Espresso is not a simple drink. Specialty espresso is even more so. What ends up in the cup is a concentrated drink, intense and aromatic. For espresso to taste good, many small details have to be just right. We've explained the basics of espresso preparation in detail here .
Especially with more complex specialty coffees, we need to adjust the espresso grinder significantly to achieve a balanced coffee. So, how can we achieve a sweet and balanced espresso that we'd enjoy a second one?
Traditional espresso and specialty espresso
First, we need to clarify what exactly we mean when we talk about a traditional espresso and a specialty espresso.
Traditional espresso: darker roast, limited aroma Specialty Espresso: medium to light roast, complex aroma
We find fans in both categories. Those who prefer something a little more "Italian" will certainly enjoy a traditional espresso. Roasted notes often dominate, and the coffees are full-bodied, heavy, and lower in acidity.
In our opinion, specialty espressos are coffees that
- consist of higher quality, often more complex green coffees
- are usually roasted medium dark to light and so
- avoid intense roasted notes
Also interesting: what exactly is specialty coffee?
What does this mean for extraction?
In our experiment, we compared two coffees from our roastery. The more traditional coffee is the Dreispitz, a three-cup blend with equal parts from Brazil, Nicaragua, and India , roasted medium-dark .
The specialty espresso was the Leica, a honey-processed coffee from our Finca Santa Rita in Nicaragua . We roast this coffee significantly lighter than the Dreispitz.
Left: the three-cornered hat – the darker crema indicates the degree of roasting
Right: the Leica – the lighter crema indicates a lighter roast
Mill setting and dosage
The recipe for extraction is:
19g powder, 54g extraction in the cup (or 27g per cup)
For the first extraction we chose the same fine grind.
Extraction time
Interestingly, the Leica specialty espresso shot through the portafilter in just over 20 seconds.
However, the more traditional three-pointed espresso took more than 40 seconds to reach the 27g per espresso cup. The darker espresso therefore had twice the extraction time with the same grind size.
Why?
Darker roast = more brittle = more fines = faster absorption of water = more resistance to water = longer extraction
Lighter roast = harder beans = fewer fines = less quickly soluble = less resistance to water = faster extraction
And what does that mean in terms of taste?
Dreispitz in 41sec: flat, low acidity, dense, not very round, matte
Leica in 20sec: lots of acidity, little sweetness, a bit watery, tart
We always recommend using a gram scale. Especially when adjusting the mills, they're quick and efficient.
What do we need to change now?
Specialty Espresso Leica:
To get the most out of a light roasted specialty espresso made from dense beans, you should grind it very finely.
We set our Anfim Practica espresso grinder to almost the finest grind, increasing the extraction time to 26 seconds.
The coffee was now round and sweet, with the acidity integrating very well with the smooth texture. We could now detect significantly more flavor notes, and the aftertaste was long and sweet.
Traditional Espresso Dreispitz:
Darker roasted coffees are generally more enjoyable when they're extracted for a shorter time . At just under 30 seconds, the Dreispitz is in a zone where the coffee is truly enjoyable.
We ground the coffee much coarser, extracted for 30 seconds, and the coffee now tasted completely different.
The coffee was much more balanced, with a bright acidity that positively brightened the coffee, supported by a much more substantial sweetness. The texture was syrupy/creamy.
Working with gram carts
On the left, we see 19g of Dreispitz in the portafilter, and on the right, we see 19g of Leica. The darker roast coffee (left) takes up significantly more volume in the portafilter. This makes it all the more important to work with scales and not rely on the naked eye.
So, experiment, find out the limits of the grinder and the coffee, and only then evaluate the coffee. One thing we'll definitely take away from this: one size doesn't fit all when it comes to espresso settings.
