Espresso shots produce the base of most beverages made on espresso equipment. A single espresso shot is 25–30ml in volume, extracted from 6–9 grams of ground coffee.

Beverages are usually made with a single or double shot, depending on your customers’ requirements.

Step 1 – Grinding

• Put fresh roasted coffee beans in the hopper on the grinder. Make sure you only put in as much as you need for a service period. Beans left in a hopper are exposed to the air and can become stale.

• Grind the beans until the individual doser compartments are full.

Step 3 – Tamping

Whether tamping by hand or using a tamp attached to the machine the following points apply:

• Make sure the portafilter is level before beginning to tamp.

• Line the tamp up with the filter basket making sure the tamping surface is horizontal.

• Apply even pressure down on the tamp.

• As you release downward pressure, twist the tamp a little and gently remove it. This is known as polishing

• Make sure the tamped coffee (now known as the cake) is level and doesn’t go over the fill line.

Step 4 – Extracting

• • Before locking in the portafilter, clear any ground coffee from around the top of the portafilter to ensure a tight seal inside the group head.

  • Lock the portafilter into the group head. For most machines, start with the portafilter in the 7 o’clock position and then raise the portafilter straight up till it fits into the group head snugly. Twist it firmly to the right to the 6 o’clock position to lock the portafilter in place. Be careful not to force it too hard. Check with your teacher/tutor to ensure it is locked in properly before you begin to extract.

  • Depending on the espresso machine and your dose, press either the automatic shot button or manual switch to begin the extraction.

  • If the tamp and grind is correct the coffee will begin to flow between 4–6 seconds after you turn the extraction control on.

  • A perfect shot of espresso takes between 25–30 seconds to produce 25–30mls of espresso coffee.

  • Arrange the cup so the espresso flows in near the side of the cup. This helps to keep the crema intact. The crema is the golden foam that floats on the top of an espresso shot.

  • The espresso should flow in a thin continuous stream like liquid honey flowing from a spoon.

  • The crema should make up around 10% of the shot.

Troubleshooting extraction

Examining the cake

The term ‘examining the cake’ is used to describe checking the tamped ground coffee that is knocked out of the portafilter into the dumpbox, after the shot has been pulled.

Click on the dropdowns below to see what the cause is for each example.

Cleaning the portafilter

Once you have knocked out the cake into the dumpbox and checked its appearance, rinse the portafilter under the group head, dry it with a clean cloth and lock it back into place. It is now ready for your next shot.

Do not rinse the portafilters in the sink as the coffee grinds can clog up the plumbing.

Wipe up any spills immediately with a wet cloth and prepare your area, ready to extract the next espresso.

Activity 6: Prepare a shot of espresso

Practice preparing a shot of espresso coffee.

1. Have a stopwatch handy to record the time it takes.

2. Extract the espresso into a 30ml shot glass (or two if using a double portafilter).

3. Go through the steps listed in the above section to extract an espresso shot.

4. Check the time it took to extract 25–30mls; was it too fast, too slow or within the target range of 25–30 seconds?

5. Check the crema on your completed coffee shots.

6. Taste your espressos and check their quality with your supervisor.

7. Repeat until you feel confident you can consistently produce good quality espresso shots.