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My first machine to make espresso was a espresso/drip coffee combo. Not knowing any better, I was merely pulling strong coffee and not espresso shots. Then I go

My first machine to make espresso was a espresso/drip coffee combo. Not knowing any better, I was merely pulling strong coffee and not espresso shots. Then I got a stand alone espresso machine, much closer to the real deal but still a far cry from what a coffee roaster like Temple Coffee could make in their store. Finally, invested in a Breville BES870XL and after many trials and errors, my espresso shots are fairly indistinguishable from what the pros at the coffee roasting shops make. Getting the beans from a roasting store like Temple or Verve or Ritual (Sac/San Fran area) makes all the difference in the world for taste and crema IMO. The amount of crema is definitely tied to air exposure so the quicker you can use up your beans the better (under 2 weeks or so from exposure to air). Additionally, its been my experience that I have to adjust the grind setting to 1 step finer if the beans have been sitting for a very long time, past the 2 week mark or so. I do this because at original setting, the extraction begins at a much lower pressure threshold than usual, leading to under-extraction and weak, watered-down espresso with little to no crema. It'd be nice to know if anyone has studied this particular aspect of coffee beans needing to be ground finer to compensate for age to maintain consistency.

rjett 10y ago
As coffee ages, especially in the first 2 weeks, it degasses CO2, thus the one way valves on most coffee bags. Since CO2 has a lot to do with crema, it's usually lacking in coffees that go past that 2 week mark. It really depends on the coffee, but I find grinding older coffees at a finer grind setting may help you pull your shot at similar parameters (input/output/time), but more often than not, I prefer updosing by half a gram or so to achieve balance in the shot. Also, this is probably heresy to any Italian reading, but I don't consider crema a super important aspect of the espresso shot. That part of the shot contains many of the bitter compounds of the extracted coffee, which is why espresso shots are commonly served with a demi-spoon, used to stir the shot and incorporate/dissipate the crema.
dougk16 10y ago
The amount of crema is definitely tied to air exposure so the quicker you can use up your beans the better Check out this simple vacuum sealer: http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ No affiliation, I've just been using this device for years. It's basically a simple bike pump in reverse. Put your coffee in a mason jar, give it a few good pumps, and you have delicious crema for weeks and weeks. Every time you pop the top the aroma is like you're opening a fresh bag. One of those things that you're surprised most coffee shops and connoisseurs don't use religiously as it makes such a huge difference.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  Coffee shops go through 5 bags of beans a day. I doubt they have as many stale bean problems.
  - dougk16 10y ago
    Coffee shops that have single-origin beans only used for pour overs, french press, etc., can typically use the same bag over the course of at least multiple days, sometimes weeks. Two shops around me at least keep them in nice jars, but no vacuum sealing.
    - brianwawok 10y ago
      Ah did not think about single-origin. Yes those could sit for a while...
tedmiston 10y ago
A third wave coffee shop owner mentioned to me once about using beans beyond that two week period. That after sometime they come back around to be enjoyable again. IIRC he was only referring to espresso. I haven't been able to find much info about it, and I don't make espresso at home, but it might be something worth exploration.
bduerst 10y ago
Just got the BES870XL last weekend, and have been using Four Barrel Friendo Blendo espresso. It's been fantastic, though I wish the steamer was a bit stronger.
luckydata 10y ago
Ritual's coffee is terrible: acidic, unpleasant to the palate and lacking in aroma. I hope your coffee is better than theirs. - disclosure: I'm Italian and I believe espresso in San Francisco sucks almost universally
- BurningFrog 10y ago
  Could it be that taste differs in different parts of the world? Just trying to have everyone get along and get to be right.
  - js2 10y ago
    American coffee snob here (not that I necessarily have good taste though): I was blown away by the espresso in Italy. On a two-week trip, every espresso I had there was better than any espresso I've had in the U.S. Which isn't to say I haven't had great coffee in America, just not great espresso. I think mostly Americans just don't care about espresso. Pet peeve: high-end restaurants in the U.S. mostly don't care about the coffee they serve. A high-end restauarant will employ a bar tender, a pasty chef, a somellier, but not a barista. So you enjoy a fantastic meal and then when you order an espresso at the end, you get something the server pulled out of an automatic machine. Nooo, why!?
    - jowiar 10y ago
      Restaurants are starting to get it. I've been to a handful of places in the past couple years where I left thinking "somebody gave a shit!" (which is really all it takes) -- Places that come to mind are Vetri, Osteria, and Zahav in Philly, Agern and NoMad in NYC.
    - mickeypi 10y ago
      Couldn't agree more on the pet peeve. I've stopped having coffee after a great meal at a restaurant because inevitably they'll ruin it with a cup of something awful. Even in places like Vancouver, SF or Seattle with a very strong coffee culture, and where pretty much anyone in the food industry knows a good coffee.

