the coffee producing the full extraction of flavour.

If when making the espresso the water is pouring through too quickly and you have firmly tamped the coffee it may be you need to use a finer grind to slow the water as it travels through the grounds. Similarly if you are getting a slow flow of water and you have tried less pressure on your tamping then you may need to make your grind a little courses.

Factor 4 > Rate of pour
The rate of pour or speed at which the espresso flows out of the machine and into your cup is a good indicator to if you have made a good or bad espresso. The proper rate of pour is similar to a dribbling tap, it should not gush out and should not be dripping one drip at a time but somewhere in-between.

A single shot of espresso should produce around 30 - 45 ml of coffee or 1- 1/2 fl oz in around 20 seconds. A double shot should produce double the amount in the same time but using twice the amount of espresso coffee grounds.
>Buying espresso coffee beans.
There is no real pure origin espresso coffee, espresso is a coffee blend of quite strong coffees or beans suited for espresso. Alot of people think that all espresso beans should be dark roasted and look black, well this is not right, espresso beans can be medium roasted producing light coloured beans. It all depends on the beans and the what type of roast developes the flavours best and suits the type of bean.

Both our Espresso Gusto and Mediteranean Mocha Espresso beans are a medium roast with light coloured beans. Our Metropolis Espresso Blend is a full dark roast and is a particularly strong coffee bean with a intense flavour.