Nowadays, Espresso is available everywhere in the world. For coffee connoisseurs, it’s not just a drink, and it’s an art.
Some people mistakenly believe that Espresso is made from Espresso grounds. But, what is the truth? And can you make Espresso with regular coffee?
The answer may be yes or no. It depends on how you make it. This post shares with you the experience of our experts in the coffee industry to help you find out the way to brew Espresso with regular coffee.
Can You Make Espresso With Regular Coffee?
The short answer is Yes, you can make Espresso with all types of coffee, as long as you grind it to the finest. The perfect grounds must be smooth, with a silky mouthfeel and pleasant lingering finish. It would be best if you had a quality grinder to grind the regular coffee to reach the same consistency as the Espresso grounds.
A classic Italian Espresso is extracted from the blend of Robusta and Arabica. It is crucial to ensure the perfect mix ratio and roast level so that the brewed coffee reaches the proper acidity and creates a consistent and thick crema.
You may want to select the best quality coffee beans. The wrong beans, due to burning, will extract a bitter and sour note in a cup of thin and watery coffee. The final result all depends on your ability to fine-tune the coarseness of the coffee ground.
It’s possible to make Espresso with regular coffee, but it’s not going to taste right. If you don’t have a great skill to follow, all your efforts will go to waste. Our tips can help you find the best Espresso recipe.
What Exactly Is An Espresso?
Before learning how to make Espresso with regular coffee, you must learn what exactly is Espresso.
First, you have to know Espresso is not the type of bean. It is also not the blend or the roast. Espresso exactly is a method to make coffee that requires a delicate balance.
Espresso coffee is a brew of 1-2 oz. with a rich and dark golden crema on the surface. This crema is the significance of a true Espresso.
How Is Espresso Going To Taste?
Espresso often comes out in low acidity and high richness. It has a smokier and likely more chocolatey flavor.
Nowadays, Espresso features brighter and fruitier flavors as a new trend. This new flavor can strengthen our taste of milky drinks.
When talking about the taste of Espresso, there must be bitterness, acidity, and sweetness.
Bitterness
All kinds of coffee have some bitterness in it. Even for Espresso, the mild bitterness is a very typical flavor that is compelling.
Acidity
Specialty coffee praises low acidity. And Espresso, as a concentrated extraction, may bring that feature to the fore.
Sweetness
When you are too close to bitterness, you tend to skip or forget the sweet flavor in a shot of Espresso. A good Espresso always includes a sweet flavor to balance bitterness and acidity.
Tips To Make The Greatest Coffee With Regular Grounds
Small changes that you make while brewing coffee can have a dramatic effect on its taste. This section summarizes some of the best tips to make Espresso.
Suggested Types Of Espresso Machines
We need an Espresso machine. Otherwise, a stove-top Espresso maker is fine.
Real Espresso machines use mechanical pressure to make Espresso. While other machines, such as the Italian methods, use steam pressure.
A steam pressure makes use of a lighter force than a mechanical pressure does. Yet, it can still create a fascinating shot of Espresso. It would help if you made sure both types of equipment are clean before starting.
We recommend some Espresso makers that you might consider. The best overall is Flair Espresso Maker – Classic And Manual, while Wacaco Minipresso Portable Espresso Machine is best for portability.
How To Grind Coffee For Espresso?
Our coffee experts prefer lightly roasted beans for making Espresso. This roast level allows your coffee to contain more caffeine and less bitterness. After roasting the beans, they need to sit for a few days for the flavor to reach its peak.
Espresso is a minor concentrated amount of brewed coffee made with pressure or steam. Thus, the coffee grounds must be as fine as possible to extract the complete flavor that makes up an Espresso.
It is necessary to have a high-powered coffee grinder at home. Otherwise, you have to try the best you can to grind the beans to fine dust.
Read more: Is it cheaper to grind your own coffee?
With your grinder and six steps, you can know how to grind coffee for Espresso.
- Step1: Check your coffee. Make sure your coffee is a dark roast coffee bean.
- Step 2: Set your grinder. Most grinders include settings for Espresso grinds.
- Step 3: Take your coffee beans
- Step 4: Double-check your grind setting
- Step 5: Turn your grinder on
- Step 6: Take and brew
The Differences Between Espresso Grind & Regular Grind?
Espresso grounds are much finer than a regular grind. Because the water only comes into touch with the coffee grounds for a brief amount of time, they must be very fine.
Coarse coffee grounds cannot produce rich and sweet Espresso. The coarser the ground coffee, the thinner the brew.
Read more: Can I grind coffee beans in a blender?
The Heat, Humidity & Pressure
The heat and humidity level in coffee beans stored can affect the taste of the Espresso. The proportion of these factors also contribute to making a cup of quality Espresso.
You also need to ensure your machine produces a stable pressure of around 8-9 bars for the best extraction.
The Ideal Ratio For Espresso
The ideal ratio of coffee grounds: water for making Espresso is 1:1.5. That means you use about 1 oz. of ground coffee per 1.5 oz. of liquid Espresso out.
You also need to ensure the consistency of mineral content in the water for complete control over variables.
How To Make Espresso With Regular Coffee Step-by-step?
The process of how to make Espresso with regular coffee concludes with 9 steps. It usually takes 20-30 seconds to finish the brewing. To help you understand how to make Espresso with regular coffee, here below are steps.
Step 1: Preheat The Cup
It’s critical to preheat the cup with hot water before using it.
Step 2: Clean The Portafilter & Basket
Inspect your portafilter handle for cleanliness and dryness.
Step 3: Grinding & Dose
It is time to grind light-roasted coffee beans. Coffee grounds should be half-filled in your portafilter. The coffee grounds must get very fine for making Espresso by an Espresso machine in the next stages.
If you use a French press to brew Espresso, it’s important to make sure that you get coarser grounds.
Step 4: Boil Water
The water needs to reach the brewing threshold when brewing coffee. When brewing in this way, a kitchen thermometer will help you determine the proper temperature.
The heat threshold of the water must be between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, allow the water to sit for 30 seconds.
Read more: Can you use a coffee maker to boil water?
Step 5: Put The Coffee Grounds Into The Press
When you ensure that the heat reaches the standard temperature, it is time to add coffee grounds. Then, wet the surface of the coffee grounds with a little water. You should immediately notice the smell and reaction between the two matters.
Read more: Can you put coffee grounds in the garbage disposal?
Step 6: Add Water
The next step is to add extra water according to the ratio we mentioned above. At this moment, you need to stir the mixture while brewing. It is necessary to stabilize the force of the hand while stirring; neither strong nor weak.
Step 7: Timing
17 seconds is an ideal duration for making a sweeter Espresso. Meanwhile, if you wait for it to flow longer, it won’t be very pleasant. Never let the brewing process last more than 25 seconds. It is needed to stop the flow right before the time it turns lighter in color.
Step 8: Push The Plunger Down
A crucial step of making Espresso in a French press is pressing the plunger. It would be best if you pushed the plunger smoothly and patiently. If it is stuck at any point along the way, you should pull it back, and then step-by-step push it down again.
Step 9: Enjoy Your Brew
Need to pour Espresso immediately to avoid being bitter.
Final Thoughts
So in your opinion, can you make Espresso with regular coffee? If you understand the process and technique, this fact is going to be possible.
You will probably fail the first few attempts. But don’t worry, because you’ll quickly find a recipe that works for you.
As we said at the beginning, Espresso is the art of coffee. And perseverance is the most crucial factor to create a masterpiece.
Our practical guides will help you succeed. Please share them with everyone if you find them helpful.