Espresso is a brew method...not a specific roast or bean. It does requires specialized equipment. There is no way around this. You may see Moka Pot referred to as stove top espresso. It is not - Moka is closer to percolation. Espresso is a rabbit hole, and an expensive one. You need a good grinder most of all. The machine is way less important than the grinder. But, let's face it. A fancy machine really looks great on your counter! And, for light roasts, you really do need pre-infusion to get the best results. You can read about some grinders and machines on our Espresso Chronicles blog.
My preferred parameters for the Trunch blend are:
- 18gr fine ground coffee
- 38gr in cup
- 10s 1bar pre-infusion followed by 35sec brew.
You will notice that we are listing the shot size in grams here and not ml. YES - WEIGH YOUR SHOTS! When you dial in your shot, do NOT change the quantity of coffee. You should aim to change as few things as possible when you are dialing in a coffee. Once your grind is dialed, then change time or dose to fine tune. There are a lot of myths around espresso, and people will confidently tell you that myths are reality, but only one thing matters - taste.
As your beans age, you will have to adjust your grind to compensate. Once you have your shot dialed, you can start to work on constructing milk based drinks and trying your hand at latte art (another rabbit hole).