Brewing
Espresso. Nine bars and nowhere to hide.
A good Robusta pulls the best shot we make — low acidity, heavy body, and a crema that actually holds. We go slightly long at 1:2.2 rather than 1:2, which keeps the chocolate sweet instead of letting it turn to ash. The Arabicas work here too; they simply want a finer grind and more patience.
Nine bars and nowhere to hide.
The recipe
- Grind
- Fine
- Ratio
- 1 : 2.2
- Dose
- 18 g / 40 g
- Water
- 93 °C
- Total time
- 28 s
Step by step
- Prep18 g in a clean basket. Distribute, then tamp level. Level matters more than hard.
- 0:00Lock in and start immediately. A hot basket sitting idle scorches the puck.
- 0:00–0:08First drops should appear between six and nine seconds. Later means grind coarser.
- 0:28Stop at 40 g in the cup. Weigh it — the eye lies about espresso every time.
- AfterTaste before you adjust anything, and change only one variable at a time.
Cupped best with MistRoot Estate Robusta — Robusta AA, 93 °C water, 250 g from the Brahmagiri Range, Kodagu (Coorg).
The other five
Same bean, a different drink.
Change the method and the coffee changes with it. Each of these has its own recipe, dialled in on our own lots.