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Calibrate often and use a scale that reads consistently to the tenth of a gram to insure the least flow-rate variance. Grooming and tamping Grooming: The themes of this step are evenness, consistency, and efficiency. The more technical you make it, the more difficult it is to maintain in a rush. Find what works for your setup, and avoid extraction channels and inconsistencies in flow rate. Tamping: While pressure and amount of tamps is debated, the most important things again are evenness, consistency, and efficiency. Remove unnecessary steps. Fit: An important factor is the fit of your tamper, especially if engaging in significant pre-infusion or prebrewing. It should fit snugly in the basket, touching all of the sides at once. The wrong size can cause channeling around the outer holes in the basket, influencing flow rate. Extraction Downtime and heating: Variances in time between grinding and extraction can affect flow rate. Also, once a portafilter is locked in a grouphead, the heat from the grouphead on the espresso grounds can cause variances in flow rate, especially after extended periods of time. No drips: Upon insertion of the portafilter, residual dripping from the grouphead can instigate extraction, resulting in channeling and flow rate inconsistencies. Optimizing Extraction Now that we've discussed methods for controlling the functionality of espresso, let's address something much more mysterious: extraction. When determining the most effective way to make great espresso, it's important to examine how to optimize the extraction of your coffee. Studies show that coffee tastes the best when 18–22 percent of coffee is extracted. Yet, if you've ever used a refractometer and filters to test an espresso reaction, you know that hitting at or over 18 percent extraction is very difficult. This is especially true if you are using lightly roasted coffee and are trying to hit a coffee-to-water ratio stronger than 50 percent. To make the most out of your equipment, there are a few areas to focus on to increase the extraction percentage of your coffee: —Increase water-to-coffee ratio: Ground coffee needs water as a solvent to extract solubles from the coffee. The more water you push through your espresso, the more you increase the coffee's ability to extract. Keep in mind that you are sacrificing strength to increase extraction. —Increase temperature: Raising the water temperature will allow for a higher solubles yield. Things to consider: Temperature at grouphead, tendency for temp to rise and fall during a rush, amount of fines your grinder produces, and roast level of your coffee. If your grinder produces a lot of fines, raising the temperature can be detrimental to the balance. —Increase solubility: If you aren't roasting your own coffee, try aging the coffee for between 10–14 days to increase solubility. If you are roasting your own coffee, profiling a coffee for espresso by European espresso DWLWVÀQHVW [ Blended and Roasted in America ] Malabar Gold ® (650) 366-5453 info @josuma.com www.josuma.com Blended to be perfect by itself. Remains equally perfect with milk. 99 www.baristamagazine.com