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Page 1 of 11 Espresso forces hot water under 9-10 bar pressure through coffee grounds. The result is an intense drop of concentrated coffee essence. It degrades quickly and should be drunk within two minutes of preparation. In Italy most coffee is drunk as a straight espresso and milky coffees are often considered a breakfast coffee. In Oz, NZ and the UK the vast majority of espresso coffees are served with milk. COFFEE = BASE + TEXTURED MILK Making espresso is much more difficult than many people think as there are so many variables. We’ll look at increasing the likelihood of making a great espresso.
Cleaning  We want to kiss the lips of the coffee God, so we'll start off with cleaning the machine. A professionally used espresso machine will require cleaning at the end of each day and thorough cleaning at least every week (we deep clean ours every day). Domestic machines benefit from cleaning just as much. Before every espresso or ristretto we backflush with a blind filter to clear out grubby water. This is because the pressure release system punches dirty water back along the same pipe that the clean water comes down. Nightly. If your machine sees hundreds of coffees a day: backflush with espresso cleaning powder or tablets. Remove the dispersion screen and soak it in cleaning powder and boiling water. Scrub away at the copper brass disc using just a stiff brush, water and elbow grease making sure that all gunk is removed before replacing the dispersion screen. If your machine sees more moderate use then you may get away with thorough cleaning once or twice a week. Rancid oils and bacteria collect in the various grooves of the espresso machine, which cause bitterness and reduced crema in the cup.
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