How is the quality of Espresso determined? What's the best espresso out there?

Question

I've ventured to different Cafes, as well as commercial coffee suppliers (Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, etc.) and was always perplexed at the varying strength, taste, and texture of good espresso vs. bad espresso.

Answer 1

Its the matter of the coffe beans.  to me the Starbucks coffee beans are really really strong. and if i rember corectly they are roasted 2x's  so when the oils come out they come out stronger. While the ones at comercial places are really not expresso beans and are just ur alll normal coffee. Though coffee beans all look the same just matters from where you get them and what region and how they are processed.

Answer 2

There is a pretty well defined standard for a well pulled shot of espresso.

Despite the varying machines, the approximate time to pull a single shot is around 8 seconds.

A perfect shot must separate into 3 parts:

The Heart (the darkest part at the bottom, containing most caffeine so to say.)

The body(Middle main part of the shot)

The Crema (the foam on top)

If all three parts are properly separated, perfect, if not then no.

Answer 3

I like mine Double, black and without lemon.

A bit of Sambuca or Anisette is nice !

Answer 4

a cafe mocha

Answer 5

some of the best espresso brands are illy and Kimbo...the way i determine a good espresso is the smoothness...it should not taste overly bitter and watery...it should have nice smooth, creamy consistency.

Answer 6

I saw on TV that the best espresso needs to be made at the perfect temperature otherwise it is too bitter

x

Answer 7

How long have you got Kevin? :-0

While there are some accepted parameters, don't let anyone tell you that determining the perfect espresso, or the 'God Shot' as the players call it can be reduced to an objective formula.  i.e. if you like it, that's just as valid as anyone else's opinion.  that's part of the beauty of the whole coffee thing in the highly governed world that we live in; it cant be reduced to simple equation

Sure, there are some guidelines.  Firstly you need coffee beans that are suited to the espresso process & have been roasted with espresso in mind.  For example, there are many fine coffees in the world that are not suitable for espresso as they are too acidic.  In fact, there are very few single origin beans that are suitable for the espresso process, so we have specialised in trying to identify them.  Anyway, for this reason most coffee roasters will use a blend of different beans for espresso, to achieve what is know as 'balance' in the cup.  Obviously each person tends to have a different view of exactly where this balance should lie.

Assuming you have a suitable coffee, then you need an appropriate grinder & espresso machine & someone who knows what they are doing with them.

As a consumer I think all the signals for you are in the crema.  The bubbles should be so small that they are almost invisible to the naked eye.  This means the crema will be dense.  The test the Italians use is to place a teaspoon of sugar on the top.  If the crema is dense enough it will support the weight of the sugar for quite a while.  Then you have the colour of the crema.  This runs what i call a 'full spectrum' from a light whitish cream colour to a dark burnt chocolate colour.  In my view the crema colour should fall right in the middle of the spectrum; it should be a beautiful mid gold colour (i think most espresso is over-extracted).  Finally it should not have a light spot on it - this means the pump has been run for too long.  Must go, but this should get you started.

Answer 8

the one that makes you the craziest.