The perfect espresso should have a gorgeous hazelnut-brown crema on top that’s subtle and dense. You should be able to put a spoon through the crema and it immediately reform as a layer afterwards.

Espresso crema is created from oils, proteins and carbon dioxide, and the fresher your coffee beans the denser your crema.

Robusta blends give you a more consistent crema than Arabica blends as there are more oils in the beans.

To make a great espresso the first thing to think about is the grinding.

A great espresso depends on how you set the coffee grinder because coffee beans aren’t all the same and they change over time inside the grinder’s bean container.

The second thing to think about when making a good espresso is how you compress the ground coffee, also known as tamping.

Tamping forms the coffee powder into an almost compact block, meaning it creates resistance to the flow of hot water that comes from the machine.

Your coffee powder should not completely fill the portafilter and there should be a gap between the surface of the coffee and the filter spout. Tamping the coffee correctly also ensures that the coffee does not loosen up as the water passes through.

A special implement called a tamper should be used to compress your coffee (link to tamper product)

As it forms 95% of an espresso coffee, water is a key ingredient when preparing a cup of coffee.  You can get amazingly creamy coffees with gorgeous aromas if you use mineral-rich water.

So, after all that, here’s our recipe for the perfect espresso:

• 7-12 gr. coffee beans (well roasted and ground)
• 25-35 ml. water (not too soft)
• Around 20 kg. tamper pressure
• 9 bar pressure
• 85°C-95°C water temperature
• 20-30 seconds of pressure time