Tag Archives: Espresso Beans

Get a Perfect Cup of Espresso with Extraction and Tamping

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If you’re a coffee lover, you probably already know that espresso is the foundation for many popular coffee drinks. But what exactly do extraction and tamping have to do with creating a perfect cup of espresso? Let’s explore the science behind espresso to understand how these two elements are essential for making great espresso. 

What is Extraction? 

Extraction is the process of pulling flavor out of ground coffee beans. When hot water passes through freshly ground coffee, it draws out compounds like caffeine, proteins, and oils that give espresso its unique flavor. The ideal extraction rate will yield an evenly balanced cup of espresso with no bitter or sour notes. To achieve this, baristas carefully measure out specific quantities of coffee and grind size to ensure that all the flavors are properly extracted from the beans. 

To determine if an espresso shot has been properly extracted, baristas use a refractometer to measure Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The TDS measures the strength of an espresso shot by measuring how much soluble material is dissolved in it—the higher the number, the stronger the shot. Ideal extraction should fall between 0.85-0.93% TDS for a single shot or 1.45-1.65% TDS for a double shot. 

What is Tamping? 

Tamping is another key element in creating great espresso shots—it involves pressing down on freshly ground coffee in order to compact it into a puck shape before brewing begins. This helps create even pressure during extraction so that all of the grounds are exposed to hot water at once instead of some being over-extracted while others remain under-extracted due to uneven distribution within the portafilter basket. A well-tamped puck also creates resistance which helps regulate flow rate during extraction; too little resistance can result in an overly fast flow rate which leads to weak shots whereas too much resistance can lead to over-extraction and bitter shots. Professional baristas often spend hours practicing their tamping technique in order to achieve optimal results every time they pull shots. 

Making great tasting espresso requires precision from start to finish – from grinding fresh beans and carefully measuring them out, all the way up until tamping them down into a perfectly shaped puck before brewing begins. With experimentation and practice, any home barista can learn how to master extraction and tamping for delicious drinks every time. So next time you make yourself an espresso drink – take note of each step in order to get your own perfect cup.

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The Perfect Gift for Coffee Lovers: Espresso Beans!

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Are you looking for the perfect gift for that coffee lover in your life? Look no further than espresso beans! Shipping espresso beans is the perfect way to show someone you care and the best part is, they will get to enjoy delicious coffee from the comfort of their own home. Let’s break down why shipping espresso beans is a great idea for any occasion.

What Makes Espresso Beans Special?
When it comes to coffee, espresso beans are a cut above the rest. Not only do they have a bold, full-bodied flavor that’s sure to please even the most discerning coffee connoisseur, but they’re also incredibly versatile. Whether used in an espresso machine or a French press, these beans can be brewed into a variety of tasty drinks such as macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattes, and more.

Plus, espresso beans come with a long shelf life when stored properly. This means that your gift recipient can enjoy their coffee at their leisure and won’t have to worry about running out anytime soon!

Why Ship Espresso Beans?
Shipping espresso beans makes them easy to send as gifts without having to worry about them being damaged during delivery or lost in transit. Plus, with many different brands offering subscription services that ship freshly roasted espresso beans right to your door each month, it’s never been easier to give the perfect gift for any occasion. All you have to do is select which type of roast you want and how often you want it sent—it’s that simple!

Espresso beans make an excellent gift for any occasion because they are both delicious and versatile. Plus, with subscription services available for shipping freshly roasted espresso beans right to your doorstep each month, it’s never been easier or more convenient to give the perfect present for any day of the year. So if you’re looking for an amazing gift that will be appreciated by all your coffee-loving friends and family members alike, look no further than fresh espresso beans shipped directly from one of these specialty roasters!

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illy offering gifts with their subscription coffee bean deliveries

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I received a fun bit of postal mail this weekend. A postal from illy (love their “live happ-illy”).

illy subscription

For the past year, I have been receiving a bag of beans every few weeks from the folks at Tonx. I have mentioned before there are many options for subscription bean delivery but it is always hard to know what you will get. Tonx offers an unknown, as they send the latest they find. For those not wanting to live on the edge, illy might be a solution to having great beans or capsules and pods delivered right to your door where you will know in advance what will be arriving.

