Espresso

Dear Veeky Forums
how would one go about making the best espresso? What's the process?
I'd like to know what the connoisseurs of the brew know.

unless you're a richfag, you can't do it

the equipment is cost prohibitive

just go stove top senpai

Invest in a really good grinder and an espresso machine.

You can kinda make one with a moka pot, and can make espresso in the "concentrated coffee with some foam" sense with a french press, but to do it properly you need the proper equipment (which isn't cheap for anything that'll give you a good result).

I can tell that espresso shot has been sitting there for a while

These in order of priority:
1) good fresh locally roasted beans, preferably old school nw pacific coast espresso style
2) quality espresso grinder. As expensive as you can afford
3) good espresso machine that uses single wall portafilter and pulls 9 bars at 190F

1 & 2 are absolutely essential. i.e. with fresh beans and a good quality consistent grinder you can get very respectable results even if you aren't using a top end espresso machine

Buy nespresso machine, put capsule in machine...???...enjoy great coffee! Nespresso, what else?

>locally roasted

nice meme.

I walk into my local coffee house and order a 6 shot espresso in a to go cup. They look at me fucked up. If I can handle an 8ball of coke, I can handle coffee. Shut up and take my money

If you can't see where it was roasted then you don't really know WHEN it was roasted. Simple as that

Get a job at a coffee shop.

You get paid to drink espresso

would $2000 buy a decent home machine?
i was never that into it until i discovered coconut milk lattes (i hate hot dairy) and now i'm kind of intrigued

also do they require compressed gas?

Trolling well done 10/10.

Compressed gas...yeah sure you can also use a hydrogen generator.

Yes but spend $1000 on a grinder and the other $1000 on the machine, the grinder is more important

i meant for the pressure

does it use compressor?

Aeropress.
Everytime.

>confirmed know nothing

A proper espresso machine costs anywhere between 10k and 40k. Not only are the machines themselves expensive, but they require training to be used correctly. You would need a burr grinder, and to order cleaning chemicals regularly (an espresso machine and grinder must both be cleaned daily). None of this is practical unless you're pulling at least 50+shots of espresso/day. Getting yourself a cheap 2k or 1k machine would still require the same maintenance, and you'd be making shittier espresso. Plus you'd probably fuck up the cheap machine anyway due to your lack of knowing how to use and maintain it.

I'd recommend just buying a Nespresso pod system or something similar. It's cheap enough, does all the work for you, easy to maintain, and makes decent enough espresso for drinking at home.

>nespresso pod

2/10, made me reply

An Espressoforge (or vintage lever machine) and Feldgrind can get something pretty decent for $500ish, but it's a lot of fuss. And no milk. But it is the absolute cheapest setup I feel you can get a really quality straight shot from.

It can. A Breville Dual Boiler or Astra Pro and good relatively inexpensive grinder (Sette, HG-1, etc) should get you pretty passable milk drinks.

Not really true. The $10k-$40k is really only for multiple group machines. Even the absolute most expensive home setup possible, without going in to multiple machines, would be like $15k for a Slayer and Titus. You can get something pretty difficult to top under $4k all in if you look. Mines over 4 but under 5, but that's not counting the brew grinder or the roaster.

It will take some practice, but if you're competent enough to use online resources you can get the basics down in a few weeks.

The daily cleaning is also wholly unnecessary unless you're making cafe volumes of coffee, a basic flushing routine daily and more cleaning weekley is more than enough. Easy to clean equipment helps as well.

Pic is a shot of an El Salvador I pulled recently. Very deep chocolatey taste, like a melted dark chocolate bar. One of those fancy speciality ones with a bit of a fruitiness to em. Nearly the same viscosity too, it was crazy.

I usually do more of the African style bright shots, but the El Salvador was a nice break from that.

You can probably tell the crema is a bit light from the picture, but I experience that with most single origins. Only ever had a couple that make the iconic thick crema, at home or at a shop.

It would help to include the pic

I love my grinder. I use a cheaper breville espresso machine, but I fuck with the controls to overheat it for the pull.

That's not true at all. Most online companies roast to order or roast 1-2 days a week and then send out on that day.

I buy almost all my coffee online and its usually 2-3 days post roast when I get it.

not espresso

You can go pretty far with a 2k budget

Not true at all. You can make good real espresso for 400-500. A Lido E and something like a Gaggia or a La Pavoni will do the trick.

Not good enough for espresso

Gaggia is really just an exercise in frustration, and the Pavoni isn't a whole ton better. Temperature is a critical variable, with a single degree celsius being able to completely ruin a shot with all other variables constant. And it's damn near impossible to nail it on the Gaggias. The Pavoni you can, but it's a huge dance.

Moka pot is the closest you can get to espresso which is dirt cheap