If you’ve had a late night, or just a bad night of sleep, you’ve probably turned to your espresso machine like an old friend and brewed yourself a cup. But, have you ever given much thought to the beans you’re putting in your espresso machine? Do you just grab whatever you see first, or do you spend several minutes in the coffee aisle each week wondering what you’ll try next?
Before you just grab another bag of your old reliable, here’s a breakdown of the best coffee beans for espresso available today. You never know, there could be a better, richer cup of espresso out there: it all comes down to choosing the right bean.
What’s Involved in Espresso Extraction?
When you press the button on your espresso machine, hot water gets forced through your finely ground coffee beans at around 9 bars of pressure. This extracts a concentrated shot of coffee in 25-35 seconds, and the process pulls out acids, sugars, oils, and bitter compounds all at once. The ease with which these compounds are extracted depends on the roast level of your beans.
Lighter roasts are denser and more difficult to extract, which means they require an even higher temperature and a finer grind. Darker roasts are more porous and release their compounds more easily – but be careful not to over-extract, as that can take your coffee from rich to bitter. Medium roasts sit somewhere in the middle, offering a pleasant balance of extractability and flavour. If you’re new to espresso brewing, a medium roast is probably a good bean to start with.
Single-Origin vs Blend: Which is Best?
When choosing between a single-origin and a blend for your espresso machine, blend is a safer bet. With beans from multiple locations, blends specially designed to be more consistent and balanced across a range of extraction variables e.g. the water temperature and the grind of your beans.
A good espresso blend will bring together beans from a range of different origins, roasted to the same level, to create a varied flavour profile with sweetness, body, and crema all rolled into one.
Espresso can absolutely be made with single-origin coffee, and the results can be amazing, but it’s a little trickier to get right. You may need to experiment with different water temperatures and degrees of grinding, but the effort will be worth it. If you’re new to brewing a home espresso, a blend is a great one to start with. If you’re a pro, a single-origin could be a great way to take your home espresso to the next level.
How to Get a Great Espresso, No Matter the Roast
No matter which roast you go for, here are some general rules of thumb to set you up for success:
- Use Fresh Beans: For best results, coffee should be ground and consumed between two and eight weeks after roasting. If it’s too fresh, the CO2 can cause uneven extraction. If it’s too old, the flavour can go completely flat.
- Weigh Your Dose: Be precise, using a scale rather than a scoop. Consistency and measuring is key.
- Adjust Grind Depending on the Roast Level: In general, lighter roasts will need a finer grind and a higher temperature to extract well. Darker roasts, while they’ll extract more easily, will need a coarser grind to avoid that dreaded bitterness.
Ready to start your journey to the perfect espresso with Inglewood Coffee Roasters? Explore our range of coffee blends on our website. If you’re ready to take on the challenge of the single-origin espresso, explore our range of single origin beans instead.