Espresso
This page is all about how we brew espresso in Analog. Brewing espresso is a science. It would be ambitious to teach it all to you on this page. It is however possible to showcase and explain the setup that we have - which is actually quite decent. Most of this is learning by doing. Once you have done it a few times it becomes second nature. You will also be taught this at the courses.
In Analog three machines are involved: Grinder, autotamper, and espresso machine. If you have never seen an espresso machine before, it works by forcing pressurised water through a coffee 'puck'. The puck is in a portafilter, which are the things with handles.
Brewing espresso can be reduced to four steps
- Cleaning the portafilter
- Grinding coffee
- Tamping
- Pulling the shot
Cleaning the portafilter
The first step is to take the portafilter out of the espresso machine. Rotate the handle clockwise to release it from the machine. It is left in between shots in order to keep it hot. Thus it still has the coffee from the previous shot. Knock the portafilter into the knock-box in the table. Then, using the brush, clean the small residue inside the portafilter
Grinding coffee
Place the clean portafilter under the grinder. On the display there are three buttons: 1, 2 & 3. They should all be set to the same setting. Press one of them, and coffee will be ground into the portafilter. If you want to learn how to adjust the grinder, reach out to the QA team.
Tamping
Next, you have to tamp the coffee. This means pressing it into the portafilter to achieve the puck. If you have seen this in cafés, the barista uses a tamper to do this. In Analog, we have an autotamper, called a PUQpress, that does this for us. It ensures that the same pressure is used for every shot. It eliminates an important variable of pressure when adjusting the coffee, as many baristas put their hands on the equipment daily.
Pulling the shot
Finally you are ready to brew the shot. place it back in the machine the reverse way you took it out. Then, press the double shot button the display to begin brewing. We always brew a double shot, even though a guest might have ordered a single. If that is the case, place the cup under one spout, and a small glass under the other.
Espresso should brew in the 26-32 second range.