rjett 10y ago

As coffee ages, especially in the first 2 weeks, it degasses CO2, thus the one way valves on most coffee bags. Since CO2 has a lot to do with crema, it's usually lacking in coffees that go past that 2 week mark. It really depends on the coffee, but I find grinding older coffees at a finer grind setting may help you pull your shot at similar parameters (input/output/time), but more often than not, I prefer updosing by half a gram or so to achieve balance in the shot. Also, this is probably heresy to any Italian reading, but I don't consider crema a super important aspect of the espresso shot. That part of the shot contains many of the bitter compounds of the extracted coffee, which is why espresso shots are commonly served with a demi-spoon, used to stir the shot and incorporate/dissipate the crema.

dougk16 10y ago

The amount of crema is definitely tied to air exposure so the quicker you can use up your beans the better Check out this simple vacuum sealer: http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ No affiliation, I've just been using this device for years. It's basically a simple bike pump in reverse. Put your coffee in a mason jar, give it a few good pumps, and you have delicious crema for weeks and weeks. Every time you pop the top the aroma is like you're opening a fresh bag. One of those things that you're surprised most coffee shops and connoisseurs don't use religiously as it makes such a huge difference.

brianwawok 10y ago
Coffee shops go through 5 bags of beans a day. I doubt they have as many stale bean problems.
- dougk16 10y ago
  Coffee shops that have single-origin beans only used for pour overs, french press, etc., can typically use the same bag over the course of at least multiple days, sometimes weeks. Two shops around me at least keep them in nice jars, but no vacuum sealing.
  - brianwawok 10y ago
    Ah did not think about single-origin. Yes those could sit for a while...

tedmiston 10y ago

A third wave coffee shop owner mentioned to me once about using beans beyond that two week period. That after sometime they come back around to be enjoyable again. IIRC he was only referring to espresso. I haven't been able to find much info about it, and I don't make espresso at home, but it might be something worth exploration.

bduerst 10y ago

Just got the BES870XL last weekend, and have been using Four Barrel Friendo Blendo espresso. It's been fantastic, though I wish the steamer was a bit stronger.

luckydata 10y ago

Ritual's coffee is terrible: acidic, unpleasant to the palate and lacking in aroma. I hope your coffee is better than theirs. - disclosure: I'm Italian and I believe espresso in San Francisco sucks almost universally

BurningFrog 10y ago
Could it be that taste differs in different parts of the world? Just trying to have everyone get along and get to be right.
- js2 10y ago
  American coffee snob here (not that I necessarily have good taste though): I was blown away by the espresso in Italy. On a two-week trip, every espresso I had there was better than any espresso I've had in the U.S. Which isn't to say I haven't had great coffee in America, just not great espresso. I think mostly Americans just don't care about espresso. Pet peeve: high-end restaurants in the U.S. mostly don't care about the coffee they serve. A high-end restauarant will employ a bar tender, a pasty chef, a somellier, but not a barista. So you enjoy a fantastic meal and then when you order an espresso at the end, you get something the server pulled out of an automatic machine. Nooo, why!?
  - jowiar 10y ago
    Restaurants are starting to get it. I've been to a handful of places in the past couple years where I left thinking "somebody gave a shit!" (which is really all it takes) -- Places that come to mind are Vetri, Osteria, and Zahav in Philly, Agern and NoMad in NYC.
  - mickeypi 10y ago
    Couldn't agree more on the pet peeve. I've stopped having coffee after a great meal at a restaurant because inevitably they'll ruin it with a cup of something awful. Even in places like Vancouver, SF or Seattle with a very strong coffee culture, and where pretty much anyone in the food industry knows a good coffee.