Coffee Data Science
Where to Start with Espresso: Beginner’s QuickStart
A visual short guide
I took a survey of espresso guides, and I found many issues for beginners even for myself as someone more advanced. So I wanted to make a quick guide to help people start faster. I will put my notes about other guides below, so the most important information is up front.
There are four variables any beginner can influence without buying anything else:
- Roast age: let your coffee rest for 3 weeks post roast for medium roasts.
- Grind finer! Gauge the fineness with flour and salt.
- Reducing headspace reduces channeling. Dose until coffee is above the lip of the basket before tamping.
- Wait 5 minutes to drink the shot. The tongue can’t taste well drinks above 50C (122F). I aim for between 30C (86F) and 50C (122F).
Criticism of Other Beginner Guides
I searched out ten or so beginner guides for espresso. I found them to be overwhelming with information that does not necessary help making an espresso shot in the moment like:
- The history of coffee
- Coffee processing
- Coffee roasting
- Milk Texturing
- Latte art
All of these things are important, but too much information at once is overwhelming.
I won’t name the guides I looked at except for one. The best guide for beginners comes with the Flair Espresso machine. It is tailored for their machine, but it is clear and concise. I would highly recommend their machine for a beginner considering the entire user experience.
This is the original artwork I made in a hurry to send over to Pull & Pour with whom I collaborated on the first image.
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