The effortless art of the perfect espresso
There’s a coffee monster that lives in all of us, popping out at our most caffeine-deprived moments. But have you ever wondered if you’ve just taken it that one step too far whilst bellowing across to the barista, “my milk just isn’t frothy enough!” Yep, a caffeine addiction is no joke.
When presented with a less than average coffee on your way to the office, do you, a) demand a new one right away? Or, b) take a sip and settle for a below average coffee?
If your answer was a), congratulations you’re a coffee (snob) connoisseur. You’ve become discerning in your coffee choices, never settling for anything less than perfection when it comes to your daily caffeine fix.
But it’s the espresso drinkers that are the serious coffee buffs. If you’ve ever ordered a coffee in Italy you’ll know that they instantly serve you an espresso. After all, the Italian’s invented this cup of wonder in the first place. Before you’ve even had a chance to order a latte instead, the most perfect espresso that you’ve ever laid eyes on is placed before you. We salute you, pro-level Italians! But we’re well aware that this kind of wizardry takes years of experience, and finding a skilled barista like this in the city that is London can be tricky for coffee shops and hotels.
The espresso aficionados in us have pushed the standards way up, sometimes making better espresso at home than we get in the café. We don’t mess around here; we want more caffeine per sip, a perfect crema, and not to mention jitters and heartbeats.
But listen up espresso lovers; do you really know what makes a faultless espresso? Experts can tell you that a number of things can affect its perfection. For starters, the coffee, the dose, the recipe, and the temperature can all affect the finished cup. Nothing can be left to chance, if the coffee is too fine it will be dark and bitter and if the beans are ground too coarsely the coffee will be weak. Panic stations. But seriously now, getting in to the technical terms, on top of that you’ve also got the tamping, extraction and the grind. The what now? Exactly. I bet you don’t even know what tamping means (it’s that bit where you stamp down the coffee before brewing). Sounds like a lot of effort for a few sips doesn’t it?
So it goes without saying, there is a definite art to the perfect espresso and with most traditional espresso machines you need to do all the work manually. But the WMF Espresso does it all at the touch of a button. Woah! A machine we’re currently swooning over here in the YCB offices. And who can blame us? This is a machine that delivers the perfect espresso with absolute zero effort! Machines might really be replacing humans after all. Apart from the pushing the button part. But we can do that, that’s fine we got time.
Because espresso is the basis for most coffee drinks, imagine how much skill it takes to make a good latte and cappuccino when you’ve now got the milk to think about. We’ve all seen bartenders frothing milk in the jug with the steam jet. This has become such an art that people compete across the world in latte championships. No, seriously! But whilst you’re impatiently side stepping, milk steamer over there has a whole world of problems. Too much steam will produce large bubbles of air, and overheating scalds the milk, ruining the taste of your coffee completely. This is another fiddly bit that the WMF Espresso machine oh so handily automates.
It’s stressful enough just thinking about watching an espresso being made now, let alone making one at home. In fact it’s probably time for a coffee. Just need to find somewhere with this magic machine, I’m not settling for anything less than perfect.
By: Rachael Wardle
Rachael is the creator of homewares marketplace, ohwhatsthis.com who loves discovering and championing independent brands and designers from the interior world. She’s a regular blogger for interior & lifestyle brands and much to her boyfriend’s dismay, has an ever-growing cushion collection!