The  card in the mailer offered three different cup/mug options to enjoy at no charge as a complimentary addition to subscription. Then, different coffee delivery types divided into Medium, Dark and Decaf roasts. Finally, how often the delivery should be every: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 weeks.

With coffee shops on every other corner and many major grocery stores offering ‘fresh’ bean selections, why would anyone have beans delivered to their house? I for one, always buzz right by the coffee shop every morning, only stopping the day I ran out of beans. If this is a problem you have too, illy offers the same subscriptions via their Web site as they sent on the post card: illyusa.com/discover913

illy subscription page

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You can still have a cup of coffee when there is no coffee maker available!

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Coffee drinkers can be faced with challenges to get a cup of coffee at times. Generally, there is an espresso shot provider on every other city block corner. Being in the woods, camping, can present some challenges though. When the need arrises, the only real mountain to climb is the hot water part of the coffee. The rest is just an opportunity to be creative. For me, spending the night at a friend’s house that doesn’t drink coffee is more of a reality. Sure, it’s hard to believe that I hang out with anyone that doesn’t know their way around an espresso machine, but I never think to ask when forming friendships.

I used to carry a little hand-pump pressure coffee maker, but found I most often didn’t need it. Now, just a bag of the latest fun beans are packed in the luggage. The biggest hurdle is hot water. So, when at someone’s house, the rest is no problem… well, not as impossible like when there is no hot water. This all came top-of-mind today when Tonx mentioned they had a fun infographic about this exact challenge… how to make coffee when there is no coffee maker available!

Remember Tonx? The subscription coffee bean company that brings our household beans from all over the world. Thus, we have hand picked flavors from around the world, helping to expand our enjoyment of beans from places we may not have otherwise thought of visiting.

The infographic is part of the Tonx Coffee Hacks contest. I have not seen the other entries, but this one really hits home. There are a lot of options once you look around to get beans into grounds as well many ways to filter the goodness from the grinds into you cup. The infographic will be a handy reminder of some options when realizing your ‘friends’ doesn’t share all of your likes.

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Starbucks Espresso Christmas Blend – Did we enjoy it or should we pass this year?

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Throughout our travels we find we drink a lot of coffee from many different places. Every place has a preferred bean or drink or mix of drinks that the locals feel is better than the rest. It may just be because the locals love the owners which can have a lasting effect on a cup of coffee’s taste. Others have beans they mix to their own special family recipe, though we always wonder how many generations has been importing beans from a particular mountain’s growing fields. No matter the reason for the provider’s labeling of their signature drink, it is important to remember a few key fact because we may be coming back this way in the future. There is nothing worse than settling down for a relaxing cappuccino to remember the second sip in why you didn’t enjoy the drink last time.

Being a self labeled ‘geek’ family, we turned to our mobile devices and set up a little database to track what was good and what was not. Using a simple app, Bento, we are able to make quick notations about the location and what we liked and didn’t like. The next time through, a quick search reminds us if we should grab the special or make an excuse for the daily grind. Using this solution does mean we are dealing with basic pull downs and boxes for entry, with very little effort we were able to sync across all of the family mobile devices so the knowledge is shared.

When talking about the Starbucks ‘Espresso’ Christmas Blend in this mornings espresso, we thought about the need for something a bit more ‘nice to look at’ and graphical that anyone could just load and use. A quick search and we found Coffee Cellar. An app for the iPone and iPad that lets you quickly name a drink, assign an icon to remember the drink by later and then rate via sliders what your tasting results where. Currently there isn’t any way to note a location so the app is really best to use with beans you bought and are using at home. Maybe it will work with something like the FourSquare app in the future. We do like how fast it is to rate a drink then find it later though.

Back to Starbucks Espresso Christmas Blend – this is different from their normal holiday red bag Christmas Blend, most noticeable by it’s purple bag. The beans? A strong smell from the grinder let us know this wasn’t a coffee bean, and it is truly a espresso mix. The taste is not bitter, though there is a burnt taste that lingers after drinking in the back of our mouths. Not a bad experience at all, but much different from the year round Starbucks Espresso coffee option. Very enjoyable as a seasonal treat, though marked in our log as not an every day drink. We like to keep the unique spoils of particular blends for an occasion rather otherwise we might be setting our standards too high for the small stand on the corner and their great grandmother’s secret bean mix.

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